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Hop Growing?
I want to have a go at growing a couple of hop plants, I know its coming up to the time of year that your plant hop roots for next years harvest.
Has anyone grown their own hops before? any advice/tips?
Responses
Posted 2 years ago by Admin
Tanya's Dad bought me a plant for my birthday in the summer. Great present! I'm not too green fingered though and its looking pretty dead as I forgot to water it. Tanya has assured me that it will be okay. I need to chop the roots back to the ground over winter then select strongest roots when they appear in the spring.
Really looking forward to brewing with my own hops though so fingers crossed (green one's of course!)
Posted 2 years ago by Moderator
Yep Im gonna give it a go. My veg patch was good for the summer but I didnt plant any winter/autum crops so I will be seeing if I can grow me own hops also!
Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!
nathbrew@gmail.com
Posted 2 years ago by Moderator
I'm stuggling to decide which ones to order theres sooo much choice:
Wye Challenger, Wye Northdown, Golden Tassels, Prima Donna, Four types of Goldings (Cobb, Early Bird, English Mathon, Redsells Eastwells), Phoenix, Wye Target, WGV, Fuggle, Progress and Brambling Cross!
At £5 a root its worth a try! think im going to get 4/5 roots and plant them 1m apart and build a big structure to support them! Any good hops for a northern climate????
Posted 2 years ago by Moderator
Dandan, did you find any good places for roots? I did a search and found a couple of places but wondered if you found a reliable place.
Ta,
Nath
Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!
nathbrew@gmail.com
Posted 2 years ago by Member
I'm going to grow some hops next year.
A family friend said his son used to home brew and his garden has some hops which grow back every year.
I'll be getting a nice set of rhizomes at the beginning of next year I hope.
No idea of the type.
Greg, I can tell you're not green fingered. The roots are underground!
Posted 2 years ago by Admin
Yeah, that was a deliberate mistake! You passed the test! Ha Ha
Posted 2 years ago by Moderator
Nath,
I found this company for the roots: Aplus Hops Clicky
Posted 2 years ago by Moderator
Ta Dan, I was looking at that site on the weekend along with another (name escapes). I think they are all around the same price - £7.50ish a root. Unfortunatley I didnt get far with anything beer wise this weekend (even drinking it!) as I have been DIYing the ol' house.
Have you ordered any yet?
(ps the link wont work for me)
Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!
nathbrew@gmail.com
Posted 2 years ago by Moderator
Its http://www.aplus-hops.co.uk/
Not ordered yet, i've got my op on the 9th so will be ordering after that. So no brewing for me until late November now!
Posted 2 years ago by Moderator
Mate if I can get my first AG on the way before then I will dedicate it to you and name it........... something along the lines of your name!
Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!
nathbrew@gmail.com
Posted 2 years ago by Member
I used to work for a horticultural company. I was going to type all this out but then found a good resource on the web:
You will have to decide on a place in your garden that receives a minimum of 6 to 8 hours of sunlight a day. Hops do not take up a large space in square foot terms, but they need a place to climb. They also need lots of water, so you might want to consider locating them in a place that can be reached by your hose. They need good air circulation, in order to prevent diseases, such as sooty mold, black spot, etc. I don’t have the space to go into all the diseases of hops, but that information can also be found on the Internet.
Insects are another concern with growing hops. June bugs, also called Japanese beetles, just love to eat your hops, especially Fuggles.
Aphids will attack any hop plant without fail. They are soft, small white insects that suck the juice right out of a hop plant.
They are easily displaced by a shot of cold water from your hose, or you can use a myriad of different chemicals on them. Hops need a rich, loose soil to grow in. You might have to amend your soil to get them to grow properly.
