Hop Growers in Southern California

[Hop_Hero]

True that. Nothing like a morning outdoor piss

 

[brewerelated]

To everyone in this thread, how tall are your plants. Mine is about 12 inches. It is a Centennial rhizome that I planted late March. The plant seems to be growing really slow. I wish it would grow faster. I am sure I am doing something wrong.

I started the plant in the ground, but the area I picked didn't get enough light, so I transferred it to a one gallon pot, until I can find a good permanent spot for it.

I don't expect to get any cones from it this first year, but I hope that the plant can survive the year. If I can get the plant to at least sustain itself and develop more roots then I'll be happy.

 

[jperry]

To everyone in this thread, how tall are your plants. Mine is about 12 inches. It is a Centennial rhizome that I planted late March. The plant seems to be growing really slow. I wish it would grow faster. I am sure I am doing something wrong.

I started the plant in the ground, but the area I picked didn't get enough light, so I transferred it to a one gallon pot, until I can find a good permanent spot for it.

I don't expect to get any cones from it this first year, but I hope that the plant can survive the year. If I can get the plant to at least sustain itself and develop more roots then I'll be happy.

I had a similar experience to this, same time last year. My plant (centennial rhizome) only grew to have about six small bines, with the longest being only 4-5 ft. long. I believe that the plants are putting way more energy, towards establishing root mass, instead of growing big green foliage. That was my experience.

 

[DrinkingLounge]

I have three. A williamette which is about 24" tall,


a cascade and columbus. The columbus is huge now, probably 6-7 feet. All planted at the same time.

 

[brewerelated]

@jperry Thanks for the insight. Its good to hear the experience of others since that gives me a point of reference.

@DrinkingLounge, nice pictures. Where did you get those boxes. I need boxes like those.

 

[DrinkingLounge]

@jperry Thanks for the insight. Its good to hear the experience of others since that gives me a point of reference.

@DrinkingLounge, nice pictures. Where did you get those boxes. I need boxes like those.

Thanks, I made them...https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f92/new-hops-containers-trellis-403512/

 

[coosabrew]

Not to create a pissing contest, but my Centennial is at 15 feet. 2nd year plant. Chinook, CTZ, and Nugget at 12 feet. Cascade is being stupid, only 2 feet. Just barely trained. Weird, cause it was the first to pop up.

 

[Hop_Hero]

Here is my first year chinook







My other four plants are like this. 2 first uear chinooks, 1 second year fuggle, and 1 second year centennial

 

[jperry]

View attachment 122326

My other four plants are like this. 2 first uear chinooks, 1 second year fuggle, and 1 second year centennial

All my Chinooks look like this small one. same with my Horizon. My cascade is only around 3 ft.

 

[Hop_Hero]

My one first year chinook is starting to form the first cones and throwing out all kinds of side arms.

Not pictures is My 2nd year fuggle that got a late start but now is growing 2-4 inches a day.

 

[IanJ]

Will be moving to LA (hopefully) by the end of this year, and if so, I'm hoping to get started on a small setup.

Anybody have advice for growing season, planting time, etc. so I can be prepared?

 

[Rami]

http://www.byo.com/component/k2/item/1872-growing-hops-in-containers

Plant in mid-march or early april. Full sun. You'll find tons of info in the hops growing section.

 

[brewerelated]

Here is a picture of my Centennial from about a week ago. It looks to be about 12 feet long. It is forming cones.

Does the plant stop growing once it forms cones? I have not seen it grow much ever since cones started forming.

Do you water the hop plants more now that the cones are forming or do you water them less? Currently I am watering hops about once every 3 days.

When are cones usually ready for harvest in Southern California?

 

[jperry]

1st year Cascade. Best of all my plants this year.
Down below, 2nd year Centennial, doing all right, but probably no cones this year...

 

[brewerelated]

Here are some pictures of my first year Centennial hops growing out of a pot. It has about 40 cones on it. I can't wait to harvest them and brew with them I am sure when I weigh them that it won't come out to much.

I fertilized them with comfrey that is growing from my yard. I just cut comfrey leaves and lay them in the pot with rocks on top of the leaves to prevent them from being blown away by the wind.

