So I have these rhizomes coming...now what?

[Wables]

Last night I ordered 12 rhizomes of 5 different varieties. I am now trying to figure out what to do with them. I think I have a plan...let me know what you think. I moved to Duluth, MN late last summer, so I have not yet settled into my yard. My plan thus far is to deer-fence in a 60' X 80' area for grapes, hops, other perenials such as blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, rhubarb, and a 20' X 50' tilled garden. For the hops, I want to rig up a 2 pole trellis with 20', 3/4 or 1" pipe burried 4' into the ground and cemented in. I will run this along the eastern 80' long edge. After guy wires, this should give me about 60' between the poles, with a cable run between them. For the first year, I will plant my hops about 5' off of the centerline of the cable, with the intent of propogating the plants next year to have 24 plants, with the next 12 growing 5' off the other side of the wire. Does this sound like it would work?

A couple of other questions...what should I ammend the soil with when I plant? Manure? Peat Moss? 10-10-10?

Also, I know that for growing corn in small gardens, you can build mini greenhouses over the rows with visqueen (think heavy, clear plastic). This helps keep the moisture in, warms the soil, and protects from frost. Would this be applicable to hops, and give me a couple extra weeks of growing season?

Thanks for the help!

 

[david_42]

Sounds good, except the pipe size. 1" pipe won't handle a high wind. Some people have had good results using chain-link fence top rail, which is 1 3/8ths.

Hops do most of their growing in June & July, so getting an early start won't make any difference.

 

[Seabee John]

I'm growing down here in N. St. Paul, and everything looks pretty good for you. Just keep em in the fridge until it's time to plant (after the last frost) My first year hops grew close to 16 feet.

+1 on amending the soil. I have heavy clay where I'm at so I amended with a 1:1:1 ratio of peat, sand and manure.

Don't forget to water regularly after the shoots come up. (I watered a bit too much to early and killed a few plants before they got started)

here's my 1st year during harvest (those are nuggets on the left)

 

[Wables]

John,
Just curious, what was your yield the first year? What varieties are you growing?

 

[Seabee John]

John,
Just curious, what was your yield the first year? What varieties are you growing?

.5 lb nugget... 2 oz fuggles, .5 oz cascade, .5 oz kent goldings

 

[IrregularPulse]

nice first year plants!!