Growing Hops

[BeestonHop_John]

hi all,
I just posted to the 'Introduce yourself' threads and BruinTuns said that only a few people have posted before about growing hops.
So, some of you might be interested:
Today I planted out 4 hop plants, 2x nugget & 2x Prima Donna, that I bought from these guys: http://www.aplus-hops.co.uk/
They arrived very quickly (and over Xmas), and look pretty big for bare root plants.
I'll let you know how I get on. (I'm in Nottingham, for those of you interested in how north/south I am)
cheers

 

[Niman]

im curious as to how u get on with prima as dwarf would be my only practical option without having to re home

 

[BeestonHop_John]

hi Niman, I'll let you know. The Primas are actually planted in a bed that is really shallow, which may additionally restrict their growth. But I'll keep this thread updated

 

[johnnyboy1965]

Its the wrong time of year to be planting out hops. The rhizomes will just sit in the cold, wet soil, rot away and die. Dig them up, put them into pots of GP compost and put them somewhere sheltered, a greenhouse is ideal. Wait until all possibility of a frost has passed and then plant them out.

 

[BeestonHop_John]

That isn't what the planting notes I received from the company told me to do.

 

[BeestonHop_John]

I received a reply from APlus Hops regarding planting our of rhizomes:
'You can certainly pot the hop roots up into either garden soil or a good quality loam based compost, such as John Innes No:-3
However do not pot up into fertiliser!! you may keep the plants in a cold green house not a heated one! but our commercial growers plant the roots out directly into a field. So the choice is yours.
I would however suggest potting up into a bucket sized pot with John Innes No 3 to get an established plant, ready to set out to its permanent planting position during May when the frosts are less likely. If your soil conditions are very heavy and wet (i.e. boulder clay) then growing the small plant on first in the way I have suggested above would certainly be beneficial, however light soils are not so much of a problem.'

 

[johnnyboy1965]

At this time of year even light soils can get waterlogged. Commercial hop growers plant their hops on ridges, to raise them out of the sub-soil. If you've planted them and don't want to lift them I recommend that you place a up-turned bucket over the top. This will stop them getting waterlogged and if you can fill the bucket with straw, even better.. Its the wrong time of year to check your soil, but do you know how to deterime what type of soil you have. Im not being disrespectful, but Id hate to see you loose your hops/money for the sake of a two minute job.

 

[Ale]

A mate of mine grows his own hops but told me it takes 4 years until you can use the, Is this true?

 

[johnnyboy1965]

Depends on if your willing to speculate to accumulate. They will flower in the first year and you will get a crop, but if you pinch out the first years flowers as soon as they form, all the energy goes into producing a bigger rhizome, for a stronger plant the following year.

 

[BeestonHop_John]

I took your advice and raised them. There were only 3, meaning I must have lost one already to marauding squirrels.

 

[Badger]

Always wanted to grow my own hops, thanks for the site lad!

 

[ellams]

I've just got myself two Prima Donna hops plants to grow, Never grown them before. The leaflet says to plant them now so I guess they are quite happy with frost while they are dormant ?

Any hints on growing them in large pots would be appreciated.

 

[mirsultankhan]

I've just got myself two Prima Donna hops plants to grow, Never grown them before. The leaflet says to plant them now so I guess they are quite happy with frost while they are dormant ?

Any hints on growing them in large pots would be appreciated.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYYUVZkuchk[/ame]

 

[ellams]

That's just what I needed, Thanks a lot.

 

[johnnyboy1965]

I took your advice and raised them. There were only 3, meaning I must have lost one already to marauding squirrels.

Never know squirrels to eat hop rhizomes, Im not saying they don't. Maybe its rotted away?

 

[johnnyboy1965]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYYUVZkuchk

I don't like this video, and Ill tell you why...Hops are massive, hungry plants, they need a lot of food. Planting a hop in GP compost will only give it enough nutrition for the first year. For a pot grown hop I recommend...60% John Innes No3...10% grit....30% GP compost...top dress every spring with JI No3. You also do not need to train your hop. It will find anything that it can cling onto and grow, strangely they do grow clockwise, not sure about the Southern hemisphere idea...water down a plug hole etc

 

[johnnyboy1965]

I've just got myself two Prima Donna hops plants to grow, Never grown them before. The leaflet says to plant them now so I guess they are quite happy with frost while they are dormant ?

Any hints on growing them in large pots would be appreciated.

Hops are frost hardy, they just wont stand cold, wet, waterlogged soil

 

[mirsultankhan]

Hops are frost hardy, they just wont stand cold, wet, waterlogged soil

traditionally we have not grown hops in Scotland, i was wondering if they could be grown and trained to grow in a greenhouse? I understand that of course they can grow to 5 metres+ but you could just train it to grow around the greenhouse.

 

[BeestonHop_John]

Never know squirrels to eat hop rhizomes, Im not saying they don't. Maybe its rotted away?

I don't see how it could have rotted away in less than 7 days. Especially when the other nugget rhizome was perfect & next to it.

Squirrels often dig up bulbs. I've lost quite a few plants to them over the years. The annoying thing is that they never eat then all, just dig them up & spoil them.

 

[BeestonHop_John]

traditionally we have not grown hops in Scotland, i was wondering if they could be grown and trained to grow in a greenhouse? I understand that of course they can grow to 5 metres+ but you could just train it to grow around the greenhouse.

My hop book ('For the love of hops', ISBN 1-938-469-01-1) says that hops grow best between the 35th and 50th parallels, meaning that Scotland is indeed too far north. A greenhouse might be too hot, but I guess it is worth a try, if you can ventilate it at the high points of summer?