Texas Hop Garden

[jnielsen]

i have a hop question for all you current gardeners out there i have 4 plants that started producing what looks like flowers but im not sure if they are male or female they have long pistils lookings fuzz balls. there is a really bad image of male spikes on the freshops page but i really cant tell if its the same as what i have growing. do females look like that in the beginning and then form cones? does anyone out there have any pictures i could see? should the place i bought the rhizomes from be selling male cuttings when we expect females? i gotta pay down my credit card so i can get the better membership on the forum and be able to post pictures any help is appreciated cheers

 

[robnog]

i have a hop question for all you current gardeners out there i have 4 plants that started producing what looks like flowers but im not sure if they are male or female they have long pistils lookings fuzz balls. there is a really bad image of male spikes on the freshops page but i really cant tell if its the same as what i have growing. do females look like that in the beginning and then form cones? does anyone out there have any pictures i could see? should the place i bought the rhizomes from be selling male cuttings when we expect females? i gotta pay down my credit card so i can get the better membership on the forum and be able to post pictures any help is appreciated cheers

Mine started out something like that. There were dozens of little green fuzz balls that eventually turned into cones. The fuzz eventually turned brown and fell off.

 

[EdWort]

We have been inundated with rain and more rain. I have not had to water much at all. Here's what the crop looks like so far. Both Cascade Jumbos and the Centennial have hop cones.

They've even spread out and climbed up the tripod poles.

All in all, it's been a successful project and I'm looking forward to next year's crop.

 

[98EXL]

that's awesome man!

How much hops to you plan to harvest?

 

[thirsty]

Excellent setup Edwort!

This year is my first attempt at growing hops. So far so good but I'm not really sure how to tell when a hop is ready to be picked. If anyone could give me some pointers, I'd appreciate it. Thanks.

 

[98EXL]

harvesting soon dude?

 

[LouT]

Ed, did you ever get any photos of the hop garden just prior to harvest and/or during harvest?
How much did it yield in dried out hops?

 

[98EXL]

Ed, did you ever get any photos of the hop garden just prior to harvest and/or during harvest?
How much did it yield in dried out hops?

wondering the same thing

 

[EdWort]

Nope. No harvest this year. My travel schedule and the incredible amount of rain made it impossible. Looks like I'm set for next year. I'm going to add a 4th pole and a pulley and haul up Christmas lights this year and will be ready to go come spring next year.

 

[LouT]

This was just year 1, though, right? So I guess the yield wasn't expected to be much.

I can relate to the travel thing -- hoping my schedule doesn't get too sh!tty in the coming months, I have some brewing to do, among other things!

 

[EdWort]

Yeah, it was the first year. They only got about 12 feet high this year. I'm going to have SWMBO keep an eye on it next year so they can be harvested on time before they go brown.

 

[david_42]

Timing the harvest can be a pain, mine went from too soon to brown in two days of 95F and wind!

 

[LouT]

Do you just cut the vine and reel it in, then pull the hops off when you get the vine down where you can deal with it? Just curious how it's done.

 

[TheEarlofAle]

This is my humble Connecticut hop garden. Cascade in front. New Magnum and Saaz on the side. Nice harvest too.

 

[Bernie Brewer]

Hmm you guys have got me thinking. I'm not a gardener at all, but my house has vines all over the front that the previous owner planted with chicken wire for them to cling to. Maybe I should rip the vines down and plant hops?????


Nah, SWMBO would shoot me......:cross:

 

[beergears]

Might be a good idea to replace soil hops are to grow in, as anything very near house may contain lead from prior house paint scrapings (as in, house repaint)..?

 

[DrunkenSailor]

EdWort:
Great looking plants. I am planning to plant hops next spring, I was going to build a wooden trellis, however the conduit looks pretty simple. How did it hold up to the weight of the plants?
Thanks.

 

[FSR402]

How much sun do these need to grow?
I would like to grow some but I may have to hack down a big maple or two first.

 

[Seabee John]

How much sun do these need to grow?
I would like to grow some but I may have to hack down a big maple or two first.

If you go to http://www.freshops.com you can find one or two varieties that require part sun to shade for best growing conditions. I've got a spot in my yard that is a little shady that I'm going to give these a try.

 

[AnonyBrew]

I feel the need to revive this thread.

Ed: Are you continuing the hops this year?

Others in TX: Any updates on your hops?

I just planted 7 different varieties in my garden this year (also near Austin). Wondering if it's worthwhile or not.

 

[EdWort]

yeah it's worthwhile. I'm working on the hop garden this weekend as a matter of fact. Gonna see how the rhizomes survived our mild winter.

Update this afternoon:

Cleaned out the old vines, snipped them to the ground, took care of the weeds around the raised bed, and spread a thin layer of aged horse manure on top. I noticed buds from two rhizomes peeking out already.

I re-did the lower horizontal line with wire this year and retired the existing hop twines and hooked up the soaker hose to the timer on the faucet.

BEE CAVE BREWERY HOP GARDEN IS BACK ONLINE!

 

[runhard]

I'm just south of Austin and my rhizomes arrived yesterday. I'll prepare the beds today and follow Ed's example of a timer and drip irrigation. Chris Colby of BYO said to throw out anything you've seen about growing hops because it just won't apply to Central Texas. Ed appears to have had good success even though he didn't harvest last year so based on Ed's experience I think we all should be able to do OK. I did read someones comment on another forum that Texas light conditions aren't appropriate and that we won't get cones but after seeing Edwort's bines along with what Chris Colby has accomplished in Bastrop, TX I think the individual was mistaken or I misunderstood his comment. I do wonder if the water from the drip irrigation will be too alkaline as the tap water here is a little over pH of 9.0. I might drench the rhizomes with a mild vinegar solution once a week. Actually, I'll drench 1/2 of the rhizomes with slightly acidic water once a week and the rest I'll leave to only the alkaline drip; could be a cool little experiment.

 

[EdWort]

My irrigation is well water, so I need to test it to see what PH level it is. It is pretty hard water though.

Good luck with your hop Jeffrey!

 

[uuurang]

I feel the need to revive this thread...

Great stuff. Enjoyed reading about this last year. Was going to revive it but you beat me to it, Soperbrew. Good Idea.

 

[quickerNu]

I'm gonna jump into this, too. I live about an hour North of Austin in Harker Heights. I was going to plant some vines to shade the Southwest side of my house. Figure I might as well try hops. I have very rocky soil, and will build raised beds. I do have an agronomy degree, but most of that was focused on turfgrasses! I will order some rhizomes this week. I am going to do a bit more research on varieties. Any suggestions would be welcome!

 

[blacklab]

Ed, did you ever build the brewhouse you reference in the OP? I'd love to see some pics of it, if you've broken ground yet.

 

[EdWort]

Ed, did you ever build the brewhouse you reference in the OP? I'd love to see some pics of it, if you've broken ground yet.

Not yet. I'm still working on plans. I will have a brew hut raising party (kinda like an Amish Barn Raising) with BBQ and Brew (brew after the important work) some time next month I hope.

 

[AnonyBrew]

Update on mine.....Fuggle & Nugget are sprouting right now....5 more varieties still in dirt.

 

[EdWort]

2008 Crop are up and at'em. It's hard to see, but all 6 are peeking out. After this season, I will add a 4th leg to my trellis system and transplant the two Centennial and rearrange the 4 Cascade to 4 quadrants.

 

[AnonyBrew]

All of mine have now sprouted. Question for you guys: What do you anchor the hop twine to the ground with? Simple tent stakes?