Growing Hops in Central Florida

[Flboy]

What kind of plastic jugs? Like milk containers or something else?

Sorry, just saw your question. Yes, either milk or soda jugs-or anything! Depends on how much water you want it to hold.
Cut bottom off, poke a few small holes near the top and bury them upside down almost completely. You use this to hold water and it drips out. Biggest issue is gunk and bugs getting in the jug,
Another great tip I was given is to line your hole with a few sheets of newspaper. this acts to hold the water just a bit longer. You only use about three layers and don't have it sticking above ground.
Also build a small dam/dish around your plant to make watering easier.

 

[atsorrento]

We're supposed to have no rain for the next several days. Just wondering how often you all plan on watering.

 

[chuckcomm]

I didnt water today because of all the rain the last few days. I will water tomorrow they should at least stay moist from what I have read. I would say at least every other day with our heat but this is my first try so I just want to at least be sure the soil stays moist.

 

[Breadontap]

I have mine in pots with compost and potting soil mix so it holds water better than the native soil does. I only water every 3-4 days depending on the rain.

Everything I've read is that the easiest way to kill a rhizome type plant is to over water it. So be careful.


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[plusultra]

I water about the same. Mine are in pots and with the rain we got lately I haven't watered since Thursday but I am going to water today. I was watering about 1.5 gallons per planter 2x per week but it is getting hotter so it will be the same amount but 3x per week now unless it rains which will delay about 2 days after a good rain. We shall see. Best of luck to all of us hoppy people.:fro:

 

[Breadontap]

No pictures to add but I have noticed that with the heat, I have to water at least every other day now.

Mine are around day 30 and 1 is about 4 feet tall with like 5 shoots coming out of the soil.

The rest are 3 feet tall with only a few shoots.


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[LostDogBeer]

I am noticing that the height of each plant is inversely proportional to the amount of shoots. For example the tallest one here, the third from the right, is a cascade with a single shoot. The two on the left each have three shoots. I decided not to cut them to see what happens.


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[Breadontap]

I'm considering fertilizing them for the first time this weekend. From what I've read, a low middle number is best. I believe that is phosphorous. I found palm fertilizer at HD that has the lowest middle number I could see.


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[LostDogBeer]

I'm fertilizing with something called "CitrusGain". Like what you mentioned, it is also low phosphorus


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[plusultra]

I allowed 3 bines to grow on each plant. I have been watering with a miracle grow mix every time I water. I had the miracle grow in the garage so that is why I'm using it and it seems to be working. I am also using a sea mineral product every now and then.:rockin:

 

[kenglish427]

I am a first time Florida hop grower, In Jacksonville Beach to be exact. I put 5 centennial and 5 cascade rhizomes in the found on 4-27 and already have all 10 out of the ground, most are a few feet tall. I have the fortune of having a friend that owns a lawn spraying company, and he recommended using a 10-10-10 fertilizer for the hops. its more of an all around booster than feeding a particular nutrient. i used a 50/50 mix of potting soil and Spanish moss and stirred it in with the native soil/sand to help retain moisture, but also to keep the soil from packing tight, allowing for root development.

 

[LostDogBeer]

They look great! I really like your set up.


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[kenglish427]

thanks, its just a handful of screws and $5 of bailing twine. I think the will take a bit of training to make them go sideways on the twine, but it works for my limited growing space.

 

[Breadontap]

So I finally fertilized a couple of days ago and I started watering every other day instead of every three to four. The heat has been drying out the soil really fast. I guess 90s and no rain will do that.

The increased water and fertilizer has made a noticeable difference. Growth has sped back up.

Here is the fertilizer I've been using. It's 8-2-10


Updated pic of the vines:


And just to make everyone jealous here is a pic of the bottle of Pliny my brother sent me from CO.




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[plusultra]

Updated pictures

 

[plusultra]

I hope it worked this time

 

[chuckcomm]

So how are everyones hops doing? LostDogBeer?

Mine have reached the top of my privacy fence and are confused but traveling along the top of the fence since they have no way to climb higher.

Looks like side shoots will be growing soon as some have appeared....lots of rain this week

 

[plusultra]

I just picked some more hops yesterday. The aphids are horrible. I used neem oil to try to hold them off but lost a lot of leaves because of this. To date I have picked about 250 cascade, 200 nugget and last but least 35 centennial. Port Saint Lucie florida. I'm not sure how the rest of the season will go but aphids are the only real problem so far. Water 2x per week so far.

