Hops in Colorado

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Good to know thx. Also - Is planting in June to late? I know i won't get a harvest for 2008 but will they be ok for 2009?
 
Throw em in the ground man. You'll get some growth and maybe some mini-buds but next year you'll be in good shape.
Give em southern exposure and good consistent watering. Get the clay out though.
 
Sweet thanks - i'll proably put them in a big pot. I'm not yet a homeowner so i'd like to move them with me.
 
Milhouse said:
What type of hops do you consider grow the best in CO?

I can't say what grows best. The moment I do, someone else will say differently.
I have huge cascades. My new Magnums are already out of the ground. My old Hallertauers are growing okay. We will see on the others but I know they'll grow fine.

I'm a pretty good gardener so this isn't hard for me.
 
I wanted to grow cascades. but doesn't look like freshops.com has any left.

So what should I grow for a nice arroma hop?

RHIZBG Brewers Gold rhizome $4.50
RHIZCE Centennial rhizome $4.50
RHIZKG Kent Golding rhizome $4.50
RHIZNE Newport rhizome $4.50
RHIZST Sterling rhizome $4.50
RHIZSU Sunbeam rhizome $6.50
RHIZWI Willamette rhizome $4.50
RHIZZS Zeus rhizome $6.50
 
I was gonna wait until next year to grow some hops, but I said to myself "what the hell! Lets grow some hops!" I too, just placed my order.:rolleyes:

Yeah seriously - for 2 plants and shipping its only like 13 bucks. If they don't make it they don't make it, no big loss.
 
Got my six rhizomes in the ground this weeken! :rockin:

Here's hoping to them doing ok at 9000ft! :mug:

They are all over Central City, so I am hoping they should be ok. I am about 10 miles north of there. I gave them a spot with lots of sun. :D

Steve
 
Got my six rhizomes in the ground this weeken! :rockin:

Here's hoping to them doing ok at 9000ft! :mug:

They are all over Central City, so I am hoping they should be ok. I am about 10 miles north of there. I gave them a spot with lots of sun. :D

Steve


Keep us posted on the 9,000ft hop growing. I can't get anything to grow here so I haven't even considered trying hops. Sometimes it sucks living at altitude, but I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.
 
Just planted 1 cascade and 1 goldings in Denver. How long did it take your hops to break ground after planting?
 
Just planted 1 cascade and 1 goldings in Denver. How long did it take your hops to break ground after planting?

Mine took about 2 solid weeks so don't freak out if they don't come up. I like to use BOSS to break up my clayish soil. They're growing a bit slow right now but that's okay.

They're hitting about the 3 inch mark so I expect serious growth in the next week.

My other established plants are pushing 9 feet + already so it's going to be a good harvest this year.

I wouldn't sweat the altitude. Keep em in the sun with plenty of water and you'll do fine.
 
Don't despair Madbare, just keep them nice and watered. Only 1 of my 3 has emerged so far. Make sure you have nice loose soil. Colorado seems to have alot of hard clay thats only good for growing tumbleweeds.
 
I have good faith in our growing conditions out here. I read somewhere that while they enjoy a good watering, the leaves do not like to be moist. So our arid climate should work to our benefit. Also, the rhizome shouldn't get water logged and rot due to our dryness, so long as the clay was broken up well.

I like to mix in some sand with my clay along with a good amount of compost/organic material.

I think my biggest challenge is probably the PH but I'm not 100% dialed in on that stuff yet.

Be careful with any fertilizer additions at the early stage because that could burn the young roots.
 
What I ended up doing was digging the holes and removing the dirt and replace it with potting soil. So they are growing in the potting soil. I mixed it with manure and put fences around each one to keep the critters out. Where is live there is not much for soil, but mostly rocks and decomposed granite. I went out there again and basically really softly moved the top dirt and there are 2 more rhizomes that are ready to pop out. :rockin: So I am 3 for 6 so far.. :D
 
My centennial is about 5 inches high with 2 other sprouts just popping through and my kent golding is just poping up. They both came out in about 2 weeks from planting.

Right now they are in 3 or 4 gallon pots. I really don't want to transplant them so i might just let them be. I've grown a big tomato plant in that pot before so i think they will be ok..
 
I have been growing hops for 15 yrs. Easy to grow. Currently I have 50 feet of hops in 4 beds. After the third year we brewed with the hops but the aphids came to the surface "Aphid Ale", so we have not brewed with them since. We have been controlling the aphids with Lady Bugs. Hops need 4 things: Rough twine to grow on, 2) plenty of water 3) lots of sun 4) good soil**

**Soil...always sounds funny since they are growing wild in foothills with terrible soil and little or no water.

Hopboy
 
I pulled wild hop rhizomes from the foothills above the tracks at Plainview Road and Hwy72. There was 3 feet of snow on them in late April.
 
This picture was taken last week. This is my first year cenntenials. Coming along pretty well.
rOBERTC007.jpg
 
Does anyone want to trade hops? I have Centennial, Saaz and Cascade. I also have some wild hop seeds.

PM me for trades. I am in the Aurora area.
 
Normally I would say mid Aprilish, but if the weather continues to be this nice I would think you could plant them anytime. My 2nd year cascades are about 4-5" tall right now and I was thinking about planting my Columbus and Centennial this weekend. You could always put a blanket on them at night if we do get a cold spell.
 
i got nervous today when i saw my second year rhizomes poking. was about to post, guess just let them grow then. they already look hardy, i'm excited!
 
I planted 2 chinooks and 2 cascades on Monday. We just had a freeze the other night but because I mulched with hay, the mounds never froze.
 
it's supposed to snow here in two days. temps look just above freezing, should just melt off.
 
Yeah, I planted mine here in SLC wednesday, then saw the weather forecast for Sun/Mon (snow both days, overnight lows 25), called freshops, and they strongly recommended I dig them up and stick them back in the fridge until after this next trough moves through.
 
Yeah, I planted mine here in SLC wednesday, then saw the weather forecast for Sun/Mon (snow both days, overnight lows 25), called freshops, and they strongly recommended I dig them up and stick them back in the fridge until after this next trough moves through.

I wouldn't dig them back up, mulch is your friend. Use lots of it!
 
Well, this whole thing has been a series of last-minute decisions, and it looks like I'm not going to have time to get a soil sample processed. Does anyone have some extra tips specific to Northern Colorado soil? Do any of the nutrient levels typically have to be adjusted? And how long should I wait to plant after making any adjustments?

Thanks for the help. :)
 
I picked up some rhizomes from Stomp them Grapes about a week and a half ago. Planted them on 3/28 in pots and are in the window

I've got Cascade, columbus and willamette

the columbus had a little shoot when i planted it and had it just at the top of the soil. it's now 2.5" and with cute little leaves :D
I was actually worried the most about that one as i waited too long to plant and it had mold growing on the rhizome. Trimmed those parts off and planted. So far so good!

hope the other two are going to sprout soon.
*as of this morning 4/4 the Willamette broke the surface!
 
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