Homegrown Hops...

[jbarnaby]

...I was just wondering if anyone has any tips/tricks/experiences/stories for growing hops at home. I am currently growing three different types (Chinook, Mount Hood, and Nugget).--this will be the second season for these hops. The first year I did not get much from the harvest. (I heard the 2nd year *usually* is much better).

Any thoughts welcome :-)

Cheers,
Justin

[J.L.Erb]

I cut the first shoots when they are 6" or so. Then let about 3-6 vines grow from each rhizome, cutting all other shoots all summer. The first year I tried to do a horizontal Z-pattern, but the hops grew too fast. Now I have them going 12' up to my porch almost straight up. There are various insects that enjoy the taste of hop leaves and cones. I spray with a safe soap, but stop when the cones appear. I also divide the rhizomes when it is obvious that shoots are coming from a secondary crown. Then I give them to my friends.

Good Luck,
Jeremy

[RaySherwood]

On the subject of homegrown hops...does anyone know where someone might send a sample of homegrown hops to get the oils calculated? Or would that be too impractical/cost prohibitive?

Thanks,
R

[YCH Hops]

Growing hops

Hello All,

In response to Jeremy, yes you should see a big increase in production. It normally takes a few years to get the hop plant firmly established. The first year, the plan is mainly just trying to grow. You have a couple of pretty good varieties for getting some production. Main thing is to keep the area around the hops clean from weeds etc. This practice can help keep certain pests and diseases from attacking. Also make sure you have good drainage. This will keep the roots in better shape which is another place the plant can be attacked. Oregon is having some problems the past few years with an underground pest called symphs that eat at the hairs of the root.

On getting your hops checked, it can be done, but is a little expensive. I have a lab that does the alpha, beta and HSI for $30. The oils can be done at the Washington State hop lab or I'm sure in Oregon. Probably cost $30 or more so can be a little pricy. Also question what you would get from doing just the oil. They can be a little difficult to get a good number even doing it commercially. The alpha can give you a pretty good idea of what the oil should be for a given variety and would do you more good in the brewing calulations. For example if you were to do Cascade. The average expected alpha would be expected to be 4.5-7.0%. The oil range is 0.8-1.5%. Good rule to follow is the higher the alpha the higher the oil and vice versa.

Trust this all helps.

Ralph Olson
Hopunion

[mark zemke]

hello, i was curious if anyone had any info on growing hops hydroponically? any info would be greatly appreciated. thanks.

[damoller]

hydroponics

hello, i was curious if anyone had any info on growing hops hydroponically? any info would be greatly appreciated. thanks.

Hydroponics is only good for growing annual plants like marijuana not perennials like hops!

[fmbrewing]

Growing Cascade Hops

Hi there, I wanted to share my experiences with successfully growing cascade hops in my Wisconsin backyard last year. Photos are great and I even documented the hop trellis that I put up to support the 2 cascade root stocks.

Check out the Photos here from last years' cascade hops=

http://www.fattymattybrewing.com/ingredients/index.php?cat=8

This year I will continue to add new pics of the cascade hops as they grow and am going to be planting a new goldings ryzome which I bought from freshops this spring. The cascade hops are already sprouting out of the ground fabulously and I need to break out my camera already to capture the sights of the first sprouts breaking ground.

[Moonlight]

For strong growth, they need lots of Nitrogen (manure or such) as they get above ground and start racing up. As they begin to flower, phosphorus and potassium are more important.

[petebearvalley]

Brian you sound like a man who really knows his hop flowers. What varieties do you grow on your property up there?

[Moonlight]

About 150 Cascade, 60 Chinook, 35 Nugget, 25 Canadian Red Bine, 8 Mt. Hood, 6 Perle, 6 Sunbeam, a few Glacier, and one surviving Vojovodina (sp.)

[petebearvalley]

How much ground does around 300 hop vines cover? I'm planting the first hop garden at Beer Valley in a couple of weeks and I'm trying to figure out how many vines to order. Is a vine every 3 feet a good way to go?

BTW, you should see your old mash tun. It has a new set of wheels and is a few feet taller now. With any luck we'll actually get to use it in a few weeks.

[AlexisScarlett]

No worries-- hops are harder to kill than to grow!

For strong growth, they need lots of Nitrogen (manure or such) as they get above ground and start racing up. As they begin to flower, phosphorus and potassium are more important.

I use the opposite strategy for production and vastly different soil. I mulch heavily (Straw and Leaves and Barley Grass) in the fall for protection from late spring frosts (like now!) and don't give the established plants any nitrogen in spring but Phosphorus and Potassium for root development and blossoms. Also Copper to help the fight against blight and iron because our soil is so deficient.
Now when they start to produce I will feed them composted manure (nitrogen). I want hops not endless bines and leaves. On fighting blight, mulch and remove the lower leaves and keep it clean around the mounds. Drip irrigation seems best to not spread disease

Testing: I have a simple dilution method to see if I am in range. For exact-- Check with an ag school. I found not only a couple of lab's to test for me at Colorado State University but they also have a hopyard at testing station 40 miles from me. Next a pelletizer

[SRB]

We just cut 50, 22 ft <7 dbh Lodgepole pine poles from a permitted burn area in the Payette N.F. Moving to get poles in before the hard freeze.....................
......weeeeeee!!!

[SomervillesBrew]

On the subject of homegrown hops...does anyone know where someone might send a sample of homegrown hops to get the oils calculated? Or would that be too impractical/cost prohibitive?

Thanks,
R

The Siebel Institute will do an analysis on your hops. I'm not sure about how much it costs. Link: http://www.siebelinstitute.com/

[crassbrauer]

Of course, hops grow best between 35 - 55 degrees latitude. I planted some in Texas from rhizomes, but they didn't do so well, except for the Brewers' Gold (relatively high alpha). The noble varieties produced about 5 cones each.