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Growing hops in the home garden is relatively labor intensive undertaking but for the person that likes the lush and fragrant presence of hop vines it is worth the trouble of growing and brewers will take the extra steps of harvesting the flower cones for use in hand-crafted home brews. The site and soil requirements are easy to supply to produce healthy plants. Although a hardy perennial plant hops have several pests and diseases that can wipe out a hop yard.
Hops rhizomes need to be planted after danger of frost is over and before the end of May to have a 120 frost free growing season. Starting hops in pots and transplanting the starts in June is one way to get a long enough growing season for a mature hop yard. Direct sunlight, loamy well drained soil with a PH of 6.5 to 8.0 and fertilizers high in potassium, nitrogen and phosphates are the initial needs to be considered when deciding where to position the hop yard. Supports up to 25 feet tall are needed for the vertical growing vine. When shoots first break ground they need to be supported off the ground and at one foot high the three strongest shoots need to be wrapped clockwise around the support poles or twine and the others cut back to ground level. The first year there will be little growth and short frequent watering is needed. In the second year the real growth will be seen. 1 to 2.5 pounds dried flowers can come from a healthy plant in September when growing hops in the home garden.
The pests and diseases to be concerned with when growing hops in the home garden are downy mildew, wilt, the hop aphid, spider mites and the Western spotted cucumber beetle. Downy mildew can affect new shoots when they come up in the spring. Curled leaves that are silvery on top and black underneath are the signs of downy mildew. Dull green leaves with alternating yellow bands indicate wilt is the problem. Both can be treated
copper hydroxide fungicide spray. As a preventative measures strip the leaves off the first 3 feet of the vine and use drip irrigation to water the hop yard. Hop aphids hatch when the weather is cool and quickly multiply. Fine white webs, freckled spots on leaves, and red coloring on the flower cones spreading from the top down indicate spider mites are present. Both can be treated with insecticide soaps, Diazinon or Malathion. Western cucumber beetle damage can be seen on the tips of the hop vines.
When all the elements are in place growing hops in the home garden is a wonderful experience. The 25 foot tall vines are lush and the flowers are fragrant. Home brewers take the extra steps of harvesting and drying the flower cones to use in their custom brews. Once a hop yard is established annual vines grow from the permanent crown. Somewhat simple steps can control many of the potential problems so there is nothing to stop the gardener from growing hops in the home garden except lack of space.
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Author Bio Box: Patricia Wainwright
Get all the facts about perennials and organic gardening at GreenThumbArticles.com!
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