Growing Hops in planters

[larrybrewer]

Has anybody tried growing hops in a planter? I am interested in starting some rhizomes this way, and maybe leaving them permanently in large pots. Is this futile?

I have approval from SWMBO to rip out the shrubs in front lawn and plant hops there.

PROST!

 

[EvilTOJ]

It will work for the first few years, but hops create huge root systems and ultimately will need to be planted in the ground. I've grown them in 5 gallon buckets their first year, and I recommend using wine barrels cut in half for planters. Seriously.

 

[KiltLifter]

I used 1/2 barrels for years when I was renting and moving a lot. You have to feed more if it's stuck in a barrel, and be careful it doesn't dry out, but they work great.
I drilled a few holes in the bottom of the barrel to let excess water drain. When I discovered hop shoots in my lawn, I discovered that the crafty little plant had sent roots out the holes into the yard!
Most of the places I rented were "infested" with hops by the time I left, darn!

 

[JarrodH]

I have also been using half wine barrels for my two hops (Tet and Northern brewer) and they came out with a decent yield for the first year. I second the notion that you have to be carefull they dont dry out, but they seemed to grow fine in the barrels. In the next year or so I will probably plant mine now that I have a more stable location.

 

[david_42]

Just a side note, if part of your planting area is shady, get a Sunbeam. It has a chlorophyll deficiency and yellow leaves. Very ornamental and the hops are similar to Saazer.

 

[xpoc454]

Where do you buy half barrels? DO they sell them in hardware stores in the midiwest?
I am planning to start my furst this spring also. We should keep this up to date and see how we all do.

 

[JarrodH]

Where do you buy half barrels? DO they sell them in hardware stores in the midiwest?
I am planning to start my furst this spring also. We should keep this up to date and see how we all do.

I bought mine at Home Depot. I have seen them in other hardware stores as well.

 

[magnj]

I think I'm going to try that. I'm pretty sure I'll be moving around a bunch over the next 5 years and it'd me nice to have them semi-portable.

 

[McKBrew]

I used some of those large plastic planters from Home Depot (20GAL I think). The biggest thing is getting a stable support for them to grow up. My 3/4" electrical conduit wasn't really sturdy enough and when the wind caught them they blew over.

 

[TXCrash]

You can also go to a nursery supply store (not sure if there are many in other parts of the country) and get HUGE plastic planters (basic black - what trees, etc come in). I have my blueberries in big planters (roughly 1/2 wine barrel sized) - think I paid $8 each and they're on their 3rd year with no sign of deterioration...

Definitely will take some research and calling - but an economical alternative to wine barrels if aesthetics isn't tantamount

 

[xpoc454]

I did see some nice half barrels at lowe's this weekend. Though I thought they would be larger. They arent what I consider full size barrels.
If you use them or big planters, do you guys plan on sinking them in the ground some ?
Maybe half way?

 

[McKBrew]

I did see some nice half barrels at lowe's this weekend. Though I thought they would be larger. They arent what I consider full size barrels.
If you use them or big planters, do you guys plan on sinking them in the ground some ?
Maybe half way?

Mine sat on top of the ground and worked fine. The only issue I had was with the main pole not being sturdy enough for the application. This year I'm using wood for the upright and anchoring it to my fence.

 

[xpoc454]

Currently my plan is to maybe halfway bury a half barrel inthe ground to give it sturdiness and allow for more height. Than maybe run 2-3 lines up to my gutter in a semi wide arch. Have the lines be anchored somehow to barrel.
Im not sure about this yet.
I don't think using a metal pole seems very safe, considering it would be a great lightning magnet. The other option of using a long peice of wood, like a landscaping timber, seems to me that it wouldnt look good close to my house.
My third option is I have a tall sunroom on my house that faces south. Its roof is perpendicular to the rest of the house. Thus I would have an anchor set of points much higher up. I currently have 2 sets of old cloth awnings (one in need of repair). My thought is maybe I could have 3 bushes growing up. The leaves would cool and block the sun in the summer yet fall away and help heat in the winter?

