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spoonbomb
Registered: 10/16/10
Posts: 2,058
Last seen: 8 years, 5 months
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Anybody grow hops?
#16076847 - 04/11/12 06:18 PM (11 years, 11 months ago) |
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Anybody? Humulus lupulus Can someone tell me how easy they are to grow? whats the best way?
Post pics if you have them
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/humulus_lupulus.html
Relative of Cannabis
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naum
Registered: 10/09/07
Posts: 4,069
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Re: Anybody grow hops? [Re: spoonbomb]
#16077159 - 04/11/12 07:44 PM (11 years, 11 months ago) |
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You live in a great climate for them. It's pretty easy. Plant in a well drained and sunny position and give them something to climb on.
Propagation is almost exclusively by rhizome so you'll need to find a source for varieties that are known to do well in your area. They take a couple of years for real production to begin.
For obvious reasons it is good idea to grow a variety that can be used both bittering and aroma. I'd recommend something along the lines of Northdown, Challenger, or Fuggle (though it isn't typically a dual purpose hop).
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melfdis
Strangerer
Registered: 07/22/07
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Re: Anybody grow hops? [Re: naum]
#16078484 - 04/12/12 12:44 AM (11 years, 11 months ago) |
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I have some growing. They produced flowers/cones for the first time last year. They were started from seed, took about 3 years to get flowers. Overall they are fairly easy to grow. As naum mentioned^, they are usually propagated by rhizome for the reasons mentioned and also because like Cannabis, the plants are either male or female, and the female flowers are the useful crop. Luckily my seed grown ones turned one to be about 2 outa 3 female.
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Opiate
Cultivate Yourself
Registered: 03/11/12
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Loc: NC
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Re: Anybody grow hops? [Re: melfdis]
#16081702 - 04/12/12 06:34 PM (11 years, 11 months ago) |
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Just planted mine!
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vadub
nuggets
Registered: 07/06/06
Posts: 568
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Re: Anybody grow hops? [Re: melfdis]
#16090364 - 04/14/12 06:58 PM (11 years, 11 months ago) |
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Quote:
melfdis said: I have some growing. They produced flowers/cones for the first time last year. They were started from seed, took about 3 years to get flowers. Overall they are fairly easy to grow. As naum mentioned^, they are usually propagated by rhizome for the reasons mentioned and also because like Cannabis, the plants are either male or female, and the female flowers are the useful crop. Luckily my seed grown ones turned one to be about 2 outa 3 female.
Badass.
It's amazing how resinous and deliciously fragrant hop flowers are.
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Lago Chiller
Stranger
Registered: 06/20/11
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Re: Anybody grow hops? [Re: spoonbomb]
#16090600 - 04/14/12 08:07 PM (11 years, 11 months ago) |
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I grew some Northern Brewer from some shoots a friend gave me. VERY easy to grow and can climb a 20+' trellis. The smell of a crushed cone is what Heaven must smell like. Any way I managed to kill them somehow and just today planted some sprouted SEEDS into pots. The seeds need a cold, damp period of 60 days or so then you can plant them. Mine sprouted in the baggie at 50 days but I'm not complaining. The quickest way is to go to a brewing supply place and ask around for shoots. In the Northern hemisphere, this is a good time to ask. You might get some for free. I seem to recall May 1st or 5th as an official "Home Brewers Day".
Hops cones should be dried before brewing, though there's recipes on using them fresh. It takes a BIG dehydrator to dry enough for a brew.
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passifloracaerulea
Registered: 11/13/10
Posts: 10,485
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i used to smoke bong rips of the cascade variety.
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Ieponumos
Mycophile/Phytophile
Registered: 09/02/09
Posts: 4,850
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Quote:
passifloracaerulea said: i used to smoke bong rips of the cascade variety.
I mused about buying some hops seed. Pretty soon I'm hoping to buy a mini fridge which I can use for nothing but cold stratification.
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melfdis
Strangerer
Registered: 07/22/07
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Re: Anybody grow hops? [Re: Ieponumos]
#16100140 - 04/16/12 11:38 PM (11 years, 11 months ago) |
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Quote:
Ieponumos said:
Quote:
passifloracaerulea said: i used to smoke bong rips of the cascade variety.
I mused about buying some hops seed. Pretty soon I'm hoping to buy a mini fridge which I can use for nothing but cold stratification.
Out of the lot of hops seeds that I had, half were cold stratified for several weeks and half were planted directly. Germination rates were about the same for both, so I don't think its necessary.
