South Florida Hop Growing

[rgarry]

Planted mine and will see how they go. Was doing to use a twine to make a trellis up to the top of the pool cage. Was going to see if they grow before I spend the time. It won't look pretty but hopefully it will get the job done. I also just put it in the ground. The soil was pretty much clay with some top soil from the years of mulch. Will see

 

[whis121surfing]

I am in Jacksonville by the beaches. I just got my cascade and magnum rhizomes yesterday along with a couple hundred feet of coir yarn made from coconut husk. This stuff looks really strong. I am going to give it a try this year. I got all my rhizomes and coir yarn from freshops.com.

 

[CourtHouseBrewing]

I just put my •2 of: CASCADE HOP RHIZOME
•2 of: CHINOOK HOP RHIZOME
(I hate Fire Ants)
I will grow it to the 2nd floor balcony where it can go horizontal along the railing wires.
Good East / South morning sun with afternoon shade.

 

[edecambra]

Sounds good, wish you both the best.

My transplant cascade is sprouting, and the established one is 6 inches already.

 

[kirkc8099]

Glad I found this thread...I was told that I wouldn't be successful growing hops in South Florida. Just placed an order for the rhizomes (Centennial & Cascades) and heading to the Home Depot.

 

[CourtHouseBrewing]

Sounds good, wish you both the best.

My transplant cascade is sprouting, and the established one is 6 inches already.

So how long should it take to break ground if I did everything right?
I know it is first year so I'm just in a rush.
I have rope ready to sting up to the second floor.
I can't wait.

 

[Rbeckett]

Good on you. Pretty much everyone I have talked to hasn't had any luck growing hops in the panhandle and central Florida.

I am smack dab in the middle of Central Fla and will show whatever results I get. I will have 4 varieties and 10 rhizomes in the ground when the final batch arrives. I have managed to grow all kinds of "southern averse" veggies with just a bit of patience and paying attention to the watering and shade schedules. I am pretty sure it can be done and am currently attempting to prove my theory with a short test plot and trellis system. HTH.

"I got my chair, let's ride...Bob"

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

Cascades from a crown I got from Thejiro(Thanks Man!!) Planted in early march. Sprouted the surface in like a week.

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

Took this pic this morning. Its about a month old now and really starting to take off. Each bine has been growing about 2 inches a day.

 

[Gallagher]

I'm in Tampa and planted just about a week ago. Checked them today and seen this. First time growing hops.

 

[shataway]

I am near West Palm Beach. I planted cascades and centennial almost two weeks ago. I planted the rhizomes nearly 4 inches deep. My cascades is like Gallaghers and the centennials are about half that.

 

[CourtHouseBrewing]

Planted mine March 25th in Orlando and still nothing.
Do I need to keep them wetter?
More mulch?
Can I uncover them to check on them?

 

[CourtHouseBrewing]

I'm in Tampa and planted just about a week ago. Checked them today and seen this. First time growing hops.

View attachment 57083

Awesome!

 

[edecambra]

Planted mine March 25th in Orlando and still nothing.
Do I need to keep them wetter?
More mulch?
Can I uncover them to check on them?

I would let them be, of you are watering them regularly and lightly. Mulch is always good but don't dig, it may do more harm than anything

 

[CourtHouseBrewing]

I would let them be, of you are watering them regularly and lightly. Mulch is always good but don't dig, it may do more harm than anything

Yes I water with the garden every other day.
I have coffee grinds on them and they are in a mound about 2 to 3 inches deep.

 

[kirkc8099]

(Coral Springs, FL) I received my rhizomes and planted (2) Cascades & (2) Centennial on April 7th. On April 12th, the first Centennial appeared and yesterday, the 14th, the first Cascade appeared. So far, so good.

 

[Earthy_Dankness]

Yes I water with the garden every other day.
I have coffee grinds on them and they are in a mound about 2 to 3 inches deep.

I wouldn't put fresh coffee grounds directly on them. Coffee tends to be pretty acidic and hops like a more neutral pH. Also be very careful not to keep it too wet or the roots may rot. Roots need AIR as well as water and nutrients.

 

[edecambra]

Yeah I want clear, frequent light waterings are best.

 

[CourtHouseBrewing]

Great; I'm jealous that others have seen the sprout already.
Thanks for the coffee tip I thought I read to do that.
Our soil here in Florida is mostly sand that we try to beef up with homemade compost.
So I think the roots dry enough in-between watering’s. Should I feed with Miracle Grow?

 

[CourtHouseBrewing]

(Coral Springs, FL) I received my rhizomes and planted (2) Cascades & (2) Centennial on April 7th. On April 12th, the first Centennial appeared and yesterday, the 14th, the first Cascade appeared. So far, so good.

How deep did you plant?

