Hop growing in northwest

[Monkhouse]

Hey, my mum has an allotment and has said I can use part of it for growing hops, the rules are it can’t be growing higher than 6 foot or so but I thought I could train some hops to grow along a trellis or fence- is this feasible? Also what variety should I be hoping to get a decent yield from in this end of the uk?
I’ve got no idea about growing hops but would love to give it a go, is there a certain time of the year which is better for planting etc?

 

[prog99]

You're not that far north, they will grow fine. It is indeed possible to train a hop plant sideways but you will need a lot of room.

Best planted in springtime, you'll get a crop in your 1st year.

 

[Sadfield]

Prima Donna (First Gold) is dwarf variety that grows to a few metres.

I got +700g (dry weight) from my second year harvest in the east of Cheshire. I'm growing them horizontally along a fence.

 

[MrRook]

I used to grow goldings and sterlings along am unused clothesline.

 

[prog99]

I used to grow goldings and sterlings along am unused clothesline.

Mine are trained along some old climbing slings

 

[Monkhouse]

I’ve been thinking something like this, this however was at a national trust property so my version of it would be 3x3 uprights and an old ladder across for hops to train along. Would this be suitable?

 

[prog99]

Ideal.
You just need to be careful manipulating the shoots at times as they can be a bit snappy

 

[Northern_Brewer]

the rules are it can’t be growing higher than 6 foot or so

Give that constraint, dwarf varieties are the obvious solution - full-size hops grow to 20 feet, dwarf ones are about half that - and the only dwarf option available to home growers is First Gold, which for legal reasons gets called Primadonna for home use. It's also a pretty decent choice from a brewing POV.

is there a certain time of the year which is better for planting etc?

You have two options, either bare rhizomes or plants growing in pots. Rhizomes are cheaper and so are the normal way of buying them, and you get a wider choice of varieties, but they only become available in December-February or so. Potted plants are more expensive, have less choice, but are available April-August or so. At this stage I'd just wait for rhizomes to become available in late autumn.

 

[Monkhouse]

Give that constraint, dwarf varieties are the obvious solution - full-size hops grow to 20 feet, dwarf ones are about half that - and the only dwarf option available to home growers is First Gold, which for legal reasons gets called Primadonna for home use. It's also a pretty decent choice from a brewing POV.

You have two options, either bare rhizomes or plants growing in pots. Rhizomes are cheaper and so are the normal way of buying them, and you get a wider choice of varieties, but they only become available in December-February or so. Potted plants are more expensive, have less choice, but are available April-August or so. At this stage I'd just wait for rhizomes to become available in late autumn.

Prima Donna (First Gold) - Hop Plant | Essentially Hops
Is this a plant or rhizome? Would it be worth getting 3 of these now as they’re so cheap and just put them in the ground at the allotment and build the support set up next year once it starts the growing process?

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Bare root means rhizome. But it's weird that they're even offering them at this time of year, normally retailers just stop selling them. If they've been out of the ground for 6 months then they're probably not a good deal as they'll be near-dead, if they're uprooting plants now, cutting off the stems and then just posting what's left then I guess it works

 

[Monkhouse]

Well fingers crossed that they’re ok, I’ve ordered 5 of them.

 

[Cwrw666]

I've had hops from them and they were fine. I just followed your link and then clicked on availability/delivery - looks like they'll dispatch them to you in November/ december. Which is the right time to be planting hops anyway. Gives you time to sort out your trellis.

 

[Monkhouse]

I've had hops from them and they were fine. I just followed your link and then clicked on availability/delivery - looks like they'll dispatch them to you in November/ december. Which is the right time to be planting hops anyway. Gives you time to sort out your trellis.

They’re sending them out now for me. I’m assuming that although not the usual time of year (from info off their site) it states that hops can be planted at any time but they do like the winter cold to establish themselves.
So I guess they will just stay dormant in the ground until next spring? I dunno.
Anyway I’ve also read that they need to be spaced apart about a metre? This seems quite far for me, is this correct? Even for dwarf varieties and they’re all the same species?

 

[prog99]

The rhizomes can spread rapidly!

 

[Monkhouse]

The rhizomes can spread rapidly!

Sure thing but does it matter if they become intertwined being as they are the same species?

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Sure thing but does it matter if they become intertwined being as they are the same species?

It's less important if they're the same variety, but in general you don't want them intertwining as different varieties mature at different times and it's a real pain to harvest them if you only want to harvest one of an intertwined pair.

 

[prog99]

Sure thing but does it matter if they become intertwined being as they are the same species?

Underground. I used to find them miles away from the main plant

 

[Erik The Anglophile]

I grow hops and I live 60-70km south of the arctic circle.
You'll be fine.

 

[Monkhouse]

It's less important if they're the same variety, but in general you don't want them intertwining as different varieties mature at different times and it's a real pain to harvest them if you only want to harvest one of an intertwined pair.

Ah fair play! How deep do I need to bury the rhizomes?

 

[Erik The Anglophile]

Let them grow in pots a while inside first so they grow sturdier roots, then keep them outside for a few days to let them acclimate before planting.
I don't know how cold winters you guys get but I learned the hard way that making sure the crowns are below soil and putting some leaves or something on them after trimming down in fall is a good idea...