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4runner
Registered: 07/16/10
Posts: 15,406
Loc: State of Jefferson
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Re: Anybody grow hops? [Re: melfdis]
#16102243 - 04/17/12 02:48 PM (11 years, 11 months ago) |
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My wife was given some hops, Cascade, Crystal and Mt. Hood, two of which are potted and ready to go, the other is in a bag in the fridge needing to be planted.
I am going to have to come up with a cheap trellis design. How much height should you let them have for climbing? Or what would you say is the minimum.
Anyone know if deer like hops? Pretty sure I am going to have to put up some more fencing this weekend.
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Leon Ferrum
environmentalist know-it-all
Registered: 09/01/09
Posts: 335
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Re: Anybody grow hops? [Re: 4runner]
#16102638 - 04/17/12 04:22 PM (11 years, 11 months ago) |
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I have grown hops for years. I have grown nugget, cascade, pearl, and zeus hops. I orders the rhizomes online. All of my hops, in both the SF Bay Area and New Orleans produced at least a half pound of hops their first year. They are easy to grow, especially if you are in a climate with a lot of rain. They do not need as much water in later years due to their huge root system. My hops now grow on a trellis that is about 14 feet high. It is two pieces of bamboo with cheap string tied between them. Last year they grew up it and onto my roof. I have seen them grow 6" a day many times. they grow up the south side of my house, so they keep the sun off in summer and die back in winter.
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Leon Ferrum
environmentalist know-it-all
Registered: 09/01/09
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Also- please do not order and grow hop seeds. There is no reason to do so. There are other plants that really need you to preserve their genetic diversity. Like cannabis, your male plants could pollinate/ruin the crops of people (like me) who grow only female plants for brewing purposes. Seeds will take much longer to germinate/grow and produce hops. The varieties that are available only through vegetative cuttings will probably produce more hops than whatever a plant from a seed would produce.
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Lago Chiller
Stranger
Registered: 06/20/11
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Re: Anybody grow hops? [Re: melfdis]
#16108254 - 04/18/12 07:51 PM (11 years, 11 months ago) |
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Quote:
Out of the lot of hops seeds that I had, half were cold stratified for several weeks and half were planted directly. Germination rates were about the same for both, so I don't think its necessary.
50 days and they were sprouting in my fridge. Did the non stratified seed sprout in the same time frame as well?
This is the first year I've grown pendicularis densiflora (Indian warrior) and it has made a believer out of me in regards to cold stratification for certain varieties. Almost 85% of my cold stratified seeds have sprouted during cold treatment, 0% of the non stratified seed have. Same seed lot and baggie method. Plus they are growing better in my unheated greenhouse that has large temp variations than the seedlings I have indoors to keep them "safe". Living and learning.
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Lago Chiller
Stranger
Registered: 06/20/11
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Quote:
Leon Ferrum said: Also- please do not order and grow hop seeds. There is no reason to do so. There are other plants that really need you to preserve their genetic diversity. Like cannabis, your male plants could pollinate/ruin the crops of people (like me) who grow only female plants for brewing purposes. Seeds will take much longer to germinate/grow and produce hops. The varieties that are available only through vegetative cuttings will probably produce more hops than whatever a plant from a seed would produce.
I certainly wouldn't want to screw someones hard won cones. Do you happen to know if there is a method for identifying males before they flower?
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Leon Ferrum
environmentalist know-it-all
Registered: 09/01/09
Posts: 335
Last seen: 11 years, 2 months
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Im sure it is easy to tell the males. Similar to cannabis. Can someone explain to me why they would want to grow hops from seed? They reproduce asexually via rhizomes and also air layer easily if you want a bunch of plants for cheap. Breeding them is not really feasible considering it can take years for them to sexually mature, and even in their first year of sexual maturity they will not produce as much.
Also- do the seeds taste good (and are they edible)? If they taste like a mixture between cannabis seeds and hops that would be tasty and likely nutritious.
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melfdis
Strangerer
Registered: 07/22/07
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Quote:
Leon Ferrum said: Im sure it is easy to tell the males. Similar to cannabis. Can someone explain to me why they would want to grow hops from seed? They reproduce asexually via rhizomes and also air layer easily if you want a bunch of plants for cheap. Breeding them is not really feasible considering it can take years for them to sexually mature, and even in their first year of sexual maturity they will not produce as much.
Also- do the seeds taste good (and are they edible)? If they taste like a mixture between cannabis seeds and hops that would be tasty and likely nutritious.
The main reason I grew from seed was cost. A pack of about 50 seeds was about $2.00, single rhizomes are about $3.50-$10.00, depending on variety. Also I live outside of the recommended latitude and climate type for hops, so it seems the genetic diversity of growing from seed would increase the chances of survival here.
