Planting Hops

Spring is here and it's the perfect time to plant your Hop Rhizomes. Although you won't get much yield out of them the first year, you can still pair what you grow with some hop pellets and give your home brew a little extra freshness.  Hop Rhizomes can be found at your local home brew shop or you can get them shipped online from a Hop supplier. Either way, they most likely came from Oregon or Washington which is where the majority of the hop supply comes from in the US. I actually ordered mine online from the Thyme Garden (based out of Oregon). So what the heck is a Hop Rhizome? It's just the root cutting from an already established hop vine. As you can see from the pictures I am planting four different varieties: Cascade, Zeus, Centinnel and Williamette. Cascade is very popular among hop growers because it has a high yield and usually fairs well in most climates. For brewing, it will have a floral, minty/spicy element and it can be used for bittering and/or aromatic purposes. I originally wanted to plant Chinook rhizomes (inspired by Stone Brewery's crop), but the Thyme garden was sold out. They said that Zeus would be a great substitute and he assured me that it should do ok in my growing conditions (we'll see!). Zeus hops are normally used for aroma (usually Pale Ales). The second pair I planted was Centinnel and Williamette. Both are to be used as a bittering and/or aromatic hop. Centinnel is a lot of times used for Stouts (which is my wife's favorite type of beer). So I received my Hop Rhizomes in the mail, stuck them in the fridge (keeps them fresh) and over the weekend I prepared my little hop garden. My wife and I moved here last October and since it was a short sale, the last owner...let's just say he trashed the back yard.So we have had our hands full.
The first thing I had to do was dig up the soil and remove any rocks/debris that was in the area. I added three huge bags of gardening soil and mixed the two together. Now I have a nice, clean, solid foundation to plant my hops. Hops need adequate sunlight (6-8 hrs a day), good drainage, regular watering (especially the first year) and blockage from the wind.
Since Temecula can sometimes get nasty winds, I decided to plant near our wall. Hops can reach up to 30 ft in height if you give them the right environment. In my case, I do not want my hops to grow that high. So what I did was planted a 7 foot tent pole trellis ( right in the middle of the hops). I am going to attach four galvanized ring bolts through the top of the pole to secure the guy lines. I will then tie the guy lines to the ring bolt and tape the ends with waterproof tape. The other ends of the guy lines will be tied directly to the stakes and driven into the ground. I will then train each of the hops up the guy lines which should give me approximately 13 ft to grow the hop vines. Hop Rhizomes should be planted horizontally, the the white shoots pointing up and the rootlets leading down and to the sides. They are also supposed to be planted on a hill (for proper drainage). So I dug a small trench about 6 inches deep in the top of the hill, placed the rhizome in it and covered it over with about 2 inches of soil. Now as you can see, the Cascade Rhizome they gave me already had a bit of growth to it, so you can see the vine already popping out of the soil. I planted each of the Rhizomes about 3 ft from each other and about 3 ft from the pole. This will give the roots plenty of room so they won't get mixed up with the other varieties.
Now, it's just a waiting game until we get to enjoy some fresh hops! I will update on the progress.

-Cheers

Any Questions? Comments?