first time growing hops

[GoneAway]

Hi all, first time post, new to growing hops / brewing beer.

I recently purchased a pair of hops rhizomes: one golden hops, the other just says 'hops' and 'humulus lupus' (like I said, I'm brand new to this).

Anyways, a few weeks ago I planted each one at the base of a different pine tree (as I was told very firmly that the house could not be used...), where they get a fair amount of sun in the morning and a decent amount of partial sun in the afternoon/evening. I make sure they get watered at least 4 times a week I'm noticing some things that I'd like some feedback for.

The golden hops has been going nowhere fast, about half the leaves got partially shriveled, and there was no vertical growth whatsoever. The other hops was growing fairly well, but it didnt seem to want to grow up the tree, it kept growing out around the base of the tree.

So i've since moved both about 180° around their respective trees, and while they seem to be doing slightly better, the same problems are persisting. The golden hops seems to be remaining in the same state of limbo except for one tiny, promising shoot. The other hops has sped up growth, but no matter how much I try to get it to cling to the tree, it keeps abandoning it and grows sideways.

I'd appreciate any weigh-in on this, I just want to know if this is normal behavior, how I can deal with it, and how I can keep my hops healthy and flower-producing.

Thanks!!

 

[JohnnyO]

I'm not entirely sure, but it sounds as though you're confusing hop bines with vines. Hop bines will not grow right onto a tree like a type of vine would. The hop bines will, however, climb up a string. Put a stake in the ground near your hop plant, then tie a string to that and connect it as high up the tree as possible. Hop bines will climb upwards of 20'.

Hope that helps you and your plants.

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

I hope your not hoping to harvest the hops from the plants growing up around a tree. I suppose you could always cut them at the bottom and attempt to unravel them by taking the end and walking around the tree...seems like a pain though. Either that or climb a 15 foot ladder and hand pick them, which sounds horrible and dangerous.

 

[GoneAway]

@JohnnyO
That seems highly likely that i've confused the two. I'll give string a shot, but they were meant for an aesthetic purpose as well, so that might not work as well as I'd like. If I move them to a 7' metal arch trellis, would they cling onto that? ( I know I wouldn't get optimal height though)

@FuzzeWuzze
You raise a very good point (especially considering I hate being on ladders). But in terms of harvesting for brewing, roughly how many flowers would I need for a small batch of, say, an IPA? A pilsner? (I'm using one of those 1 gallon starter-kit jugs) And how many flowers does one bine produce on average? Again, I'm brand new to this

 

[JohnnyO]

Hey Dan, you can certainly do the trellis, but you would need to still run the string up it. What you can do is zig-zag the string up the trellis so the bines cover the trellis more fully (for the aesthetics).

It doesn't have to be a big bulky, unsightly string. I use jute twine for my hops.

 

[GoneAway]

Good news, everyone!

I got string looped over the lower branches (which is still pretty high) and started to train the bines to climb them, and after just two days they seem to be taking very well to the string, even the troublesome golden hops. This also (hopefully) addresses FuzzeWuzze's point raised about harvesting, as I can just untie the other end and don't have to climb a ladder every time.


Now the next step I need some knowledge about is the harvesting and prepping the flowers for brewing. How can I tell the female flowers from the male, how do I know they're ready for harvesting, how many will I need for a small batch of beer, and what do I have to do to prep them?

Thanks for all the really helpful input so far!! All the tips have been very effective!

Cheers,
Dan

 

[NicoleBrewer]

Id like to know as well since I am growing hops for my first time this year!

 

[JohnnyO]

Hey Dan, glad to hear that the strings are aiding the growth. Do some reading in this section about harvesting. Your first year, you won't have much of a harvest. In my first year, I had about a handful of hops, which was about enough to dryhop a half gallon batch lol.

In my second year, I harvested about a half pound. You probably won't harvest anything until August/September.

Oh, and all hop flowers are female. The plants themselves are male or female. Male plants will not flower at all, and your chances of receiving a male rhizone are pretty slim to my understanding.

Best of luck.