I couldn't tell the male plant from the females until they started flowering, maybe someone more knowledgeable could point out some type of pre-flowers or something on them, idk. Seeded cones are not much of a problem, mostly occurring only where the male and female plants were growing basically on top of each other. Haven't tried eating the seeds.
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Lago Chiller
Stranger
Registered: 06/20/11
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Quote:
Leon Ferrum said: Can someone explain to me why they would want to grow hops from seed? .
There's a certain amount of pride that comes from using plants that you have sprouted from seed. The vigor of the seed grown plant is also a factor in my choice as the last time I planted rhizomes (Willamette) they turned out to be sickly plants that I never got a cone from. I'm in a suburban environment and I check out the yards of my neighbors when my wife and I walk the neighborhood. Only a very few folks garden come summer on our beat(4 miles or so) and those that do seem mainly interested in tomatoes, cukes and such, never seen a hops trellis.(I'm always on the lookout for like minded folks ) The one time I have seen hops was at a golf course over 30 miles away. But you raise a valid concern that has me rethinking this move. I've read more than once in hops growing country growers have the right to eradicate males found anywhere. I'd hate to have "other" plants discovered by such an occurance.
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Leon Ferrum
environmentalist know-it-all
Registered: 09/01/09
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Quote:
melfdis said:
The main reason I grew from seed was cost. A pack of about 50 seeds was about $2.00, single rhizomes are about $3.50-$10.00, depending on variety.
While I understand your calculations, I would argue that you actually would get more bang for your buck with a rhizome. You pay $10 for a rhizome, you have a bunch of sprouts within a week of planting. With strategic pruning and air layering you could potentially have hundreds of female plants flowering the same year.
What climate do you live in? My hops do just fine in a subtropical environment (New Orleans) and they are from rhizomes.
Quote:
Lago Chiller said:
The vigor of the seed grown plant is also a factor in my choice as the last time I planted rhizomes (Willamette) they turned out to be sickly plants that I never got a cone from. I'm in a suburban environment and I check out the yards of my neighbors when my wife and I walk the neighborhood. Only a very few folks garden come summer on our beat(4 miles or so) and those that do seem mainly interested in tomatoes, cukes and such, never seen a hops trellis.(I'm always on the lookout for like minded folks ) The one time I have seen hops was at a golf course over 30 miles away. But you raise a valid concern that has me rethinking this move. I've read more than once in hops growing country growers have the right to eradicate males found anywhere. I'd hate to have "other" plants discovered by such an occurance.
Sure hope none of your hops become / are born hermaphrodites. Wiliamette is a notoriously lame strain. The guy at the local brew store owns some land in New England where he grows many varieties of hops, and he said that those were the only ones that did not produce well. They under performed my Cascade by a lot when I grew them next to each other. Cascade and Nugget are the very vigorous, heavy producers. My Zeus produced just as much as my Nugget this year, it just took a little longer.
I wish it were a better time to dig rhizomes so we could trade. My Pearl strain has one vine that is about 12 feet tall already.
Edited by Leon Ferrum (04/23/12 07:31 AM)
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4runner
Registered: 07/16/10
Posts: 15,406
Loc: State of Jefferson
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Quick question to make sure I read this correctly before. From each rhizome planted, is it true you only want one stalk to grow up a line, while pruning back the weaker ones?
I still need to find a good spot to plant mine. I think they grew a foot already in this last week. Hopefully I can get them in the ground by this next weekend. So much work to do around this place.
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Leon Ferrum
environmentalist know-it-all
Registered: 09/01/09
Posts: 335
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Re: Anybody grow hops? [Re: 4runner]
#16128082 - 04/23/12 11:03 AM (11 years, 11 months ago) |
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Quote:
anunnakian said: Quick question to make sure I read this correctly before. From each rhizome planted, is it true you only want one stalk to grow up a line, while pruning back the weaker ones?
I still need to find a good spot to plant mine. I think they grew a foot already in this last week. Hopefully I can get them in the ground by this next weekend. So much work to do around this place.
To answer your question- it depends. If your limiting factor is rhizomes (say you have one rhizome and you want to cover a 4' wide by 15' wide wall) then you should just let all the vines grow out until all the strings on your trellis are covered. If you have 10 rhizomes and you want them to cover a 4' by 20' wall, you should just plant them in a row below it and prune off all but one vine per rhizome.
I personally never prune by hops in any way. All I do is train the vines onto the trellis. I will run multiple vines up one string and they do fine (works to replace foliage cover that is compromised by the army of caterpillars that can strip a 15' vine of all leaves in a few days if I am not careful.)
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