organic indoor hops

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organic-fanatic

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I am relatively new to beer making and i apologize if this is a common topic but do any of you grow your own hops indoors organically i have been into indoor vegetable gardening for years and was curious if i could combine this skill to make an incredible beer
 
Interesting idea (and no, it definitely is not a common topic). I have a growing room downstairs but I don't think I could grow a 20' to 40' vine that requires full sun to produce. Do you have that many grow lights? Also, hops need a ton of root space. I believe someone mentioned a tap root that went to double digits in length. It's your space and I'd never tell anyone not to try to grow something but I think you will be in for a challenge. If you do it, let us know how it turns out.
 
Hops need massive amounts of space, both for the roots and the bine. They also need 12-16 hours of direct sunlight a day. This is three months growth:

2113-img_0985.jpg


Although it's a bit difficult to see, almost all of the cones are on the top third of the bines. And each plant in this photo has four bines.
 
david_42 said:
Hops need massive amounts of space, both for the roots and the bine. They also need 12-16 hours of direct sunlight a day. This is three months growth:
]

+1...if you could actually see the root system of an average age hop plant, you'd realize why they need so much room...
 
what about force flowering the plant and lst or scrog the vine if you grow something outdoors of course its going to be way larger by cultivating indoors you can cut the veg time down so you dont end up with a 20ft plant and you have to root manage and manage the canopy correctly i think a 4ft by 4ft scrog could hold a 10 or 15 foot plant easily
 
check out yahoo's grow-hops group:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Grow-Hops/

i'm interested in trying my hand at growing hops this spring, although probably outdoors.

as for indoor growing, you probably couldn't optimize a plant's yield, but with the right advice and planning you might be able to get a pretty good crop indoors.

there's at least one other plant in the same family as hops that can, i hear, be grown indoors to quite a bit of success. we're not supposed to talk about that one though, so you're on your own as far as research.
 
david_42 said:
Can you translate your last to non-organic?:D
SCROG is short for Screen of Green.

There are two mass production types of indoor growing (used a lot by MJ growers who know what they are doing). Sea of Green is one. Screen of Green is the other.

In Sea of Green, you use a maximum density of small plants to fill the space below a lamp. You only let them go in the vegetative (growth) state for a short time from a rooted cutting before you switch them to flowering state. That way you get short plants and the light reaches a greater percentage of the flowering area, and gives better yield than big plants that were left in the vegetative state for a longer time.

SCROG uses a screen over the top of your plants. You train them all over the underside if the screen to maintain a flat vegetative surface. The screen holds them down. When you go to flowering stage, you let the plant grow through the screen. Another very efficient and effective way to maximize yield and lighting.

I've been wondering about doing this myself. Has anybody here rooted cutting from hops?
 
thanks for the explanation mr x im sure you can root a cutting of hops the are much harder plants to clone but im sure there is a technique suitable for hops i do not see a problem cultivating them indoors im going to give it a shot using a 1000w hps or cmh and a 4ft by 4ft screen all organic
 
organic-fanatic said:
thanks for the explanation mr x im sure you can root a cutting of hops the are much harder plants to clone but im sure there is a technique suitable for hops i do not see a problem cultivating them indoors im going to give it a shot using a 1000w hps or cmh and a 4ft by 4ft screen all organic
What else do you grow indoors?
I have been considering a greenhouse or a 'sunroom' off the side of the house for several years, herbs, ferns, bromilliads, and orchids. Right now the orchids are in the house, and the rest is non-existent.

I had a friend who did a lot of hydroponic in a big greenhouse in Fla. and went around to high end restaurants selling the stuff. Heirloom tomatoes, herbs, baby greens, etc.

What kind of power bill is associated with a 1Kw light, or perhaps several?
 
organic-fanatic said:
thanks for the explanation mr x im sure you can root a cutting of hops the are much harder plants to clone but im sure there is a technique suitable for hops i do not see a problem cultivating them indoors im going to give it a shot using a 1000w hps or cmh and a 4ft by 4ft screen all organic
One other possibility is to hang a light (no reflector) and let the plants surround the light and grow up in a vertical manner.
 
My wife has a green thumb and set up some lights indoors (400w MH, and one of those crazy looking 125W compact fluorescent) a couple years back. We've grown hydro tomatoes, and kitchen herbs. We also start lots of seeds that eventually go into our organic outdoor garden. Last year I planted 3 hop rhizomes (Cascade, Chinook and Glacier) outside. Maybe I'll take a cutting once they're back up this spring and see if I can't make something happen indoors next winter.
 
Possible sure, economically feasible I doubt. The cost of powering the lights would be more than the market value of hops.

My outdoor cascade bine on a 24' trellis yielded less than a pound. Say $2 an ounce, that's only $32 worth of power to play with before you're upside down.
 
Air layering hops is an option, but a quick dip 1000ppm IBA-5, PEAT:pERLITE under modest mist is another. Hops can easily be grown indoors, as long as you provide it with everything it needs. Humidity, correct and consistent nutrient and pH levels (any variety of aquaponics can ensure correct and consistent nutrient and pH levels). It takes time and work to create a grow room that can really provide everything Humulus lupulus requires.

You have to be sure to have adequate air flow, provided by intake and outtake fans (preferably the T-D series - quiet and efficient) and you also have to have control over humidity levels and carbon dioxide levels. Considering carbon scrubbers or air purifiers are also an excellent idea, clean air is good air. Of course you have to provide the light, which can be done with any serious MH/HPS combo ballast - wattage can be assed by how much space you have obviously.

And to those who think the amount of money that is needed to run this stuff - think again. Shouldn't cost much more than 12 or 13 bucks, and if you're someone with solar power, then you're in really good shape.

Like others have said, LST or SCROG can be utilized. Happy growing folks.
 
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