Minimum height for hop support?

[apalke]

I know it's probably too late to start hops this year, but I moved into a new place and I think I might have a place to grow hops next year. There is a chain-link fence about 5.5 feet tall. Will that be enough to grow hops? Or do they need to be able to grow higher than that?

Also, in southern California when would you plant rhizomes?

Thanks,
Aaron

 

[Anon111]

I know it's probably too late to start hops this year, but I moved into a new place and I think I might have a place to grow hops next year. There is a chain-link fence about 5.5 feet tall. Will that be enough to grow hops? Or do they need to be able to grow higher than that?

Also, in southern California when would you plant rhizomes?

Thanks,
Aaron

From a German website, http://www.eickelmann.de/Hopfen-Shop/en/special-hop/, 4 meters is considered "dwarf"...


'Gimmli'
The variety 'Gimmli' is characterized by its tamed growth. It is a socalled "dwarf-variety". But dwarf is not compareable to very smal plants by hop. Dwarf means the growth is much more slower compared to other hops. Normally the hops reaches ~8m high as a solitaire. 'Gimmli' only reaches ~4m. Because of that 'Gimmli' is ideal for smaller places like privat gardens. Cultivation in containers also is possible.

 

[Kent88]

I bet 5.5ft would work. Probably not ideal, but why not throw a rhizome in the ground and let it go crazy for a year. I have mine growing up baling twine onto a clothesline and they seem to like that well enough.

I'm no expert in when to plant hops or what your climate is, but I'd guess sometime in April, and make sure you get a soaker hose on that, and try to water them every morning before it really gets hot. You don't want to boil the roots.

 

[jmartie13]

I remember researching trellis height when I planted mine several years ago and settled on 18ft....If you planted some by the fence they might crawl along horizontally, but you'd likely need some more height. Throw some in this year, they don't get very big the first year, and put some extensions on your fence next year!

 

[jerbrew]

I have limited space and because of my awfully expensive HOA, whom I pay to tell me not to do things I guess, I can't string up hops to the eve of my house. So, I got a bit creative. I stuck four bamboo post about 4 feet high around the plant and strung up jute twin in a circle around them. I calculated I got about 20-25 linear feet for my three plants to grow bines on. training takes some effort since they don't like to turn the corners but it is worth it I think. Once they got to the top I put up one more 8 ft pole and strung lines to the center giving me an extra 4 feet or so since I didn't want to keep growing them in circles up to 8 feet. They are doing great and just giving them space to grow long instead of up seems to work. I'm going to use a trellis along the fence for the cascade next year since that's the fastest growing 'round these parts.

Anyways, I think your chain ink fence will be perfect. You might not get the jungle feel of massively tall hop plants but they'll at least be able to grow long and will definitely cover that fence. And, because your in SoCal, hops grow through fall well into winter. throw them into the ground and let them start putting down roots so next year they'll be ready to go.

 

[mirthfuldragon]

I had a similar situation. I took two 10' fence top rails from Menards (<$10 each) and dropped them down inside my existing chainlink fence end posts, and then ran bolts through both fence posts. There is an eye bolt and pulley at the top, and it is strugn with aircraft wire, so it is really easy to drop at the end of the season to harvest.

 

[enkamania]

I'm in my first year growing on a six foot fence, so far, so good.

 

[Kent88]

You can always try them out by putting them in containers for a year while you work out what to do after that. This is my first year growing hops and I just wanted to see if I could do it. Going well so far.

Get a big container, mix up some compost and topsoil about 50/50, throw in some blood and bone meal, and put them close to that fence. If it works, great, plant them there in year two. If not, hopefully you can salvage the plant and try a new location next year.

 

[corkybstewart]

A few of my hop bines tend to spread from the trellis to the adjacent fence every year and they do great, they produce as well as the tall ones. Keep in mind a lot of the literature about hops is derived from commercial hop farming. Those 4 meter trellises are perfect for mechanical harvesting, you can't do that on a chain link fence. And drunk harvesting from the fence is much safer than climbing a ten foot ladder.

 

[JohnSand]

I grow mine on a 6' trellis and just pick them by hand.

 

[thaymond]

I have a thread on a short trellis setup on here.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=474201

Mine is 6 ft. Vertical growth, with horizontal growth maxing at over 40 feet using a helical design. I sacrifice a little in my yeilds,and it can be a PITA to harvest (my own fault), but it gets me what I need to brew with every year. I know a few growers who get good results (up to a lb of dry hops) on fences. Give it a grow, see what happens.

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