Hoppity Hops

[NorthernWiner]

A friend of mine recently gave me a plastic bag full of Cascade hop rhisomes (I had told him previously I was looking for a vine that would grow up over my outdoor pergola).

What the heck do I do with these things? It seems to be a tangled mess with no apparent up or down side. His only instruction was - and I quote - "Dude, just stick it in the dirt and it will grow."

I guess maybe next year I will be making some beer. Provided I can get them to grow.

[rjb222]

Plant them about 2 inches deep. make sure to boarder them with a plastic surround if you don't they will invade your whole yard. Hops like rhododendron food. I hope the trellis is about 20 feet tall. when they come up pick 3 to 4 strong stems and direct them to the trellis get rid of the rest. the hops will take care of themselves. Cascade is a great north american variety it is know for it's citrus qualities.

[NorthernWiner]

Thanks Robert. I was just reading about the "invasive" aspect, so I'll add a plastic hoop of some sort. I have a number of 20-25 liter buckets. If I were just to cut the bottom out of one, would that work?

My pergola reaches a height of about 12 feet (about 3.5 m). It looks a lot like the photo below. I'm thinking once it reaches the top, I would train it to sprawl across the beams?

[rjb222]

That should work Steve. Give them really good drainage a foot or so down they love water but hate to have their feet wet. I have done the training thing it works but it is a lot of work. this probably won't effect you for your use but the hops do not produce as many florets when growing side ways as when they grow vertical. When done properly though they look really good.

[David]

If 'cultivated' hops are anything like 'wild' hops, then be beware about planting them in your garden as they will tear your skin to pieces.

[NorthernWiner]

Admittedly, I don't know much about hops - wild, tame, or otherwise. I've seen the "cones" before, but not the entire plant. Do they have thorns or something?

[koomber]

Homebrewtalk.com is a good american site for homebrewing. They might have some information on local homebrewers/growers who can offer some advice.

[NorthernWiner]

Even better, I found a guy with a Hops growing blog who lives not too far from me.

http://www.growinghopsyourself.com/

[kampervan]

have planted ekg and cascade and pima donna this year. ekg is in a pot and is 6 foot already. cascade is only just showing some life, prima donna is abot a foot. not really expecting too much as first year but hoping to be able to get the full size ones to go up about 15 foot then along back of house. all will be trained on hessian rope

[Cellar_Rat]

Does anyone know if you can buy plants in the UK?

Such as Goldings, Fuggles, Northern Brewer perhaps?

[koomber]

http://dnh500.blogspot.com/2009/12/buying-hop-rhizomes-in-uk.html

Lots of links in here

[kampervan]

yep ebay has them

[Cellar_Rat]

yep ebay has them

doh!

[David]

Admittedly, I don't know much about hops - wild, tame, or otherwise. I've seen the "cones" before, but not the entire plant. Do they have thorns or something?

They have abrasive stems which can cause 'hop rash' by rubbing against them. Some people (me) are more susceptable than others, so I removed those from the garden in locations where I'd brush against them when wearing a short sleeved shirt.

[rjb222]

Although i do not know the proper terminology for the tendrils. They are the type that climb and grip. If you rub them the wrong way against the direction they will feel very rough but I do not find them nasty or anything like that.They are a climbing vine for sure.