Last week, we harvested some great hop cones fresh off the bine and they went right into the brew kettle. That day we took a little extra time to shoot a video with John’s brother Jim to chat about his hop growing tips.

Jim and his wife have been slowly building up a great produce garden. They’ve worked in dedicated irrigation, raised bed, and quite the compost pile. John gave them some rhizomes five years ago and they’ve applied some of their home gardening best practices to growing hops.

Jim’s first tip and perhaps the most unique tip is the liberal application of coffee grounds directly to the compost in and around the hop bines. The acidity of the grounds maintains an acidic soil as well as helping maintain moisture levels at the base of the plant.

Since starting to apply coffee grounds, Jim thinks he has definitely seen a measurable increase in plant health and production.

John has started to use coffee grounds as well, and thinks he’s seen some increase in plant quality in his yard as well.

Continuing on the moisture front, Jim has a pretty slick irrigation set up. Nearby, he has several raised beds for tomatoes, cucumbers, beans and he even grew some amazingly good okra this year.

Running through each bed is a soaker hose, attached to a digital timer. Each bed has its own zone off and he can regulate which bed gets water for how long and what time of the day.

The hop bed is no different. Jim has noticed that he likes to water the hops only every other day. This schedule keeps them from getting too much water which may lead to mildew or other over watering issues.

He also likes to water in the morning before the full sun comes on the hops. That way, any excess water is evaporated in the sun and the hops have a chance to take in a full drink before the full sun come on them.

I have read that many plants get very used to a regular water schedule and tend to thrive on it rather than intermittent watering.

It’s interesting to see it put to practice in this home garden.

Lastly is the sun exposure. Fortunately for these hops, Jim’s house has perfect southern exposure where the hops are. Despite being right against the house and not far from some serious tree coverage, his hops get a full 8-10 hours of sun each day.

This amount of time in the sun has help his hop bines to flourish.

Growing great hop lines at home takes the perfect combination of many factors, patience, and some luck. Try incorporating Jim’s techniques into your hop garden. Let us know how it goes.

BREW ON!