 

[JarrodH]

I did see some nice half barrels at lowe's this weekend. Though I thought they would be larger. They arent what I consider full size barrels.
If you use them or big planters, do you guys plan on sinking them in the ground some ?
Maybe half way?

I used foot long steel camping stakes and that seemed to work for the first year. I am building a new structure for the hops since I moved, so its probably going to change a bit this spring.

 

[CentralWABrewing]

Yep, I went to HomeDepot and bought some cedar fencing(4in wide) and made 14 cubic inch boxes with a false bottom for the babies.
The next year, I'd simply flip them on their tops and push the bottom through the top. Simple and no damage to the root structure.
But yes, that will only work for maybe 2 years before the bine starts getting smaller.

 

[Essex]

larrybrewer...have you considered grow bags? The 10 gallon black ones are only a buck or two apiece. White Easi-Lift Grow Bags are nicer looking, double stitched and will last for years. I use 10 gallon black bags for eggplants and common peppers and the 15 gallon Easi-lifts for large plants such as brugmansia and bhut jolokia peppers. Not sure the price now but Easi-lifts were around $4 each.

Hadn't thought about putting hops in one but now that you mention it, I'll try it this spring.

 

[frijole]

where do you get the hop plant from to start?

 

[JarrodH]

where do you get the hop plant from to start?

You start with a rhizome which you can get from places like freshops.com or other sites. Its part of the root which you plant and then it grows.

 

[flyangler18]

Did some searching this morning as I'm likely going to be planting my rhizomes in half-barrels once they come in.

Incidentally, Chris Colby from BYO was interviewed by James Spencer of Basic Brewing Radio on this week's podcast, discussing container growing.

http://cdn1.libsyn.com/basicbrewing/bbr02-05-09container.mp3

I'm trying to visualize the set-up. Were you orienting the pots around a center stake and running twine to the top to allow the bines to climb?

 

[knownikko]

Rather than start a new thread I guess I'll just ask in here.

I'm planning on growing two varieties this year in large containers (about the size of half-barrels). I'm getting ready to order rhizomes and I'm wondering if I should plant one or two (of the same variety of course) in each pot.

The side of me desperate for success says that they're cheap and "two must be better than one", but we all know that isn't necessarily true. I understand the reasons for keeping different varieties separate, but don't know if two rhizomes of the same variety will compete in the same way.

My main motivator here is to make sure I don't get a dud rhizome that won't grow and end up with an empty pot all summer long.

Thoughts?

 

[flyangler18]

Rather than start a new thread I guess I'll just ask in here.

I'm planning on growing two varieties this year in large containers (about the size of half-barrels). I'm getting ready to order rhizomes and I'm wondering if I should plant one or two (of the same variety of course) in each pot.

The side of me desperate for success says that they're cheap and "two must be better than one", but we all know that isn't necessarily true. I understand the reasons for keeping different varieties separate, but don't know if two rhizomes of the same variety will compete in the same way.

My main motivator here is to make sure I don't get a dud rhizome that won't grow and end up with an empty pot all summer long.

Thoughts?

Coincidentally, I was thinking the same thing myself.

 

[HBHoss]

IIRC rhizomes grow laterally, parallel to the ground as opposed to deep. I was considering using horse troughs and have 2 plants/trough. How does that sound?

 

[IrregularPulse]

Rather than start a new thread I guess I'll just ask in here.

I'm planning on growing two varieties this year in large containers (about the size of half-barrels). I'm getting ready to order rhizomes and I'm wondering if I should plant one or two (of the same variety of course) in each pot.

The side of me desperate for success says that they're cheap and "two must be better than one", but we all know that isn't necessarily true. I understand the reasons for keeping different varieties separate, but don't know if two rhizomes of the same variety will compete in the same way.

My main motivator here is to make sure I don't get a dud rhizome that won't grow and end up with an empty pot all summer long.

