I want to grow hops!

[drummstikk]

You know, people like to repeat conventional wisdom even though they have no new evidence of information to share!

Why do we think hops only grow well up north? Not because of any controlled experiment, but because that's what farmers think.

Why do farmers think that? Probably because hops have always been grown at high latitudes.

Why have hops always been grown at high latitudes? Who can say for sure without doing an experiment? It may just be that beer was popular at high latitudes, and nobody ever really tried to grow them in Southern Europe.

Plant anyway, Southern Brewers!

 

[rjmaster19]

I'd love to hear an update if you have a min. Since its been a few years either you've got hops coming out of your ears or it was a bust. I'm in Houston (just as hot, but more humid), and planning for hops this spring.

Also if you have any other hop growing advice I'd appreciate it.

Thanks!

 

[oregonbrew541]

you can grow them i know this for a fact my family down south does it.. do your research and find a strain that is tolerant to drought.. and make sure you order them on time, there is a season in which there harvested (the rhizome) and sold.. i recommend not planting in direct sun for instance on a south facing wall using the wall as slight sun protection (due to your climate). if you have trouble getting them to flower because of light ratio get some organic fertilizer high in phosphorus low in nitrogen and mist them once a day for a week and they will flower for sure! good luck! this is all coming from a farmer so the grain of salt is optional but not needed…

 

[Stauffbier]

The ones I planted when I started this thread all died. I had problems with location and also problems with grubs. Last Spring I tried again, and I had a lot more success. Granted I didn't get much yield, but the plants that thrived were very healthy. Cascade did the best out of 8 varieties that I planted. I'm hoping since this is the second year they will do even better.

 

[corkybstewart]

You know, people like to repeat conventional wisdom even though they have no new evidence of information to share!

Why do we think hops only grow well up north? Not because of any controlled experiment, but because that's what farmers think.

Why do farmers think that? Probably because hops have always been grown at high latitudes.

Why have hops always been grown at high latitudes? Who can say for sure without doing an experiment? It may just be that beer was popular at high latitudes, and nobody ever really tried to grow them in Southern Europe.

Plant anyway, Southern Brewers!

I can say that over the past 10-12 years I have planted many varieties of hops in my southern New Mexico backyard and the only ones that have survived more than one season are Cascades. This year I'm planting some native (https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f92/has-anyone-grew-neomexicana-hops-453441/) varieties, and hope to secure some wild rhizomes from nearby in the next month or 2.

 

[rjmaster19]

I've done quite a bit of searching to determine the best hop variety to plant. I've found plenty of descriptions that say "All climates" (what does that mean all climates in the hop growth zone 35 deg lat to 55 deg, or all climates on earth?) I haven't found anything that says this plant will do well in hot and humid conditions.

I have found two posts that say Willamette and Cascade do ok in hot weather, with pictures of decent first year growth. However, the second and third years the plant start to die off. The problem with that is, you never know if they just lost interest or if hops just won't grow in this climate.

I have yet to find someone that has been harvesting hops over 3 or more years in hot weather. If you know of any I would love to hear about it.

My house is east facing, so I'm hoping that they will only get direct sun in the mornings, and not get baked by the sun in the afternoon.

I've narrowed my options to these:
Galena
Cascade
Nugget
Newport
Mount Hood
Centennial

based on climate/yield from:
http://www.northwesthops.com/Is_it_an_aroma_hop_or_a_bittering_hop_s/24.htm

 

[oregonbrew541]

I've done quite a bit of searching to determine the best hop variety to plant. I've found plenty of descriptions that say "All climates" (what does that mean all climates in the hop growth zone 35 deg lat to 55 deg, or all climates on earth?) I haven't found anything that says this plant will do well in hot and humid conditions.

I have found two posts that say Willamette and Cascade do ok in hot weather, with pictures of decent first year growth. However, the second and third years the plant start to die off. The problem with that is, you never know if they just lost interest or if hops just won't grow in this climate.

I have yet to find someone that has been harvesting hops over 3 or more years in hot weather. If you know of any I would love to hear about it.

My house is east facing, so I'm hoping that they will only get direct sun in the mornings, and not get baked by the sun in the afternoon.

I've narrowed my options to these:
Galena
Cascade
Nugget
Newport
Mount Hood
Centennial

based on climate/yield from:
http://www.northwesthops.com/Is_it_an_aroma_hop_or_a_bittering_hop_s/24.htm

Galena, Cascade, and mt hood are some awesome hops lemme tell ya!:rockin:

 

[corkybstewart]

I have yet to find someone that has been harvesting hops over 3 or more years in hot weather. If you know of any I would love to hear about it.

Again, I've been actively growing hops for years, Cascades do great(relatively speaking) Nuggets almost did alright but the 3rd year they just didn't come back up, nothing else has worked here.
The first year I tried Wilamette, Cascade, Nugget and Liberty. By the end of the second season I was down to Cascade and Nugget, the next year just Cascade. I'm a stubborn guy and not unwilling to keep pouring money down a hole so in the following few years I've tried: Nugget again, Mt. Hood, Saaz, Northern Brewer, Challenger, Fuggles, US Goldings, and probably some others that failed so fast I don't remember planting them.
Even with the drought we've had and the failure of my drip system 2 years running I got enough off of 8 Cascades to make 2 batches of beer, this year I have very high hopes for them.

 

[cram]

I didn't see Chinook on the last few posts, so add that one to the list. Chinook is one of my most consistent producers in the hot/dry, full-sun, southerly exposure of southern California. Cascade, Nugget, and Centennial are the next best.

As I change up my hop yard from season to season, Centennial and Nugget are becoming my favorites due to their higher alpha acid and pleasant aroma qualities. Equal harvests of Centennial and Cascade translate into almost twice as much alpha acid "bang for your buck" with the Centennial, although it tends to be that Cascade are heavier producers. Chinook gives me the highest yields per plant, but I tend not to use it up as fast as the other varieties due to its higher cohumulone bite.

Willamette will not grow for me where I live. Tettnanger, despite noble attempts, hasn't produced many cones for me yet (yet!).