Want to grow my own hops

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WildBillnOK

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Jul 1, 2010
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Oklahoma
Just wanted to know if I could plant some rhizomes now to give my plants a head start instead of waiting till spring. I am in central Oklahoma. Thanks for the help!
 
If you plant now, you need to ensure the rhizomes have enough water to maintain during the summer months. Not sure how hot and dry you get there, but that would be my biggest concern.

It would give you a nice start though, I have to aggree with the previous poster.

Good Luck.

Salute! :mug:
 
Not sure how hot and dry you get there, but that would be my biggest concern.

We still haven't gotten to our hottest part of the year yet, triple digits are going to be here soon. I would definitely have to keep up on the watering, but I'm really wanting to try to get the root system in place to give the hops a "head start". The sun comes up between 6 and 6:30 and it sets between 8 and 8:30 so we have between 12 and 14 hours of sun. And where I was planning on placing them would be in full sun all day. I could plant them in a temporary planter this season with some relief from the hottest part of the day and move them to the permanent planter next year. Don't know just yet. Haven't found any rhizomes to plant just yet.
 
Like others have said, if you can find them then planting this year will give their root system a head start for next year.
 
They love the sun and lots of it. However, you DO need to keep them well watered lest they wither. When it get REAL hot, they can die easily if they can't replenish their water.

But all in all, it's hard to kill them once they get their roots going.

You won't have any flowers this year, but maybe next. They often will give a little with the first full year, and almost always a good amount the second year, and you are somewhere in between.
 
However, you DO need to keep them well watered lest they wither. When it get REAL hot, they can die easily if they can't replenish their water.

I'm planning on getting some and using a drip irrigation system once I get the bed made and the rhyzomes in the ground. That way there will be a constant flow of water, but not enough to cause a mildew or mold issue.


But all in all, it's hard to kill them once they get their roots going.

You won't have any flowers this year, but maybe next. They often will give a little with the first full year, and almost always a good amount the second year, and you are somewhere in between.

That's the plan. Get them in the ground and get the root systems going. I'm not looking to harvest any flowers this year. I just want a head start, that way maybe next year would be better than if I waited and started fresh in the spring. How tall should I expect the vines to get if I do find some that I want to plant and I get them in the ground in the next couple of weeks. I imagine they will not get to full size this season, so I'll make a temporary trellis for them to grow on.
 
Just be prepared for a roller coaster ride.

Oklahoma ain't necessarily prime real estate for hops.

They will grow. And you will stay busy trying to figure out whats going on with them. I have been growing them for 4 years in Central OKC and every year, they do something new that makes me go WTF!
 
I would think if you are really not planning to get any production out of them this year, that the trellis is not needed, just let them go on the ground, curl them up when they start spreading out. If you do plan on the trellis, the height would depend on if you are going straight up, on an angle, or up and across. Look around here and there are lots of post you trellis pics, you can make something up from that.
 
I would think if you are really not planning to get any production out of them this year, that the trellis is not needed, just let them go on the ground, curl them up when they start spreading out. If you do plan on the trellis, the height would depend on if you are going straight up, on an angle, or up and across. Look around here and there are lots of post you trellis pics, you can make something up from that.

Letting them go on the ground makes this even easier. Would I need to worry more about standing water then? I might put together something that would keep them off the ground. We'll see.
 
Just be prepared for a roller coaster ride.

Oklahoma ain't necessarily prime real estate for hops.

They will grow. And you will stay busy trying to figure out whats going on with them. I have been growing them for 4 years in Central OKC and every year, they do something new that makes me go WTF!

What's been going on with your crops, and what kind of hops are you growing?

Anybody else know of some good varieties of hops to try to grow in Oklahoma?
 
What's been going on with your crops, and what kind of hops are you growing?

Anybody else know of some good varieties of hops to try to grow in Oklahoma?

You name it I have seen it. All except viral.

I have 13 varieties. Have seen bogging, scorching, Aphids, Mites, Beetles, Caterpillers, and worst of all Hail.

This year? After years of lettiung them start early only to have them obliterated by hail I took notes from commercial operations and cut them down and burned off growth until after the frost/hail season had past.

Now it's July and half of my crop has yet to emerge. I doubt they are dead or worse, cooked. But it's un-nerving. sine we have a 206 day growing season in Oklahoma I am not going to panic but d@mn these plants can be frustrating as heck!

My only plan of action at this point is to strip back all the mulch that is keeping weeds at bay and hope that the soil warms enough to guide undergrowth to the surface. I half expect these boys are going rampant underground just searching for warmth to lead them to sun.
 
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