Thoughts?

I planted two rhizomes last year. 1 each of two varieties. My cascades never even sprouted but my Mt. Hood did. I plan on uprooting both the spring and planting in containers. I'm afraid weeds took over last year from them being in the ground next to our house. So I hope to isolate them into potters this year, maybe order another rhizome or two to join them.

 

[sirsloop]

I picked up two pretty large planters this year. I have a 2nd year EKG and 2nd year Nugget plant going in it. These are facing south and will be on my deck. I'm going to be using 2-3 sections of 2x2 treated pine board for the uprights, tied down in the corner of my deck. I watered consistently last year to keep a tomato plant (crazy water), basil, cilantro, and hops going. I think small planters caused the tomato and hops to suffer. This year I'm hoping the larger planter will hold a little more water through the hot summer days. Pics to follow in the upcoming months.

 

[jabbott]

I'm using a homemade self-watering container called an EarthTainer to grow hops this year. It has over 3 cubic feet of potting mix and an 8 gallon water reservoir. It's been a little less than a month since planting them and they are already 5-7" tall and growing quite nicely each day. You could probably also use an Earthbox to grow hops but those containers aren't as big.

 

[Mutilated1]

I was certain that my hops from last year were dead except for my Willamettes, but tonight I was walking around in my yard with my Pellet Gun looking for something to shoot when I saw a familiar looking leaf in the ground. I got down a looked closer and sure enough it was a hop bine, but instead of growing up it was growing along the top of the ground sort of hidden in the grass. So I got to investigating closer and found that there were several bines some 6-7 feet long. So I dug it up to move it to a better place and was able to untangle most of it and get it planted in an old brew bucket with some holes drilled in the bottom for drainage and filled with organic potting soil. Watered it real good and mixed up a gallons of miracle grow at 1/2 strength to get it going and not shock it from getting dug up. Apparently this particular hop plant is pretty hardy since it survived several cuttings with the mower and a lawn weed treatment.

I've got a few long pieces of bine that broke off when I was trying to untangle it from the grass, and they have roots coming off them so I think they will likely grow too. I've got them in water right now cause it was getting dark when this happened and I didn't have a chance to do anything else. But I'm going to treat them with some Dragon Rootone and plant them too.

The 5 gallon container is really just temporary till I can get to this weekend and figure something else out. But whatever I plant them in, I think its going to have to be a container of some kind.

 

[MrFishy]

I've been interested in the same and after some research I've come up with a few things you might want to look at-

A good article on how to grow hops in containers-
http://***********/stories/recipes/article/indices/37-hops/1926-growing-hops-in-containers

A radio show with Vinnie Cilurzo (of RRBC) talking about growing hops (about 1:30). They do also talk about growing in containers.
http://thebrewingnetwork.com/shows/...day-Session-01-15-06-Hops-2-w/-Vinnie-Cilurzo

Self-irrigating planters might also save you some time. Same idea as earthtainer mentioned earlier.
http://www.homegrownevolution.com/2009/04/self-irrigating-planter-resources.html

 

[Jawbox0]

So, if you have seasons, what do you do with your hop plants in the winter? Do you end up having to bring the containers in the basement, or do they survive the winter outside? I'm concerned since a container is totally exposed to -30F or worse without much snow cover for insulation(compared to ground planted hops).

 

[Randar]

So, if you have seasons, what do you do with your hop plants in the winter? Do you end up having to bring the containers in the basement, or do they survive the winter outside? I'm concerned since a container is totally exposed to -30F or worse without much snow cover for insulation(compared to ground planted hops).

It's dependent on your zone, I would say. In zone 5 and probably even 4 they should be fine in planters. Otherwise you can put them in an outdoor shed once they are dry and dormant in the late fall or early winter.

 

[EvilTOJ]

Just leave em outside as if they were in the ground. If you're worried about it moving them into an unheated garage will work too. Don't move them inside, it'll stay too warm.

