A Quick Primer.. Know Your Hop Plants
Hops are a perennial plant, meaning with proper care one plant will produce for many years. Hops like fertile soil, plenty of sun and water, and something to climb on. The part of the plant used in brewing are the flower cones of the female plant. When growing your own hops, it is best to start with rhizomes (roots) from the female plant only, as these will produce large healthy cones without any seed.
Which Varieties Will Grow Best in Your Back Yard?
There are many varieties of hops, and if you are growing hops for the first time, it is a good idea to start with several varieties to find out which will do the best in your own back yard. For areas with a short growing season, choose hops that can be harvested early:
Hallertaur, Perle, Saaz, Spalt, & Tettnanger
For areas with a longer growing season, Cascade and Kent Goldings are good choices, but the other varieties can be grown successfully also, as long as the plants are mulched well and they get plenty of water. Here in California, all of the varieties we sell can be grown successfully.
Planting Your Hops In the Right Place:
A good site for your hop plants is key to a healthy crop. The following criteria is the most important:
-Good sun.. a minimum of 6 to 8 hours per day of full sunlight.
-Good air circulation..this will help to prevent diseases and will help keep pests to a minimum. If your area is really windy, a windbreak should be considered.
-Good drainage.. hops like a lot of moisture, but ground that stays too saturated after a heavy rain will promote the growth of mold and other diseases.
-Plenty of vertical space.. hop vines can grow up to 30 feet in length. You will need to construct a trellis, or use an existing structure that the hops can grow on.
Planting Your Hops:
Get your hops off to a good start by adding lots of compost or well rotted manure to the soil before planting. Hops grow best in soil with a Ph of 6 to 7.5, and need plenty of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron, zinc, and boron. A good organic fertilizer or compost will provide most of these nutrients. For more details about soil amendments and fertilizers, we recommend The Homebrewer's Garden, or another good gardening guide. Plant the hop rhizomes 6" deep and 1 1/2 to 3 feet apart, in raised beds if possible. The soil should be worked at least 2' deep. Cover the planted hops with a thick layer of mulch to prevent the soil from drying out and to keep weeds and pests to a minimum.
Before the hops grow more than a few inches, construct a hop trellis. There are many designs for the hop trellis, some of which can be found on the web page links, above, or in the recommended books, above. A good trellis is sturdy so it can hold up the weight of the hops plus withstand a strong wind, and gives the entire leafy part of the hop plant good sun exposure.
Source:
http://www.breworganic.com/tips/growing-hops.htm
Seven Bridges Cooperative - Santa Cruz, CA
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