My Hops Garden Project

[Gridlocked]

This is my hops garden project that I thought I would photo document mostly to entertain myself. This is the south-facing side of my house and before I started the project it was an extremely shabby and ugly rock area. It had rotten timber walls that came out after we bought the house 3 years ago and I'm FINALLY getting around to working on it. I don't have much time with 2 kids, but my wife has some starter vegetables that are ready to go into the ground so she's putting the pressure on me- which is nice. Thoughts and/or suggestions appreciated

I started my hops rhizomes about a month-and-a-half ago.
Chinook x2 **
Cascade x2
Centennial x2 **
**(one will be planted on my south-facing fence to see what happens)

I might only use two ropes rather than three.

Update as of 5/6/10

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

If that spot doesn't get at LEAST 6 hours of sun. Those plants won't be too vigorous or happy.

 

[Paulasaurus]

That is gonna be awesome! Can't wait to see them lil fellers start climbing. You will have 24/7 web cams correct?

 

[Gridlocked]

If that spot doesn't get at LEAST 6 hours of sun. Those plants won't be too vigorous or happy.

Thanks for the info, but that picture was taken yesterday evening. That spot gets PLENTY of sun being that it's south facing and there is only one sizable tree 30 yards away.

 

[CaliBrewin]

jealous. that looks prime.

 

[Gridlocked]

Thanks man! I hope to have some decent update pictures tomorrow.

 

[Gridlocked]

This picture was taken at 10am. Notice where the sun is casting a shadow.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Very nice looking! Keep up the good work, can't wait to see more pics :rockin:

 

[Gridlocked]

I got my hops into the ground today - finally. The move wasn't great on most of them and I ripped the growth off of one of them.

I have a south facing fence and put one of the Chinook and one of the Centenial plants to see what happens if they have a fence as a home rather than a rope.

 

[Paulasaurus]

Looks great! They're gonna love their new home.

Shared some of your Hop Head Double IPA with family, they absolutely loved it!

 

[Gridlocked]

Here are some updated pics as if 7/6/10

 

[Paulasaurus]

Woot! Nice growth

 

[NoNothing]

looks great man!

Im jealous.

Ive got ONE pot at my moms right now growing, hopefully Ill be putting an offer on a house here soon and be in it next season for some nice hop growing. Its killing me having a plant far from me, renting FTL.

 

[Gridlocked]

I'm petty excited! My hops have run out of string to climb but I have fuzzies and will be likely able to harvest a good amount of Cascade, and a bit of Chinook. Both Centennial plants are small and the other Chinook didn't make it...

This is a picture of the far eve of the house, two stories off of the ground.

 

[timeeater101]

Very good idea off of the house. Very curious how they will do on the fence. I've always heard they do better the higher they climb, but have thought about planting some on the fence around my orchard. My Cascades did better then my Chinooks the first year I planted and this year the Cascades hit the top of the barn before the Chinooks really even got started. Please keep updating.

 

[Gridlocked]

Thanks tim, I just figured it made the most sense based on the location that I had for a garden. Looking back, I wish I would have planted a Cascade on the fence instead of a Chinook and a Centennial because both of the Cascades that I planted have grown SIGNIFICANTLY faster than any of the others so I don't know if it's location or the plant. The Chinook on the fence is doing better than the Centennial, but it also has two prominent shoots rather than multiple. The Chinook is looking like it will produce some hops this year as well, the Centennial is not. I planted them along the fence just to see what happened, so I will keep updating

 

[HopHead24]

Wow that is going to smell awesome when the vines mature. I tore all mine out when I moved. I need to start some again soon. Can't wait to see more pics!!

 

[uechikid]

Great job.

 

[Gridlocked]

Here are some more pics as of tonight. I have had a bit of trouble with some caterpillars but I hope to have that under control. I'll be checking them every day until harvest. Bastards. They did an amazing amount of damage in a VERY short time - taking about 20 palm sized leaves off of one shoot from each plant. I sprayed with a liberal amount of Bt, threw down some more manure and watered with BioBloom this afternoon. I have a bottle of caterpillar Killer but am waiting to use that. The good news is that the shoots that were eaten are already putting out new leaves.

Although they are small, I have multiple hundred Cascade cones and I will end up with some Chinook as well, but not NEARLY as many. I did some pruning today and took the leaves and side shoots off of the bottom lowest few feet of all four plants I have going.

This picture didn't come out as I wanted. The idea was to show the massive amount of cones.

I have not done ANY training to this Centennial. It doesn't get quite as much sun as the other three which is likely why it's so small.

