Texas Hop Garden

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Afternoon sun is almost definitely the cause and not the newspaper - I would guess.

I have 2 cascades in 15 gallon buckets, that I've had for about 2 years now. They do best with morning sun only and of course they like the water and fertilizer. I think honestly an area with morning sun and then reflected light - but shade, in the afternoon would be perfect.
 
Here is an update on my garden. These photos were taken the morning of 4-15-11.

Nugget4-15-11.jpg


Nugget

Cascade4-15-11.jpg


Cascade

Good luck to all the other TX hops growers! :mug:
 
i like the way you got the twine going out. I am gonna stake some wood in the ground and run it out like that. The wind blew down my bamboo teepe this weekend so i gotta try something else.
 
So far the twine system I have seems to be working well. All the climbing bines get enough sunlight to be happy. The nugget has really taken off. The tallest bine is growing about 4-6" a day now. My cascade is coming along, but I expected (based on other posts re: hops growing) the cascade to dominate. I also noticed that the nugget has just 2 major bines, but the cascade has 1 major bine and about 4 smaller bines. Should I trim these smaller bines or would that be a bad idea?

Thanks!
 
The saga continues: I've really seen the hops take off in the past few days. Here are some pictures.
Cascade4-26-11.jpg

Cascade 4/26/11
Nugget4-26-11.jpg

Nugget 4/26/11

I can see little buds that I think will eventually be cones.
 
wow yo got some really taking off. I took this pic last night. I think they are growing slowere since I didnt have a good twine lines for them to go. I did this last night so hopefully they will take off now.

IMG00250-20110426-1731.jpg
 
The LHBS was out of Cascade rhizomes (apparently ideal for this climate) but I love ESBs, porters, etc that frequently call for Fuggles. I have also been wanting to dry hop an IPA with fresh Fuggles. Bought and planted 1 rhizome exactly 2 weeks ago and saw the first sprout break the soil after 10 days.

This is going to be semi-organic, hence the eggshells around the plant (below) to repel snails/slugs. I dug a ~1.5 foot hole and mixed equal parts sand, compost, mulch and <1/4 cup 19-13-6 fertilizer into native soil (black clay) and planted the rhizome ~1 inch deep horizontally with sprouts pointing up.

My "trellis" is a ~15 ft piece of rebar sunk 3 ft into the ground and leaning at a 70 degree angle against the house. Irrigation runs for ~10 minutes every 2 days (~0.5 gallons water) and keeps the soil evenly moist. A Heavy layer of mulch helps cut down irrigation. Irrigation will probably increase with heat and as plant grows.

I'll keep you updated! Good luck to TX hops growers in this ultra-dry weather. We haven't had a soaking rain in Houston in 90+ days!

Fuggles.jpg
 
I've noticed big differences in mine.
my setup is first year plants, 6 containers, all in containers, all with same soil (miracle gro + compost), all on my back porch with lines to an 8 ft top wire.
3 cascades, 1ea Centennial, Fuggle, Nugget.

the two on the east side of the porch (Centennial and Cascade) get great morning sun, then are shaded until late in the afternoon. Those two are already well trained down the top wire and both have a good number of cones.
5730476836_3d0e4d26b5.jpg
[/url] Untitled by anonymousbrew, on Flickr[/IMG]
Cascade

5714767510_543b7afe90.jpg
[/url] Untitled by anonymousbrew, on Flickr[/IMG]
Centennial

The rest of them vary widely in how well they're doing.
The other two Cascades are definately growing slower, are a little wild at the base, and have shown signs of iron def. (amended soil yesterday, we'll see what happens)

But by far, the best looking 3 are the ones with the fewest bines. The Centennial only has 1, and the pictured Cascade really only has 2 or 3.

I keep babying them, and will post more with pics on how they're doing.
 


Things are 'thickening'. Leaves are getting bigger, existing cones are growing, the shorter plants have started looking healthier and i'm seeing burrs start on most. All but one plant has reached the top wire, and 4 of 6 have at least 1 bine trained a 2-4ft along the top lines.