 

[Breadontap]

Mine are doing great. One cascade has reach 8+feet the other cascade is doing well. I have one centennial doing good and one that's a slacker. As you can see I've got some hops coming in on the cascade that's doing the best. Not sure as far as when to pick.

I've heard when there sound like paper but they haven't been there long and they already sound like that to me. I think I'm going to let the hang for a bit before I start picking.

If anyone has any info on picking please let me know.


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[plusultra]

That big one looks ready. Paper sound and they start to open up. jmo looks good.

 

[kenglish427]

Here are my Jax Beach Hops. a couple on the left side are struggling, but all in all, not bad for first year. Ive already got about 6 hop cones on the Centennial. Im pretty excited to see them growing. I have to train the bines on the twine, but I like grabbing a home-brew and working with the hops in the afternoon after work.

 

[Breadontap]

So mine have been growing for about 3 months now. I've fertilized a couple of times and in the last week or so they have pretty much exploded. Not sure what has caused it. So far I've got about 2 dozen cascade cones off one plant. It's the only one producing right now but I think the others aren't far behind.




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[chuckcomm]

Wow very nice. Mine are doing real well and have begun flowering but no cones yet.

 

[kenglish427]

Here is a fresh pic of the hops. They seem to be doing really well. Ive all but quit trying to train the bines because i cant hardly find the ends anymore.

 

[chaos99]

About aphids - I had a bad infestation of aphids on my bines and pepper plants. I used every spray available at HD with no luck. Not too mention the daily rain washed the spray off each time. I bought 750 live ladybugs on eBay for another $12 (including shipping) and they did the trick. Highly recommend trying them. The ones I order came with a solution to help the ladybugs get started and instructions. Aphids were gone in a few days. If you don't use all the ladybugs you can keep the extras in the refrigerator for a few months until you need them again.

 

[Breadontap]

That's awesome! That's probably the coolest aphid solution I've heard of.


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[Snowden]

That's awesome! That's probably the coolest aphid solution I've heard of.


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Biological control at its finest. Ladybugs are awesome predators of baddies in the garden.

Also, a good example of http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integrated_pest_management


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[plusultra]

About aphids - I had a bad infestation of aphids on my bines and pepper plants. I used every spray available at HD with no luck. Not too mention the daily rain washed the spray off each time. I bought 750 live ladybugs on eBay for another $12 (including shipping) and they did the trick. Highly recommend trying them. The ones I order came with a solution to help the ladybugs get started and instructions. Aphids were gone in a few days. If you don't use all the ladybugs you can keep the extras in the refrigerator for a few months until you need them again.

Cool. I sprayed neem oil and it killed a lot of leaves. I just let them go from there and they are not as bad but are still around. I'm going to have to try the ladybug option. I heard that the ladybugs like marygolds 2.

 

[LizardRuss]

Hello! Russ here in Orlando. I've been growing hops in pots here for the last 3 years. My experience has been mixed so far. The first year growing them was by far the best, but now they are struggling. Hopefully my experience will help others who might run into the same problems.

Spider Mite Infestations: These tiny jerks come back every year. I've moved to a new house, and they seem to be less of a problem here. The first and second years were the worst infestations. The only thing I've found that consistently knocks them back is neem oil. I tried lady bugs and they didn't do much to help with spider mites. I also had a pepper plant with aphids, and the lady bugs took care of that in a few days. After that they must have lost interest in my yard and moved on. My advice for using neem oil is to dilute it per instructions, and spray it in the morning so that it has time to dry. Make sure you get all surfaces around the hops, especially ones that are hidden from the sun, since that's where the eggs will be. I also spray down the soil, sides of the pots, trellis, and anything else nearby.

Caterpillars: I've only had caterpillars attack once, and spinosad took care of them right away. Unfortunately spinosad didn't work for spider mites. I think it's because they suck the chlorophyll from the leaves instead of eating the surface, so they don't really ingest much of it.

Vernalization: This year I dug up all my rhizomes and kept them in my fermentation fridge at 55 degrees for 6 weeks in an attempt to vernalize them. At the end of February, I prepped the soil by mixing in decent amount of mushroom compost and re-planted them. They're growing, but just not very well. I think the soil is mostly to blame. I've started fertilizing them with 6-4-6 Citrus & Avocado fertilizer, so hopefully that will help. If they survive this year, I'll mix in fresh compost, and maybe get a soil test kit so I can make some informed adjustments.

Does anyone have recommendations on how often and how much to fertilize Hops?

 

[Breadontap]

This is my first year but I'm having good results. I'm using palm fertilizer once a month, just about a table spoon in each pot.


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