Great Lake Hops

[BigTerp]

Any opinions on Great Lake Hops?? I plan to start growing my own in 2012. I like the idea of getting an established plant. Looking at only doing 1 plant of 3 varities. They offer 2 different types....a starter plant which is described as an 8 week old plant with established roots and another type (forget the name) that has had one growing season already. Just wanted to get some opinions on these vs purchasing rhizomes.

 

[Labratbrew]

Any opinions on Great Lake Hops?? I plan to start growing my own in 2012. I like the idea of getting an established plant. Looking at only doing 1 plant of 3 varities. They offer 2 different types....a starter plant which is described as an 8 week old plant with established roots and another type (forget the name) that has had one growing season already. Just wanted to get some opinions on these vs purchasing rhizomes.

Me and a buddy bought 50 hop crowns ($9 a piece) from them this fall.. and let me tell you... YOU WON'T BE DISAAPOINTED. All crowns were bigger than my fist... About 4-5 rhizomes combined. Gonna plant in the ground this spring!

 

[Hethen57]

I bought their plants this fall and they were by far the best plants I have ever received in the mail. Nice looking and healthy. Looked like something I would expect from a local nursury and they came 2 days after I placed the order!

 

[B-Hoppy]

Why wait till Spring? If your ground is workable now it would take any doubt out of wondering if they'll keep over the Winter. The Earth will keep them happy over the Winter and allow them to get a head start on root development. Just a thought.

 

[Labratbrew]

Why wait till Spring? If your ground is workable now it would take any doubt out of wondering if they'll keep over the Winter. The Earth will keep them happy over the Winter and allow them to get a head start on root development. Just a thought.

I live in central Oregon... Where it gets really cold... Didn't want to risk killing the hops.. so we put those babies in pots and placed them in a green house.... All nice and snug for the winter.

 

[B-Hoppy]

Right on!

 

[Jagdad]

Here's a pic of what GLH ships- all commercial grade certified plants. Hope this helps. The plants are sold according to maturity - not size.
The hop start is about 1 month old, field grade 2-3 months old, crown 4 months minimum. GLH produces hop plants year-around, and plants are usually shipped as seen to comply with USDA requirements for shipping nationwide.

 

[2BeerSpeer]

nice thread...I'm planning on ordering from them this week and wondered about their product too. Will each plant be labled? I'm getting 7 different hops and dont want to mix them up!

 

[BigTerp]

I'm sure they come labeled. Those look nice!!! Will be getting some closer to spring.

 

[2BeerSpeer]

you will save 10% if you buy them off of their Facebook page.....I am gonna get mine now and put them under lights until march. i want to get a strong root base started and hopefully get some cones my first year!

 

[Winters49441]

I went to buy 3 plants at his location, since I live close by. I bought a Cascade, Nugget, and Centennial whole plant and planted them in Late October. I'm really happy with the plants and the root structure. I also was able to pick some hops and take home while I was there. He is very knowledgeable on plants, not just hops. :rockin:

 

[BrewerinBR]

I am planning a trip there also, in January, February time frame will plant in pots and keep under grow lights, transplant to my new hop bed in May/June when the danger of frost is gone.

 

[pm5k00]

I didn't even know that company exisited, was think of replacing my sterling with glacier, and I would defenitly prefer a starter plant to a rhizome, thanks for the info.

 

[2BeerSpeer]

well I got mine in the mail today and they came with a note saying that they had been upgraded to mature crowns because it was so late in the fall. It says that they are in fall dormancy and that it is better to plant where they are going to live than to try inside...They are bigger than my fist and have several stems on each crown! Most of them have the bottom leaves still on the bines! They sent an extra crown in a package labeled "lucky dog, freebie" its a brewers gold, never used it yet but i'm gonna plant it too! The people I delt with were very helpful even tho i was in a lil of a rush to get some plants, afraid they wouldn't be any left in spring! Now the biggest problem i have is prepping the spots these 8 babies are gonna call home b/c they are going to run the posts of a deck that is yet to be under construction...

 

[bmorosco]

This is a fantastic company!! Here is a shot of mine just planted last week!!

 

[Hethen57]

All 12 Great Lakes starter plants that I started in late October (just before our snow started flying) are sending up shoots! Now my challenge will be to keep the deer and my livestock away from the shoots until I can get them climbing. They are fenced, but the deer can easily jump a 5' fence and the sheep and goats are always checking me to make sure I lock the gate after admiring my hop shoots....

 

[AndMan3030]

I ordered 7, and received 8. The extra was a variety I had never heard of, (Crystal) and one listed as 'out of stock.' These guys rock!

 

[angrydave]

So I bought three rhizomes from LHBS, planted them, and had them already coming up. Discovered later that one, Northern Brewer, might not like really sunny and hot weather. Since that's how summer is in Stockton, CA, I decided to get another type just in case this one couldn't handle the weather. I also wanted a plant instead of a rhizome since I wanted to actually have a usable harvest this year. I decided Great Lakes Hops was the best choice, so I ordered a Columbus hop plant.

It arrived in less than a week and the plant looked great. But wait a sec... what's this in the box? Another plant? Lucky Dog? Yep, I got two for the price of one. Package with the plant was a Chinook starter. I now have all 4C's of the hop world growing in my back yard and I couldn't be happier.

These guys are great and I'd recommend them to anyone. Yeah, the plants cost a bit more than rhizomes, but if you got the money it's well worth it. And you can like them on Facebook too. They keep you up to date on what they have and also tips on growing hops.

 

[2BeerSpeer]

Just wanted to say GLH is awesome...