Over My Head

Last year I decided, (in a drunkin' stooper), to build a hop planter in my yard. After many a night drawing and conspiring as to which configuration works best for me, I ended up with what is by far, the tallest free standing wood structure (besides the surrounding trees) in my neighborhood. As my friend and I stood in the shadow of my newly constructed behemoth, I began to wonder...."Did I go a little to far with this? Is this my moment of clarity?" Fear not my new found friends. For I am a homebrewer! Crazy and eccentric is completely normal. Everybody likes pictures and honestly...so do I. It seems to tell the story more clearly. Take a look and tell me what you think. I tried to document as much as I could remember. Without further a due.....

continued...

and then....

looks perfect man !
...do you need any guy wires just in case if high winds?

The two growing plants are 2nd year cascades. The two empty spots are newly planted 1st year Columbus. As i write this, one columbus has allready broken ground and sending up two new bines. (Proud Dad smile) I welcome comments and criticism. What do you think? Over the top? Spot on? The big kicker... I live in Florida. Haven't seen anyone around here do something this..... braising this far south. We'll see how she holds up. Open to discussion, twalk among ya selves.

The only issue i see is telling which hop is which when they get to the top, they are planted too close to keep them separate other than that it looks great, how tall? Fence in back 6 feet so i say 12 to15 feet?
Hoping the hop gods bless you with a healthy crop.

Yeah, I get where your coming from. They will be a tangled mess at the top. Oh well, I'll just deal with it. Should look really nice next year.
Both those posts are sixteen foot. 2ft of it is in the ground. 14ft to the cross bar. Little shorter than what I really wanted but, best I could get from the local big box store.

Looks great, I agree with chefrex it will be a mess at top. Can you put a lateral on the top to seperate the direction of growth of the different bines? Just a thought.

There is a few things to work through. Solid start for this year, I'll be modifying and improving the design as I go. May just build a second planter and do all one variety.

So... its been a little more than a month when the planter was set in place. Since then, I've planted the last two Columbus rhizomes and ran the rest of the lines. Sadly, one of the new plants did not make it. I reordered two more from B. Crosby Hop Farm (which I highly recommend) out in Oregon.
http://www.bcrosbyhops.com/

Ordered 2 and got 3, thank you very much. I put one in the open spot of the planter and the other two in nursery pots at the end of the porch. Once they become established, I'm gonna plant them in the ground out by the fence. Just to see how they grow with less attention. As you can see, both 2nd year Cascades are doing great with no issues.

continued...

wow, impressive growth already.. though i see you are in florida so its probably much different than my climate for growing.. nice work!

I've had heavy summer rain and the first tropical storm of the season blow through. Happy to say no harm no foul. Side arms from the Cascades are gaining strength and putting out lots of burs. The 1st Columbus is almost to the top and has developed small cones.
The nursery Columbus are doing well. Little water logged, but once I moved them under the patio and kept them outta the down pours, back on track.