Still a good time to plant hops in Boston?

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SamFen

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Cambridge, MA
Hi all,

I finally have a yard, and want to plant some hop rhizomes, but am worried that I missed the best time to plant them. Here in Boston our last frost was probably at least three weeks ago (although, randomly, after over a week of 70+ weather we may go down to 35 tonight). Will it still be ok to plant them this week or next?

It doesn't matter if I don't get much of a crop this year, so long as I get something nice and healthy in preparation for next year.

Also, my yard probably gets about seven hours of sunlight (afternoon). I really like Cascade and hear they can tolerate most conditions. Do you think that would be enough light for Cascade?
 
No its much to late go ahead and ship them to my address in Ohio and I will salvage them.
Seriously Go ahead and plant them you shouldnt expect anything from them this year anyways. Get them into the ground and next year you will have hops aplenty. Good luck
 
Cool, that's what I hoped.

What about the question of seven hours of afternoon light for Cascade? Will that be enough, or should I pick something that needs less light?
 
I live in Allston and my hops, (glacier and nugget) get only 3 hours of direct morning sunlight. I think 7 hours should be fine for your cascades. Even if its not optimal, you can always get more rhizomes next year, but these are the ones you have now so I would plant them soon.

I hear that we are going to have hard frosts over the next 2-3 nights. If you want, put them in some soil, and wait until the weekend to get them in the ground. Remember to mix in some compost with the soil when you do eventually plant.

Good luck!

Where are you located in boston? any interest in getting together for a brew?

Brian
 
Yes, they are talking about a frost tonight (May 10th). I plan to place 5 gallon buckets over them overnight to keep them from dying from the frost. I popped mine in the ground about a week ago and they are popping out already. I've picked up a couple more and will plant them tomorrow (after the frost). I don't plan on a harvest this year, just would like to establish a good root system in preparation for next year. I am located in Rwvwrw, just north of Boston. I'm sure we'll have similar results.
 
yeah i bet we will too. My hops are in containers on our porch that face north east. That is why we only get crappy, periodic sun.

buckets over the top will protect them well.

BJ
 
Ok, new question (maybe I should have a separate thread...):

Little sunlight (4-6 hours) in the ground, or...

Lots of sunlight (9-10 hours) in containers?

Here's the deal: I was originally thinking of having the hops -- cascade-- grow up the side of my porch. There's really only one place in my small yard that makes sense to grow the hops, and it's a Northwestern corner, with a bunch of tall trees near-by.

BUT, if I grew in a container (maybe a large self-watering Rubbermaid-type container?), I could put it on my fire escape with lots of sunlight, and have the vines grow up the south side of my peaked roof (safely accessible for harvesting) with maybe 9-10 hours of bright sunlight a day.

I don't know how much earth hops need to be happy, and whether the stress of a container is worth the happy sunniness they'd get? Please let me know.

@Brian: Sure, could be. I'm actually in Cambridge, Inman Square. I just bought the last Cascade rhizome from Modern Homebrew Emporium on Mass Ave. :)

@I-Hop: Posting while on the home brew? ;)
 
Since you are rocking first year hops, they are going to put the majority of their metabolism into developing the root. If i had the option, I would grow them in the containers with lots of light and develop a good root stock for next year. If they are in a Rubbermaid tote with some drainage holes, they should be good to go, people have success in 5 gallon buckets which are alot smaller. Then you can transplant next year if you want with a strong plant.

If they are going to grow up your roof, watch the temperature. I bet the air a few inches from roof on a still summer day can get up to 150f easy.

With my 4-5 hours of direct light (and more hours of indirect) I was able to get a total of 4 ounces dried off of 3 first year plants. I thought that was pretty good coming from non ideal conditions and first years. My plants were glaciers and nuggets.
 
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