I have to train this Chinook about every-other-day. It's doing VERY well. It is going to be very cool harvesting hops on a chain link fence.

The two big Cascades and the little shop of horrors tomato plant in the middle. The squash plant to the left has it's own gravitational pull and I think it may have swallowed one of my dogs.

 

[Gridlocked]

I had some problems with caterpillars:

 

[Gridlocked]

And as of this weekend.

This is the Cascade that the caterpillars attacked. These are some tough plants!

I call this "The Little Centennial that could..." It's really taken off in the past week.

This is the Cascade at the far end of the house. The cones toward the top are about 4" tall. Not bad for first-years.

The are the tiny cones below are on the Centennial on the corner of the fence.

The Chinook on the back fence is doing really well. Quite a few cones.

 

[jangelj]

nice pics, man. And thanks for following up so often with updates. It really tells the "story" of growing hops. keep posting!

 

[timeeater101]

WOW, they have done some growing since I last checked. I am impressed how they did on the fence seems like they did pretty good. My cascade that i planted last year and did so good at the beginning of the year this year, kinda slowed down growing and didn't produce much cones. But the one that was slow growing in the beginning has tons of cones. Not sure what thats about. Sorry, straying from topic. Anything you would do different?

 

[Gridlocked]

Hindsight being 20/20, let's see...

The Transplant: I would have taken more care when I moved the plants from the pots to the ground. When I flipped the pots over, the dirt fell apart exposing the roots and some of them were really damaged, so I would have been more careful with that. The Chinook that didn't make it has about a foot of growth that snapped off when I transplanted it and I'm sure that is why it didn't make it.

The Rope: I also would have shopped a bit more for some heavier duty twine or hemp rope. I used some crap string that I had on hand and although it has not broken yet, It has stretched quite a bit.

Pest Chemicals: I also would have had some anti-pest chemicals on hand from the start so I could have treated at the first sign of those damn caterpillars.

Garden Layout: Oh, and I would not let my wife plant the mother of all tomato plants near my hops.

Next Year mod 1: Next year I plan to use a store-purchased (or Paulasarus built) trellis for each plant and run a few ropes up from the top of that for the main two or three shoots. As the plants grow, I hope to train them to fill the trellises, giving me more hops closer to the ground for easier harvesting. With this, I will also plan for the plants to fill the string and I will leave enough extra rope so that I can untie the top and allow for more vertical growth by spooling up the lower rope kind of like a vertical tread mill or something.

Next Year mod 2: Another plan for net year will be to section off the growing area of dirt so I don't end up with a yard and planter full of hops. I will either pound sections of stainless steel or marine/exterior plywood into the ground on the left and right of each growing section.

Next Year mod 3: I will be putting at least one 55 gallon drum in the back corner of the garden as a catch for rain water and as a holding tank from my sump pump discharge. I will be putting a ball valve at the bottom (like a kettle spigot) which will go to pressure compensating drip line to irrigate the garden so I can water easily and use my water more effectively.

Next Year More Rhizomes: I hope to get a few more rhizomes of different verities onto the fence for next year - those are doing great and the harvest at waist height is going to be SWEET...

I'm glad that I purchased two of each rhizome and that I decided to put a few of them near the fence to see how they did. I also appreciated having a couple bags of manure and the BioBloom fertilizer on hand.

 

[tschoolman]

Nice! Before you get worried about the Centennial, wait until year 2. My cascade produced alot in the first year, not much in the Centennial and Tettnang. This year, the Centennial has taken over, and I couldn't keep up with seperating it from the other rhizomes! What part of Minnesota are you in - would be nice to compare notes?

 

[SAMPLER]

I second the rain barrel. The water bill has taken a hit this summer as has the grass. I have moved by lawn waterings to hops waterings only. The rain barrel will definitely make a difference.

 

[Schecter]

Wow. I'm extremely impressed. Very inspiring, grid. Now I just need to become a gardener...

 

[Paulasaurus]

Looking really good man! And great ideas for next year, especially adding more rhizones.

But a store bought trellis? You can easily build your own. Lets pick up a few telephone poles and get you setup proper

 

[Gridlocked]

Nice! Before you get worried about the Centennial, wait until year 2. My cascade produced alot in the first year, not much in the Centennial and Tettnang. This year, the Centennial has taken over, and I couldn't keep up with seperating it from the other rhizomes! What part of Minnesota are you in - would be nice to compare notes?

Thanks tschoolman! Yeah, I'm not really worried - just comparing I guess. I'm sure next year is going to be a cone bonanza. :cross: I'm out west on Highway 7 in St. Bonifacius.