Added bloodmeal and some iron supplement about a week ago, and things are looking much better. Might feed with some miracle grow towards the end of this week.

The two plants that kicked off cones early, have big, quickly maturing cones. Should i expect these to be ready for harvest unusually early? will these be any good? Anybody have this happen before?
 
well BBQ - I wont count it as a success until there are hops in a beer, but...I'm pretty happy right now.

Last year I planted a bunch against the south side of my house. Native soil, unamended. Figured I'd see what happened.

Everything popped out of the ground fine, climbed to the eve, and then died, bang bang bang.

this year I planted in pots, and ran strings to a top wire suspended 8' that used to support a porch cover.

In the pots, i used a 50/50 mix of the Miracle Gro Potting Soil, and soil from my compost.

Deep water about once every 5 days

Started seeing some major stunt and Fe deficiency in one of mine, ran to Ace and got some Blood Meal and Iron supplement. over the last week, the plants affected by the Fe Deficiency have bounced back and are growing a good clip.

My biggest fear though, is that we'll get to the middle of summer, and these things are just NOT going to be able to stand up to 98 and 90% humidity. It's been a dry dry DRY windy and unseasonably cool start to summer here. That's not going to last.
in other words - hold me, I'm scared ;)
 
The Centennials put out, and I kept checking. They were full of yellow, smelled amazing and were drying. Got scared they'd go bad if they stayed up, so I picked them Friday and dried them.

Only 1oz 'wet' right at .25oz dried.

The rest of the plants are growing side arms like crazy, and I've been working hard to keep the spider mites at bay.

Hope to see things start cranking out some good cones in the next few weeks. Got some little buds coming along, but there is some of the side growth runners that are really growing fast.

image-2069460871.jpg


image-3219551399.jpg
 
Here is another potential Texas hops grower.

I am wanting to put some rhizomes in the "ground" even though I know it is really late in the year to be doing so. I would be using some 24'' pots. Really I am more interested in just getting them started growing a root system and all, so that next year they will at least be starting with a little more then just from scratch.

From what I have gathered the higher alpha% varieties seem to work best here for Texas. But heres the thing...I am going to be planting in Galveston, TX.

That's another thing. What is all this I hear about "rot" and such near the coastline? I have searched around and all I have found is general comments that it happens, but nothing else. Anyone have any info?

Thanks all, this has been a great post to learn from and read!

-Eric
 
Hey man, I live in Galveston and decided to starts some rhizomes this year as well. I haven't noticed any rot actually, I got four varieties going since late spring. What my problem has been is june bugs, I went on vacation and came back to find me bines tall but half the leaves were missing. I've heard of traps to catch them but have yet to buy one. My only suggestion would be buy some cascade, it's my only plant at the moment to have a decent amount of cones on it.
 
Wow, that frustrates me a little to see the hops Anonymousbrew produced, I'm in West Houston, planted a Fuggles rhizome in March. Fuggles isn't known to go crazy down here and I don't expect any cones this year but i did expect better growth. There's something going on with the leaves; they turn brown and dry out to almost and dinintegrate when you rub them (see photo). I planted in the corner of my south facing yard so they get 5 solid hours of sun and plenty of indirect bright light. I've been watering enough to keep the soil moist with intermittent dry periods of a day or two. At 3 feet, they haven't really gotten as large as I expected either; may be I planted too late?
Next year i may plant some Centennial / Cascade...

EDIT: I confirmed that the plants rotted just below the surface. Next year I'll be growing in pots to avoid the poor drainage associated with Houston's thick clay soil. Good luck to all Texas hops in this drought!

photo-5.JPG


photo-6.jpg
 
mine finally started budding like crazy. I pulled one off and it smelled good. Thing they have a while and will harvest right at drying.

** woops pictures sideways. PUTI.

anonamus we should brew sometime.

IMG00610-20110711-2010.jpg
 
I'd post pictures but my garden looks very crappy. I have a terrible infestation of grasshopper/locusts that won't go away. I spray the plants with sevin regularly but I got busy with work and let it slide. In a matter of days they had stripped the entire Sterling plant of leaves. It's starting to grow back but I doubt I'm going to see any hops this year.
 
