Think I am finally gonna do this in the spring

[Bernie Brewer]

Just sitting here letting my feeble little mind wander and wondering why I am not growing my own hops. Well, I think i am finally gonna do this. Keep in mind, I am NOT a green thumb. I have killed spider plants!


I took a walk around my property today trying to decide the best place to plant. I could plant in the back yard- it is right next to a farmer's field and gets plenty of sun in the afternoons. Problem is watering. It is waaayyy too far away from a spigot to be able to give any water.

Then I considered planting right next to my house, and running strings from the ground up to the soffit. It is around 15-18 feet from the ground to the apex of the roof, so it should be tall enough, no? My concern here though is moisture- would the moisture from the plants introduce mold and mildew to the siding (vinyl) and possibly rot out the wood underneath? Would I need to keep the strings any distance from the house???

When is a good time to plant? Up here in WI we can get frost well into May. Does that even matter? Any growers here in WI care to chime in with what types grow best around here? I would like to grow Cascade- from what I have read that seems to be a good all-around hop for the US. Also MT Hood would be nice, but I have not found any info on this one....

Yes I did search, but as I said I am not a green-thumb, I know nothing about growing things, so any help is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[rosier9]

I plan on tying some hops up to the soffit this year, they are currently just in the backyard. Just have adequate separation between plants to prevent mold and moisture because the hops themselves will mold before your siding IMO. Once you get the plants started they are basically weeds and very easy to grow! Have fun

 

[Yooper]

The hops shouldn't cause any moisture issues- they don't really trap in any moisture.

Cascades do great here, and apparently the chinook seems to also (last year was my first year with chinook, and it went crazy). Hallertauer is a low-yield type anyway, but it grows pretty well but it's not quite as prolific as the cascades. I think I planted mine shortly after they came- it might have been late April. They did fine, but didn't poke up out of the ground until after Memorial Day, if my memory serves me.

I have the hallertauer growing up a light pole (wood) in my yard, the chinook up the side of a fence and over the green house, and the cascades on an arbor. They do produce better when allowed to go tall but I've just turned them back to the other side on the arbor and they do fine. Bob claims that they are actually invasives, and you will have more trouble keeping them from going wild across your yard than getting them to grow!

Wherever you decide to plant, keep the varieties apart. As they grow, they will intertwine and you'll never be able to separate them or tell them apart!

I planted centennials last year, but they never came up. It could have been where I planted them, but neither rhizome put up any shoots at all.

They do require water, but did just fine here without any watering for the last several years. Sometimes we have a hot dry summer, and you'd want to water them then but otherwise our climate is pretty good for them. Bob is talking to me while I type- and he mentioned that you will want to water them the first year, when the soil is dry, to help them get established.

 

[Bernie Brewer]

Ok, another question. If I plant next to my house, it would be on the sides of the house where the roof is highest. That would be the south side and the north side. Would the north side get enough light? Or should I say screw it and build a trellis next to the farmer's field and resign myself to carrying water out the the hops in a bucket???

 

[Yooper]

Ok, another question. If I plant next to my house, it would be on the sides of the house where the roof is highest. That would be the south side and the north side. Would the north side get enough light? Or should I say screw it and build a trellis next to the farmer's field and resign myself to carrying water out the the hops in a bucket???

I doubt the north side would get enough sun. South is best, but an east or west side might be ok too if you got enough direct sunlight.

 

[Andrea]

Sun equals photosynthesis.
Give the bines what they want.

 

[GVH_Dan]

We've had great luck with cascade and Mt Hood. Also EKG and Sterlings have done well.

The biggest concern with planting by the farm field is if he sprays round up or any herbicide. Most of the herbicides sprayed on corn will kill or at least stunt the hops. If he's pretty responsible and doesn't spray on windy days, no worries. Otherwise, I have heard of hops being lost to over ambitious applications.