SleepySamSlim
Grandmaster Brewer
With the cost of hops showing no signs of reducing in cost - I decided to grow six varieties that I use frequently. After reading an article in BYO about container gardening - I ordered the rhizomes and started planning. The rhizomes arrived late March and I planted them in used 1 gallon planting containers using a quality potting mix. I'm growing: Willamette, Goldings, Mt Hood, Cascades, Perle, Tettnager.
We have the average sized lot in the burbs, but I decided containers would give me the most flexibility. From growing Cascades in the ground the past couple of years - we know hops are a hardy and aggressive plant (both in vines and roots). I wanted a fairly large container but cheap as well. I ended up spending $2.15 each for the 5gal buckets sold at our HomeDepot building store. Orange but cheap. Then using cheap cedar fence boards - 2x2's - and 1x2's I built some very rough boxes to go over the buckets. But the covers are also the anchor point for a 1x2 sticking up 12ft. A length of jute runs from an eye bolt on top of the mast to a hole drilled in the bucket. Total cost of each box + mast is about $10 and come winter they can be stored as the masts are bolted on.
I figure every 2 years I'll have to re-pot the hops as they will be getting root-bound. That will be an opportunity to harvest a good number of rhizomes to give to friends - sell - or trade. Attached are a few pics
We have the average sized lot in the burbs, but I decided containers would give me the most flexibility. From growing Cascades in the ground the past couple of years - we know hops are a hardy and aggressive plant (both in vines and roots). I wanted a fairly large container but cheap as well. I ended up spending $2.15 each for the 5gal buckets sold at our HomeDepot building store. Orange but cheap. Then using cheap cedar fence boards - 2x2's - and 1x2's I built some very rough boxes to go over the buckets. But the covers are also the anchor point for a 1x2 sticking up 12ft. A length of jute runs from an eye bolt on top of the mast to a hole drilled in the bucket. Total cost of each box + mast is about $10 and come winter they can be stored as the masts are bolted on.
I figure every 2 years I'll have to re-pot the hops as they will be getting root-bound. That will be an opportunity to harvest a good number of rhizomes to give to friends - sell - or trade. Attached are a few pics