<P>You will need to work the soil to loosen it up, and add whatever amendments you so desire. Compost is best, and it is what I use personally, but you can decide for yourself what you will need to add to the soil, if anything. If you order the crowns from the Internet, and you can’t plant them right away, wrap them in a wet paper towel, and place them inside a plastic bag. Place the bag inside your refrigerator until you can plant them. When you plant them, make sure the white buds are pointing up, and the roots pointing down. Plant them to a depth of 4” or so, making sure they are completely covered. Water them well, and let them start growing on their own. Don’t worry, they know just when to come up out of the ground all by themselves. Keep this fact in mind also--hops can and do grow at the rate of a foot a day or better. I have plants that have grown to 5’ in only 2 weeks from emerging from the ground. So, you will need to build that trellis before you know it.
Posted 2 years ago by Member
I would also personally plant them in a plastic planter. Otherwise you could find them spreading over the years as they are a rhizomous plant. These types tend to spread very easily. So planting in a plastic planter will contain them, without affecting the fruits.
HTH
Mike
Posted 2 years ago by Member
I've been having a think about my hops for next year.
I plan to plant in large tubs, but sink them into the ground.
For a trellis I was thinking something nice an simple like this:
Using some wire from B&Q and a simple pulley system (simple as a eyelet screw) means I can let the hops down without cutting them. And not using a ladder as I hate heights.
With the hops removed the plant can be hoisted back up and left to gather energy for next year.
Posted 2 years ago by Member
Looks/sounds good.
When you put the planter in the ground, make sure you have drilled some nice big drainage holes in tis bottom if it has a base. Also make sure that there is at least a good 2 inches High of the planter above the ground and the soil inside is the same level leaving a gap of 2 inches high all round. A common misconception is that roots grow down. They will only do this if they are forced to Naturally roots stay just under the surface and spread out with just one main tap root going down deep. I have seen rhizome plants "leap" out of planters. This of course was not true. it was just that the planter had been dug in level with the ground and the rhizomes had crept out and then spread. Dont worry about the holes in the bottom ,as the roots wont go down that far. They will just stay contained within the platner coiling round. This should in turn limit the size of your plant so it your garden doesnt end up resembling a scene from day of the triffids!!
Apologies if you knew this already.
Thanks
Mike
Posted 2 years ago by Admin
Great post chaps. Lots of really useful information for those wishing to grow their own hops.
I love the thought of making beer with my own home grown hops!
Posted 2 years ago by Member
Look what I've just been given:
No it's not just a bucket of mud.
It's a bucket of mud with hops innit.
Well, Hop rhizomes.
I have no idea of the type, so I'm going to get a fuggles and a golding type from A+ hops.
Anyone have any recommendations as they have more than one golding style hop.
Posted 2 years ago by Moderator
I was thinking the same Varnish!
I'm thinking 1 x Northdown, 1 x Fuggle and 1 x Golding
But they have Cobb, Early Bird, English Mathon, Redsells Eastwells in the Golding section! So if anyone can recomend one that would be great!!
Posted 2 years ago by Member
I think I'll go for the one with the name I like the most.
That's English Mathon btw.
Posted 2 years ago by Member
I bit the bullet and ordered some hop plants.
1X English Mathon, and 1X Fuggles.
Had an email saying they will be lifting new root stock mid November.
Posted 2 years ago by Member
I can haz hops.
Received them today. Put them in the fridge for now, and I'll plant them in pots (actually 1.5 gallon buckets) this weekend.
Posted 2 years ago by Member
Anyone else growing this year?
Fuggles left, Goldings right, unknown centre back.
Will have supports for them by the weekend.
Posted 2 years ago by Member
No, but we were just talking about this down the pub the other day. There's 3 of us talking about each doing a different one in pots, then sharing the love.
Have I missed the boat for this year?
Posted 2 years ago by Member
I got mine from:
http://www.aplus-hops.co.uk/
They sell potted plants, but I got bare root rhizomes.
I'd contact them (they don't seem to have a phone number) and ask about the plants.
It may be too late for this year, but worth a try anyway.
Posted 2 years ago by Member
Done and done. 2 Plants on there way. Awesome, thanks for the link.
Posted 2 years ago by Member
Hi all
I have Prima Donna growing - only about 3" up at the moment. I'll take pics later!
EDIT: Oh, sorry... http://www.essentiallyhops.co.uk
(with grateful thanks to the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers and slightly adapted)
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