I second the rain barrel. The water bill has taken a hit this summer as has the grass. I have moved by lawn waterings to hops waterings only. The rain barrel will definitely make a difference.

We've been really fortunate in Minnesota this year for rain as they have been watered by the heavens just about every two or three days. I've soaked them a handful of times but I would have probably used zero city-water which would have been awesome. I've used my irrigation system twice all summer and I can barely keep the grass to a decent length.

Looking really good man! And great ideas for next year, especially adding more rhizomes. But a store bought trellis? You can easily build your own. Lets pick up a few telephone poles and get you setup proper

Yeah, I could easily build my own and/or see edited post above. You're right though, I will have more time next summer as both boys will be walking/running around and able to entertain themselves more. Good call. I have been wondering how to utilize the field behind my house - I'm sure the owner wouldn't care.

for all the replies, everyone!

 

[rniles]

Looks gorgeous! The only thought I have is where the rhizomes are planted near the fences, you'll want to make sure you have access to the roots so that you can trim them every few years or so.

I think that without some trimming, they WILL spread wildly. Just a thought that popped in my head.

 

[JensenBrew]

I've got a chainlink fence that just backs up to some farm land that sounds like it would work well for growing some hops. I also have a fenced-in garden next to my house where I could implement something like you have done.

Sounds like you are liking the convenience of the fence. Should I just try that route first?

 

[Gridlocked]

Looks gorgeous! The only thought I have is where the rhizomes are planted near the fences, you'll want to make sure you have access to the roots so that you can trim them every few years or so.

I think that without some trimming, they WILL spread wildly. Just a thought that popped in my head.

Ha. Yep, that was the idea for the fence hops - let them go wild.

--> Jensenbrew:
Yes, the convenience is awesome and they seem to be happy as the hops on a rope, so why not? If I were you, I would absolutely go for it but remember that if you can get to them, so can dogs, deer, animals, etc. If it doesn't work out, you're out five bucks (or whatever the cost of a rhizome).

 

[JensenBrew]

Good point about the threat of animals. We do get some deer back there and I would have to keep a close watch on my dog. Are hops poisonous to Dogs? I thought I heard that some where.

 

[Gridlocked]

yep, you don't want your dogs eating your hops, it is poisonous.
I hope my dogs have the sense to leave mine alone, but I guess I'll find out. Only the stupid one would eat them anyway...

I did some youTube watchin' over the weekend and found that dogs will die if they eat the hops. It sends them into some kind of hypothermia and the guy on the video said his dog ate some as was gone in about 16 hours. That would suck, so yes, be careful!!!

 

[Gridlocked]

I've been keeping a close eye on the hops and, of course, I've been looking forward to the harvest but I think the time has come. This is kind of a difficult thing because I've only smelled and experienced pellet hops, so I don't know what I'm looking for, but thanks to Paulasarus, youTube, threads on here I think I have a pretty good idea of what to look for.

They feel papery. When I squeeze them, they spring back. Some of the pedals are browning. The Lupulin is gold. My hesitation comes from the things still smelling like a weed rather than like a hop.

This one was up near the top of the vine, but there are also cones with brownish pedals at head height.

A little video of the hop pinch...
http://s54.photobucket.com/albums/g82/SuperTedMaximus/Hops/?action=view&current=video-2010-09-02-18-01-41.mp4

 

[Paulasaurus]

Maybe you should boil up a 12 oz test batch of cascade pale ale to be absolutely positively sure. I'd like to see the grain bill on that batch.

Lupulin looks really nice and gold in them photos.

 

[tschoolman]

I think you're good to go Gridlocked. I'm starting my Centennials and Cascades this weekend (and probably should have started earlier). Tettnag needs a little time.

I've not found my cones to smell like weeds when I break them open though. When I do, I get a great hop smell, and fingers get sticky with the lupulin.

 

[Gridlocked]

Yeah, I think I'm going to start a-pickin' this evening after I clear off enough room in my garage for my screen door that I stole from my downstairs patio entrance last night. I know that I'm going to have to do multiple harvests, so I anticipate the need to get up there a few times. My Chinook has newly developed spurs, but that one is on the fence so no climbing needed.

My harvest plan: Pick, climb down, THEN open a beer. wait, what fun is that?!

 

[tschoolman]

Have the beer first to steel your resolve, and then a beer after to relax!

 

[Gridlocked]

I like where you're going here. I think a bomber of my Imperial Stout (10% or so) should do the trick. HA!