 

[Gallagher]

I just planted mine with the eyes up about an inch under the soil. I just used a potting mix soil that's heavy in mulch content. I was going to wait till it was about a foot tall to add fertilizer so I wont burn them.

 

[CourtHouseBrewing]

I just planted mine with the eyes up about an inch under the soil. I just used a potting mix soil that's heavy in mulch content. I was going to wait till it was about a foot tall to add fertilizer so I wont burn them.

Thanks, Hope I get a sprout soon.
I don't think you can order again till next year.

 

[Earthy_Dankness]

.

 

[Earthy_Dankness]

Great; I'm jealous that others have seen the sprout already.
Thanks for the coffee tip I thought I read to do that.
Our soil here in Florida is mostly sand that we try to beef up with homemade compost.
So I think the roots dry enough in-between watering’s. Should I feed with Miracle Grow?

If you add crushed egg shells with the coffee grounds it will balance out the pH. Peat moss is a great soil addition if you have sandy soil. Just mix it 50/50 sandy soil/peat moss and you'll get alot better moisture/nutrient retention.

Miracle gro tends to be alittle harsh (salty) and imcomplete. Organics are the best choice when it comes to flavor and quality which is what we are going for by growing our own... I highly recomend espoma's "plant-tone" its 5-3-3 all organic and it also has 6-7 different strains of beneficial microbes so it brings life to your soil (as opposed to salt-based fertilizers that will kill your soil over time). Organics will feed at a slower rate for alot longer which makes it kinda hard to burn your plants, so you can put it on heavy.

 

[rgarry]

I have been so busy at work that I haven't checked in 10 days but my centianials had one sticking out. I planted down about 4". I have a ton of rabbits and I think I will have to content with them. I haven't made a trelise wanting to see if they grow first. I think I might just runs some heavy fishing line up the pull cage and make a poor mans trelise.

 

[edecambra]

@ rgarry: If you have any rough twine that would work better, the bines don't have any tendrils so their rough stem has to have something to grab and fishing line is pretty smooth.

@earthy Dankness: Thanks for the fertilizer suggestion. I read a while back that getting some "pro biotics" into your soil would be a long term strategy into controlling pests and aiding plant health but I didn't remember where I had or what the suggestion to use was. Where can you find Plant-tone?

 

[Earthy_Dankness]

@ rgarry: If you have any rough twine that would work better, the bines don't have any tendrils so their rough stem has to have something to grab and fishing line is pretty smooth.

@earthy Dankness: Thanks for the fertilizer suggestion. I read a while back that getting some "pro biotics" into your soil would be a long term strategy into controlling pests and aiding plant health but I didn't remember where I had or what the suggestion to use was. Where can you find Plant-tone?

The "pro-biotics" are little bacteria that colonize and feed the plant's roots by breakdowning the organic nutrients and changing them from a form the plant CAN'T use into a form that a plant CAN use. So the foundation of organic gardening is forming and growing these colonies of microbes and adding a WIDE variety of different organic so that you have a truly COMPLETE range of nutrients available so the plant can make all the complex flavors and grow to its full genetic potiential. Salt-based fertilizers like miracle-gro use chemical salt-versions of the nutrients that are in forms that the plant CAN readily use... So its like a drug, You use it, it seems to help and does well... but it leaves abunch of bad stuff in the soil and kills the microbes which makes it harder for the plant to get their nutrients naturally and thus become dependent on the substitute. And also Miracle-gro has a very narrow range of nutrients and dont have all the micronutrients plants need so it can cause micronutrient deficiency which to the untrained eye is hard to diagnose.

I have been able to find plant-tone at lowes and home depot... sometimes even walmart. Alot of the more home-gardening type nurseries will carry the big 20lb bags which are a good deal.

 

[kirkc8099]

I apologize for this posting, but I am unable to delete it. I was trying to reply to CourtHouseBrewing. On a positive note, I am enjoying a Bell's Hopslam while trying to figure this out.

 

[kirkc8099]

How deep did you plant?

My instructions on the rhizomes I received said to plant them one-inch below the soil. I planted them about 2-inches after reading differently elsewhere, indicating up to 4-inches. One of the Centennials is already close to a foot tall...the other one is a couple of inches and looking good. The Cascades are moving very slowly; one is very small, but has several shoots showing, the second hasn't even broken ground yet...

 

[CourtHouseBrewing]

My instructions on the rhizomes I received said to plant them one-inch below the soil. I planted them about 2-inches after reading differently elsewhere, indicating up to 4-inches. One of the Centennials is already close to a foot tall...the other one is a couple of inches and looking good. The Cascades are moving very slowly; one is very small, but has several shoots showing, the second hasn't even broken ground yet...

Hum... Still no signs and the 25th will be 1 month.
Should I see something by now?
Could they have died?
I guess I will just keep waiting and hoping.