 

[knownikko]

FWIW, I planted some cascade and willamette last year in large ceramic containers and they did about as well as everyone says first year plants will do. They sat outside all winter with a layer of leaf mulch over them, and as of a couple days ago have broken ground again.

I plan on letting them do their thing this year in the containers. Next year I hope to be a little more settled somewhere I can plant in the ground and will probably dig up the crowns to harvest some rhizomes.

 

[CowtownCJ]

Hi all

I just planted my first rhizomes two weeks ago in large planters and know I'm getting ready to build my trellis but I have some questions. Since my plants are in a pot not in the ground how tall should I expect them to get? What are some of the trellis designs that you all have used for hops in pots?

Thanks

 

[Rhoman]

My first year Centennial, two Cascades and a Tettnanger are all about 15 feet above their containers (18" planters) - hop burrs are all over my Centennial and I'm expecting them soon on the Cascades... be prepared for a lot of growth!

 

[jabbott]

I've been growing hops in an Earthtainer over the last couple of years and it has certainly been interesting. I chose Willamette and Golding varieties. The first year, the Willamette variety seemed to grow the best, but the opposite happened this year. I've lived in apartments (and now a condo) so the amount of vertical growing room and available sunlight for the hops has been fairly restricted. Because of that, they tend to grow in any direction they can, and I think their growth has been somewhat stunted. I included photos below of the yield and the plants after two years of growing (I did not get any yield the first year). The total weight of the hops was only 1/8 oz -- not enough for the types of beers I want to brew!

I think given better sunlight and vertical growth area, the hops would have done much better. Next year I'm going to see if I can put the Earthtainer at ground level next year and run a few lines of paracord down to it from the 2nd floor.

This was my first time growing hops, so I'm not entirely sure how it compares to growing in the ground. I was shocked at the beginning of the second growing season -- the hop vines had started growing a few inches out of the soil, even though we had a long, cold winter (-14F one day) and I hadn't even watered them yet! Hops are amazingly hardy as a plant.

Here is a time-lapse video I posted last year of the hops as they were growing. I had no idea they rotated to find things to latch onto!

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CI7KU1Nf-bc"].[/ame]

Anyway, the whole experience has been fun, although not the yield needed for homebrew and certainly not cost effective (the Earthtainer was pretty costly and time consuming to assemble). Maybe next year the yield will be better!

FYI - I did my first homebrew this August called The Savior and it turned out great! It is a Cherry Russian Imperial Stout. I ended up using a lot of other hops from the homebrew store, as well as a lot of Chinooks that a friend grew here in Boulder. My hops were a small contribution but the end result was very tasty and worth every minute of the effort.

 

[larrybrewer]

That is an awesome time-laps video!

I have noticed the hops in my yard love to spread out and shoot up everywhere. Yours are probably forming a root ball inside that container. I got about that size yield my first year in the ground. This year I got about the same (it was a poor growing season I guess). I need to look into fertilizer or nutrients of some kind for next season.

 

[ChshreCat]

I'm getting ready to grow hops for the first time this spring. Probably going to give earthtainers a try.

 

[larrybrewer]

If your aim is to get hops for brewing, putting them into the ground is a much better choice (if you have that option).

 

[ChshreCat]

Not really an option for where I want to put them. Best planting spots don't have much sun. Best spots for sun don't have anywhere to plant. Catch 22!

 

[jabbott]

That is an awesome time-laps video!

I have noticed the hops in my yard love to spread out and shoot up everywhere. Yours are probably forming a root ball inside that container. I got about that size yield my first year in the ground. This year I got about the same (it was a poor growing season I guess). I need to look into fertilizer or nutrients of some kind for next season.

Thanks, the video was fun to make.

As for growing in ground vs. container, yeah the ground is definitely better if you have that option. I unfortunately don't (land in Boulder County is about $1+ million an acre).

 

[Glongo]

Where do I get sprouts or seeds to grow my own hopps? anyone have any good suppliers?