Growing Hops

[chefr]

I am taking the plunge and going to grow my own hops this year my question is I want to do it in Pots so how big of a pot will I need

[beerman]

I'm not experienced or anything, but I think hops grow from a vine root system and would need the ground space to spread out. hop vines spout out from this root system and you could have multiple vines growing upward.

[chefr]

That I know but they can be trained onto a trellis so they grow up

[JG]

I think what beerman means is that the hop plant is a rhizome and it spreads underground. My Father grows Nugget hops for me and some of the roots are 3" in diameter.

You can grow them in a pot, mine started in pots, but your harvest in the fall won't be much to speak of. You might get an ounce and that might be all you want. By putting them in the ground they have room to grow and mature.

I get close to a pound of Nugget and a pound Cascade hops (dried) in the fall. The plants are 5-6 years old.

Jon

[chefr]

Yeah but I do not have that big of a yard and was hoping tp be able to do them in pots on my deck I undestand tha the pot will have to be large but was just wondering how large do not want to get one that looks big enough but thenm is to small

[JG]

If you can't get them into the ground then I would get the biggest pot you can find and that will fit on your deck. Southern exposure is best (lots of sun) and make sure the pot drains well. Hops don't like wet feet. The bigger the pot the bigger the yield will be in the next few years.

Not much will happen this year although you will get vines and next year you'll want some type of trellis to let the vines grow up. After harvest, trim the vines right down to the ground and move the pot out of any harsh winter weather (but not inside).

Jon

[beerman]

I get close to a pound of Nugget and a pound Cascade hops (dried) in the fall. The plants are 5-6 years old.

Jon

-How tall and how many vertical vines do those 5-6 year old plants have? how much ground space for the entire plant, horizontal spacing between vines?
-Do you utilize all that (2lbs. total dried)?
-Is the drying process a pain?

[JG]

-How tall and how many vertical vines do those 5-6 year old plants have? how much ground space for the entire plant, horizontal spacing between vines?

I train 9-12 vines up 3 polls with maybe one foot between and 10'-12' tall. The roots love to run so it's a constant battle to keep them contained. Maybe a 3 foot circle total.

-Do you utilize all that (2lbs. total dried)?

Most of the time no, at least not the Nugget (at 12%). I've only gotten a full pound of Cascade a few times. I probably have 4-5 oz. of Cascade left in the freezer that will be gone by late summer, I tend to brew hopper beers. I give some away too. From time to time I have to throw out the Nugget, takes up too much room.

-Is the drying process a pain?

As simple as opening a beer bottle. I place the hops on a large window screen in the basement in a cool, dry place and that's it. Once dry, I package in 1 oz. bags and store in the freezer.

[beerman]

Thanks for the info. JG,

I'd like to grow hops at some point, but like chefr I don't have the ground space right now, not to mention the vertical support of poles or lines etc.

I think it's wild how the vines can grow that rapidly in a single season.

JG,
How long are your summers/your growing zone? Any pest problems?

[Big Dave]

Chris Colby, editor of BYO magazine (who also has a graduate degree - maybe even a PhD? - in biology) has managed to grow hops in containers for years. I can't believe that it could be very easy to get a good yield, but if you know what you're doing (and he does, apparently), it does work.

He wrote this article in the March-April 2009 issue of BYO. You might want to check it out.

[beerman]

Interesting article, you could start off some rizhomes in pots then later move them into the ground.

I'm not sure I fully understand his adjustable trellis system.

[JG]

I've read Chris Colby's articles and seen his videos (on YouTube) about his hops in containers and it does work great. But for myself, if I was going to grow hops I wanted enough for multiple batches of beer. I'm lucky to have the room (and a wife who doesn't mind losing some garden space).

If you have some southern exposure, you could plant the hops next to the house, hang a trellis from the overhang and let the hops grow up.

I think it's wild how the vines can grow that rapidly in a single season.
JG,
How long are your summers/your growing zone? Any pest problems?

I swear, in late July into August the seem to grow 6-8 inches a day - it's crazy. Here in NE Ohio (15 mins. from G&G) the hops start to pop as soon as the soil temp. comes up, same time as rhubarb, and I harvest sometime around Sept. It all depends when they mature. As far as pests, never has a problem. Although the Japanese beetles like to chew on the leaves they leave the cones alone.

[grapeadmin]

I wish I could say the same about my grape plants. The Japanese beetles love to eat them. I lost about 25 plants one year do to their destruction.

john

[JG]

We have seedless concord grapes (just two vines) and the Japanese beetles love the leaves but leave the grapes alone. Of course it's easy to wack them off when you only have two plants. Nothing more satisfying then holding a beer in one hand, a cigar in the other and burning those little b******s with the cigar.

Jon

[Big Dave]

Yeah, the Japanese beetles clearly have a preference for the leaves and not the cones. And in my "hop yard" they seem to prefer Mount Hood about 5 or 6 times as much as Nugget, Cascade, or Willamette (meaning I find around 5 or 6 beetles on the one Mt Hood plant for every one beetle found on any of the other plants). In fact, they love the Mt Hood so much that, when I harvested, I found some Mt Hood cones that had definitely been chewed on.

So while I agree that the Japanese beetles aren't really a "problem", I would keep my eyes on them just in case. I am convinced that simply going out and picking them off by hand (then squashing their guts out!) helps quite a bit with the overall health of the plant (not to mention helping relieve some frustration on the part of the hop grower!) The cigar trick sounds even more satisfying as a therapy for the grower. I guess I'll have to take up smoking!