I have no clue if I am over or under-fertilizing, but I figure that comfrey leaves would be a slow release form of fertilizing so I don't worry about it too much.

 

[brewerelated]

It might be a little early to ask this question, but when should I expect my second year hops to break dormancy and beginning growing again this season?

Anybody in Southern California have hops that have begun to grow this year yet?

 

[cram]

You'll likely see some movement in early April. I find some varieties come up earlier than others (for instance, Cascades tend to be earlier than Chinook for me). I feel like when they start going is a product of how cool things stay in early spring, with soil temperatures raising, and the nighttime lows becoming warmer, as the major influencing factors.

The warm shot of weather we had the last couple weeks didn't get my hops moving but I had a blackberry bush that was confused about what season we were in.

 

[brewerelated]

Excellent, I am kinda anxious about my second year Centennials that I started in a pot last year. I hope they survived the winter.

 

[cram]

You could take a look-see if you're really nervous. You can identify rhizomes with the new growth buds/tips fairly easily. I'd take that plant out of the pot in the next month or two and divide it into several more rhizomes and plant them, in something larger. More soil volume tends to translate into more vigorous growth and more harvested hops. An eight gallon pot is definitely limiting to even a first year plant, in my opinion. If you're stuck on growing them in containers, see if you can source a 24" or bigger nursery box (like the ones trees and palms tend to be planted in) or a half wine/whiskey barrel makes a good one, too. I find that you have to water hops more in containers but you can control their growing environment better, especially if there's a lot of root competition from mature trees/shrubs, and so on.

 

[brewerelated]

I figured that I would need a bigger planter for my hops. The 8 gallon was a just a temporary solution until I could get a bigger planter or find space in the ground.

Is it okay to divide rhizomes from my plant considering that I grew it from a rhizome just last year and this is just the beginning of its second year?

 

[cram]

Whether or not to divide it will depend on what you find when you transplant it. Ideally, no, you wouldn't divide a second year plant. But if your goal is to transplant it into a planter, and you want to expand your hop yard, then I would divide it, assuming you have multiple rhizomes. You'll need to cut sections of the crown that have the buds/growth tips--a bare section of root won't generally work. It is amazing how little of a cutting can translate into a new plant; however, the larger the rhizome, the more stored energy there is to get things started in the new growing season. B-Hoppy, I believe, reported that placing these new shoots (the buds/growth tips on the rhizome) just slightly above soil level helped motivate their early growth (as opposed to burying them completely).

Worst case, you could plant your Centennial as is, and then purchase a few new rhizomes to expand the yard. Still, I am willing to bet that you can split what you have in two or three, at least. I've cut dozens of rhizomes out of one wine barrel planter in the past from a plant that was only several seasons old--it's amazing how they spread if they are cared for decently well.

 

[brewerelated]

I'm gonna go look for some barrel planters. I like the way they look. I wish I had more room to just put them in the ground, but I'll make due with what I do have access to.

I buried my Centennial rhizome last year with very little dirt. It was extremely shallow. It worked out nicely for me, especially considering that the rhizome I had seem really small.

 

[Hop_Hero]

My 3rd year fuggle has some sprouts but most likely these wont be the primary vine. Some others will sprout and pass these in late march.

My second year chinooks haven't made a move but when I transferred containers there were some buds


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[brewerelated]

@Hop Hero

If you have time, can you post some pictures?

 

[Hop_Hero]

This was taken this morning


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[thaymond]

View attachment 177435

This was taken this morning


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Jealous. This is the scene in IL



Can't wait for growing season!

 

[brewerelated]

@Hop Hero Thanks for the pictures. I can't wait for my plant to start growing.

@Thaymond Do you have hops in the ground right now from previous seasons? Can hops survive having that much snow piled on top of them?

 

[Hop_Hero]

Its good for hops to freeze. It stores energy which results in rapid growth


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[Rami]

Question. Was I supposed to be watering my hops over winter when they were dormant? Because I didn't. And it sure didn't rain at all this winter in San Diego. Thanks

Oh. And I have a couple in barrels and a couple in the ground.

 

[Hop_Hero]

I watered mine a couple times a week. They were in pots so i was worried about them getting dry


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