When exactly did you plant your rhizomes? Was it based on the length of the day or temperature?

In terms of rot, I'm pretty experienced with regular gardening in houston clay, and I would suggest that the best way to avoid rot is to do a raised bed of soil that is 30% compost, 30% peat moss, 30% vermiculite or pearlite, and 10% native dirt. It needs to be at least 2 feet by 2 feet by 1 foot deep. Unless you are blessed enough to have good top soil in houston, the clays on the gulf coast will kill potatos, onions, and carrots with rot even without excessive watering.

The size of the raised bed is a total estimation, but the soil mix will retain moisture without drowning the roots, and the minerals and nutrients will be abundant without causing root burn. Only warning: make sure there is no grass growing within 6" of the raised bed, or you will quickly discover that your raised bed is now become a turf farm! Grass loves this mix.
 
i am almost ready to pick mine. I picked one the other day to see how it dried and it was perfect after a couple of days.

I am just not sure what I am gonna do with the cascades I will have. Maybe a dry hop or do a brew that uses cascades?
 
ReverseApacheMaster said:
I'd post pictures but my garden looks very crappy. I have a terrible infestation of grasshopper/locusts that won't go away. I spray the plants with sevin regularly but I got busy with work and let it slide. In a matter of days they had stripped the entire Sterling plant of leaves. It's starting to grow back but I doubt I'm going to see any hops this year.
Click to expand...

Just making sure that you know Sevin (carbaryl) is toxic to humans and considered a likely human carcinogen. It also kills beneficial insects. Just figured I'm mention it because I've run into a lot of folks that think it's harmless.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbaryl#Risk
 
stalk_of_fennel said:
Just making sure that you know Sevin (carbaryl) is toxic to humans and considered a likely human carcinogen. It also kills beneficial insects. Just figured I'm mention it because I've run into a lot of folks that think it's harmless.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbaryl#Risk
Click to expand...

I wasn't aware I was setting myself up for death. Since my plants are barely alive through this heat I am confident I am not getting any cones this year. I'll be happy if I can keep these plants alive so they will regrow next year.
 
crap I picked a good bag of hops and put them in a ziploc bag. Dont do this. They turned brown quick. Good news is i should have another crop soon.
 
ReverseApacheMaster said:
I wasn't aware I was setting myself up for death. Since my plants are barely alive through this heat I am confident I am not getting any cones this year. I'll be happy if I can keep these plants alive so they will regrow next year.
Click to expand...

Try researching the use of tea tree oil and/or cirtronella oil as a spray for your hops. May be efficient and non-toxic. I know tea tree can be used in gardens.
 
I just found this thread as I have been considering growing hops in Dallas. Last month I heard on Howard Garrett radio show that azasol is an effective organic pesticide good for hops. He said it ain't cheap but to maybe give it a try. I'll upload some pics after winter and keep y'all posted.
 
I too am going to be in Cypress. I am supposed to close Tuesday (29th) on our brand new house. I've gotten permission from SWMBO to grow hops in the back yard, but I don't want anything visible over the fence and definitely nothing stringed to the house. Ideas on how I can grow successfully?
 
jvcjbl said:
I too am going to be in Cypress. I am supposed to close Tuesday (29th) on our brand new house. I've gotten permission from SWMBO to grow hops in the back yard, but I don't want anything visible over the fence and definitely nothing stringed to the house. Ideas on how I can grow successfully?
Click to expand...

cool. we gotta get a homebrew club for the area.

I would say your gonna need to have twine/string going up or out somehow to get them to grow good. the ones I tacked to the top of my fence didnt go over.
 
BARBQ said:
cool. we gotta get a homebrew club for the area.

I would say your gonna need to have twine/string going up or out somehow to get them to grow good. the ones I tacked to the top of my fence didnt go over.
Click to expand...

Can you post a pic of what your talking about?
 
jvcjbl said:
Can you post a pic of what your talking about?
Click to expand...

