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THHave you thought about growing your own hops??
In an effort to involve my husband in my love for gardening I have been encouraging him to grow the things he loves. He loves beer, so growing Hops sounded like fun.
I purchased three Chinook Hops rhizomes from @yakimavalleyhops in 2022.
Since hop plants can live 25-50 years, planning their spot in your garden is important. They’ll need plenty of climbing space in a sunny location (south facing is ideal), with well-draining soil.
Hops require a lot of water, especially in their first year. The older the plant, the less frequent the watering
The gardening rule of sleep, creep, leap definitely comes into play with hop bines, and that has been my experience with year three being the year we are finally seeing actual hops develop.
Yakima Valley Hops (where I purchased mine) no longer appear to sell chinook hop bine rhizomes but they do sell other varieties in packs of three.
Hop bines are vigorous climbers and planning how you will provide climbing support for them can be fun. We built a horizontal trellis between two trees for the hops to climb across. String runs from the ground, secured with landscape pins up 8 ft to a trellis made of pressure treated 2x4s and one inch hardware cloth. I’m looking forward to sitting under the trellis and admiring the hanging hops.
Plant three to six rhizomes two inches below the soil surface so the shoots point upward.
Feeding schedules vary, but in general you should feed at the first sprout, then three weeks later, then once in mid-summer and once at the beginning stages of flowering. I feed our hops with Kickass Frass tea that I make by mixing insect frass with water and pouring it over the hop crowns.
Harvesting of hops occurs mid-August through September.
Yakima Valley Hops (where I purchased mine) no longer appear to sell chinook hop bine rhizomes but they do sell other varieties in packs of three.
#gardening #hops #growing #zone8a #growinghops #growyourown
@theeverhopefulgardener
