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Post by bklmt2000 on Apr 10, 2020 6:46:29 GMT -6
My Cascade plant is entering its 7th season, and when I looked yesterday, it had a good 20+ shoots coming up, all looked strong and healthy. Will try to snap a pic later to post.
Same plant had a runner late last season that I separated, replanted, and it appears the new plant is also sprouting now. In another couple of years, I might have a monster on my hands. 
Also ordered a new teepee-shaped trellis from Amazon that will stand ~7ft tall, to give the plant more room to climb (current trellis is only ~4t tall, so vertical room to grow is limited).
If this year's crop turns out anywhere like last year's, I'll be happy. Made a couple of IPAs late last year w/ my homegrown hops; recollection is a little hazy, but I do recall they were quite good.
Anyone else tending a hop garden?
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Post by Ken on Apr 10, 2020 7:21:35 GMT -6
You're gonna have to sell your house and buy something in Chil's neighborhood. With 24 acres you could just let the hops go where they wanted. You could have a hundred varieties!!  |
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Post by drez on Apr 10, 2020 8:27:33 GMT -6
Cut down the 4 varieties we used to grow a couple years back.
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Post by Ken on Apr 10, 2020 8:39:26 GMT -6
What year was the "hop shortage"? When it got tough to find what I wanted I bought four rhizomes... Willamette, Cascade, Hallertau and Sterling (I think). I feel like it was around 2007-2008 because my backyard was going through a transformation. I put the hops into big pots, put them in the sun and watered them. They were next to a fence and started to climb. But I was distracted with other stuff and didn't really pay attention to them. Eventually the backyard was done and I found that I really had no place for them and I just left them out all winter. I'm kind of glad I did... I don't necessarily want to care for hops. If I had a huge yard with a lot of open space I might see it differently.
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Post by drez on Apr 10, 2020 9:07:07 GMT -6
What year was the "hop shortage"? When it got tough to find what I wanted I bought four rhizomes... Willamette, Cascade, Hallertau and Sterling (I think). I feel like it was around 2007-2008 because my backyard was going through a transformation. I put the hops into big pots, put them in the sun and watered them. They were next to a fence and started to climb. But I was distracted with other stuff and didn't really pay attention to them. Eventually the backyard was done and I found that I really had no place for them and I just left them out all winter. I'm kind of glad I did... I don't necessarily want to care for hops. If I had a huge yard with a lot of open space I might see it differently. I want to say 2008 was the shortage. |
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matt6150
Full Member
Patient Zero
Posts: 142
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Post by matt6150 on Apr 10, 2020 9:20:42 GMT -6
I gave up years ago. Just didn't seem worth it.
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Post by poptop on Apr 10, 2020 9:37:02 GMT -6
No. Well, because.... South Florida
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Post by Ken on Apr 10, 2020 10:02:43 GMT -6
No. Well, because.... South Florida #Florida? |
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Post by Leftympfrmde on Apr 10, 2020 19:58:09 GMT -6
I did it for a couple of years. It ended up not being worth it.
Hops are a very invasive plant; having a dog, didnt want then to take over the backyard. Ended making a pretty sweet trellis in a dead spot in the driveway, using 5 gallon buckets. I think the last year each of the root balls were starved for space. Ended up cutting up and giving away a bunch of rhizomes.
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Post by SchwanzBrewer on Apr 12, 2020 12:47:26 GMT -6
No. Well, because.... South Florida There's a guy in Key West that has successfully grown cascades for multiple years. I've tried, but haven't been diligent enough to get them to grow for more than a season. I harvested about 3 oz at the most dry but never used it in a beer. If I ever get some property where I can put in a big pole that gets the right amount of shade and sun I'll try again. |
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Post by Ken on Apr 12, 2020 13:04:40 GMT -6
So what is it about #Florida that would not work? They like sun and they like moisture and I feel like you have plenty of both. Do they not like it ultra-hot? I suppose if Oregon is the bomb place to grow them, Florida seems like NOT the bomb place to grow them.  |
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Post by bklmt2000 on Apr 12, 2020 13:56:16 GMT -6
So what is it about #Florida that would not work? They like sun and they like moisture and I feel like you have plenty of both. Do they not like it ultra-hot? I suppose if Oregon is the bomb place to grow them, Florida seems like NOT the bomb place to grow them.
Hops can tolerant some heat, but Florida (and most of the south) is generally too hot for viable hop growing. Oregon and Wash St. have more temperate weather/temps that hops like a lot better.
Where I live in SW Ohio is fairly decent for hop-growing; our summers can be stupid hot, requiring extra irrigation, but where my hop plant is (base of our chimney, east side of our house) gets direct sun until about midday in summer, then a lot of indirect light off of our neighbor's house.
The side of my house where the hop plants live also has a good (almost steep) grade away from the house, so the soil is well-drained. And the beers I've made with the hops I've grown have been good, else I probably would've given up on homegrown hops years ago.
I see it as extension of growing my own veggies; I could buy them at the store, and usually do, but sometimes it's nice to enjoy something you grew yourself.
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Post by SchwanzBrewer on Apr 12, 2020 14:08:19 GMT -6
So what is it about #Florida that would not work? They like sun and they like moisture and I feel like you have plenty of both. Do they not like it ultra-hot? I suppose if Oregon is the bomb place to grow them, Florida seems like NOT the bomb place to grow them.
Hops can tolerant some heat, but Florida (and most of the south) is generally too hot for viable hop growing. Oregon and Wash St. have more temperate weather/temps that hops like a lot better.
Where I live in SW Ohio is fairly decent for hop-growing; our summers can be stupid hot, requiring extra irrigation, but where my hop plant is (base of our chimney, east side of our house) gets direct sun until about midday in summer, then a lot of indirect light off of our neighbor's house.
The side of my house where the hop plants live also has a good (almost steep) grade away from the house, so the soil is well-drained. And the beers I've made with the hops I've grown have been good, else I probably would've given up on homegrown hops years ago.
I see it as extension of growing my own veggies; I could buy them at the store, and usually do, but sometimes it's nice to enjoy something you grew yourself.
The University of Florida is working on a hop growing program in Wimauma, FL. About 10 miles south of my house (I'm in Brandon, FL about 20 miles SE of Tampa). They are cultivating a varietal of cascade that is heat tolerant. They did this same thing for blueberries back in the early 90's I think to help create a new cash crop for farmers in FL. From my personal experience and what I've read on other forums you can grow hops in FL if you have the right conditions and mainly that means you need morning sun and then shade in the afternoon. The next big problem is avoiding fungus since summers are so wet. So you have to be diligent about using fungicides and applying it correctly and having a watering schedule that means the leaves are dried out by the afternoon or not watering at all in the wet season. Knowing when to cut the bines is another big issue because our growing season is so long. Several people in FL have got 2 harvests of hops; one in early summer and one in fall. |
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Post by denny on Apr 15, 2020 13:38:23 GMT -6
I grew them for 15 years. I've spent the last 5 years trying to kill them off.
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Post by denny on Apr 15, 2020 13:39:18 GMT -6
So what is it about #Florida that would not work? They like sun and they like moisture and I feel like you have plenty of both. Do they not like it ultra-hot? I suppose if Oregon is the bomb place to grow them, Florida seems like NOT the bomb place to grow them. It's the length of day. Hops grow best closest to the 45th parallel. We interviewed a commercial hop grower in FL. He has to use lights for his. |
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