If I was at a computer I could. I posted a pic earlier in this thread and there also a couple of other ones other people posted. I am hoping mine will grow again this coming spring so I don't have to buy mor rhizomes. Anybody else able to do this after winter?
 
BARBQ said:
If I was at a computer I could. I posted a pic earlier in this thread and there also a couple of other ones other people posted. I am hoping mine will grow again this coming spring so I don't have to buy mor rhizomes. Anybody else able to do this after winter?
Click to expand...

Ok, I will go through the 23 pages of reading material. I'll post back with future questions. Thanks
 
Ok read through the pages, and still really didn't see anyone with pictures of a successful sub fence height setup. I might do some googling. I am looking for horizontal growing.
 
jvcjbl said:
Ok read through the pages, and still really didn't see anyone with pictures of a successful sub fence height setup. I might do some googling. I am looking for horizontal growing.
Click to expand...

We made a fence comprised of three 4x4 posts 10 feet ling, with 2 feet concreted into the ground. Then we took latticing and screwed it to the posts. Then we took cabinet knobs and made guide lines from the ground to the top of the latticing so it formed a zig zag design when the hops grow horizontally. Each zag is about 2 feet wide so over all we have about 14 feet of zig zag horizontal growing room before the hops reach the top of the structure. Hope this helps. If you look at what threads I've posted, you will find pictures, its took dark to take any now. Good luck!
 
hopmomma said:
We made a fence comprised of three 4x4 posts 10 feet ling, with 2 feet concreted into the ground. Then we took latticing and screwed it to the posts. Then we took cabinet knobs and made guide lines from the ground to the top of the latticing so it formed a zig zag design when the hops grow horizontally. Each zag is about 2 feet wide so over all we have about 14 feet of zig zag horizontal growing room before the hops reach the top of the structure. Hope this helps. If you look at what threads I've posted, you will find pictures, its took dark to take any now. Good luck!
Click to expand...

Just closed on my house today. I will look back at the pics and see what I can come up with. Thanks for the reply!!
 
There is a good deal of information here guys!

I'm in Cypress as well and looking to get some hops in the ground this spring. Freshops doesn't have any until mid-March but Thyme Garden is taking pre-orders for this year.

From the sounds of it Cascade is a decent bet and placing it where it is hidden from the hot afternoon sun is the way to go.

BARBQ & jvcjbl...we definitely need to get a local Cypress homebrew club going!
 
bluenadas said:
from the sounds of it cascade is a decent bet and placing it where it is hidden from the hot afternoon sun is the way to go.

Barbq & jvcjbl...we definitely need to get a local cypress homebrew club going!
Click to expand...

+1!
 
I moved mine to a pot so I can move it around. I saw one peaking out of the top of the dirt.

+1 on the club too. Im to lazy to drive to the other ones.
 
of the 6 i had last year, 2 survived the drought. (Fuggle and Chinook) moved them from the containers this week, and may buy 2 cascade rhizomes as well to give those guys another try. I think there will be goods and bads about moving these out of the containers and into the garden. I'll pretty things up and get a few pics up. The Fuggle already has shoots so i figured it was time to put em in the ground.

RE: Cypress area brewing group - lets have a quick get together at Backyard Grill in the next week. I know Mark at BYG and he's getting into the brewing thing - He would love to be a part of that and it might be a good relationship to bring into the group. how about thursday the 1st @ 6:30?
 
anonymousbrew said:
RE: Cypress area brewing group - lets have a quick get together at Backyard Grill in the next week. I know Mark at BYG and he's getting into the brewing thing - He would love to be a part of that and it might be a good relationship to bring into the group. how about thursday the 1st @ 6:30?
Click to expand...

Sounds good, I will try my best to make it. Should somebody post an individual thread about a Cypress Homebrew Club meeting in the gathering section?
 
BARBQ said:
Sounds good, I will try my best to make it. Should somebody post an individual thread about a Cypress Homebrew Club meeting in the gathering section?
Click to expand...

BBQ - sounds good about the post in the gathering section. If you put one there will you throw a link to it on this as well so guys can find it?

I'll talk to mark this week and get a table set aside by the bar and let y'all know where we'll be at.
 

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