I can tell you that hop growing in New England isn’t as tough as I once thought or I once read. Maybe hop varieties were susceptible to disease back in the day* but I have two different varieties growing strong this summer and they are starting to show some cones.
Granted, both varieties have been developed in the past 30 years and they were bred to be stronger plants.
So maybe that is the answer. Maybe it was tough but if you get “newer” varieties, you can have great results.
I am not a good gardener, but I water my bines regularly. I have put them in a place were they get at least 6 hours of sunshine a day. I bought some good soil to plant them in a year ago and that’s it. They are a hardy plant. I think you would need to really do major damage to stop their growth.
Water, sun, and patience seems to be the formula for hop growing. Here’s some photos:
Harvest time will be here before you know it, but I hope it takes its time this year.
*Not sure if back in the day relates to colonial times or around the time homebrewing became legal. In either case, a lot has changed since then but some conventional wisdom has not.
That’s not to say I have not had failures in growing hops. I had a Willamette hops plant that did not grow all that well in its first year and then did not sprout in its second year. Maybe it had something to do with the variety, but I didn’t really plant it in the right place. The area was pretty sandy and although I bought and put down some good soil, it may not have been enough. The basics cannot be ignored. You need to treat the plant right for it to flourish.
Jeff Horton
Looking good. i started (or tried) growing last year.
Nothing produced, which i read is normal the 1st year, but this year they are looking about the same.
very small, has leaves, but does not get very tall, about 1-3 ft. i have 3 different ones growing right now.
i dont want to over-water, but it has been very hot here in GA this year and not a lot of rain.
Jack
Jeff,
Even though hops require well-drained soil, they also want a TON of water. They can grow up to 18″ per day during peak growing season in late spring, before sending out laterals and pushing buds. So if it’s dry where you are and your soil drains well, it’s tough to over-water your hop plants. A good soaking (2-3 minutes per plant) each morning will serve them well (so long as the soil drains well and the roots don’t get soggy).
John
Yes, watering is a big part of it. I try to water my plant every day. The soil does get dried out pretty quickly when the sun is blazing down all day.