There has been a hops shortage of late, and it will continue for awhile. The price of hops went up to $4.75 for 2 ounces of pelletized hops (triple the price of last year) at my local homebrew supply store and there is a 6 ounce limit of any one variety. Since I am a Microfarmer, I decided to grow my own hops, and this is the time of year that the hops rhizomes are for sale and need to be planted.

I ordered 7 different varieties from Freshops.com, though there are many good hop rhizome suppliers. I chose 1 high alpha hop, Nugget (for bittering), 2 medium alpha hops, Sterling and Centennial, (for both flavor or bittering), and 4 low alpha-high beta hops, Cascade, Goldings, Mt. Hood, and Willamette (for flavor and dryhopping). They didn’t have the Summit hops I like, so I will get them from my local homebrew store. The list of varieties is long and varied. You can get hops for whatever beer style you’d like to brew.

Hops (Humulus Lupulus) are grown from a perennial rootstock that sends up new vines (called bines) each year. In fall, the plant dies to the ground, but the rhizome (rootstock) survives for the next year. Brewers use the female plant for the hop cones, but the male plant is used to cross pollinate different varieties to form hybrids. Most home growers will not cross pollinate, or want hop seeds in their brew.

Hops are native to, and still grow wild in western Europe, Asia and some parts of North America. Growing hops depends more on the care the plants get, not the location they’re grown or from. Under good conditions, hop plants will grow 25 feet tall, and return about 1/2 to 2 pounds of dry hop cones per plant, depending on the variety. There are also hops that tolerate shade, and some dwarf varieties that only get about 8 feet tall.

When planting your new hops, the soil should be tilled and ammended to create a weed free area, and a friable soil, for the new roots to stretch out in. A stong support about 15 feet tall is needed for the plants to climb up on. The first year, all you need is an 8 foot tall stake. Look for a growing space along fences, the garage, against the house wall, over a pergola or patio cover, or along property lines and fences (these will need to be trained). The plants also make good privacy screens and shade producers. Plant in the early spring once the threat of frost is gone but no later than May. In cold climates you can plant rhizomes in pots and transplant in June.

Upon obtaining the rhizomes, they should be stored in a plastic bag, slightly moistened, in a refrigerator. Hops should be planted 2 rhizomes per hill, with the buds pointing up or horizontally about 1″ below the soil surface. Hills should be spaced at least 3 feet apart if they are of the same variety and 5 feet apart if they are different. First year hops have a very small root system and require frequent short waterings much like any baby plant, but do not drown it with too much water. Mulching the soil surface with some organic matter works well in conserving moisture as well as helping control weeds. They are well suited to drip irrigation and automatic timers.

The hop is dormant during the winter and tolerates freezing temperatures with a leaf cover mulch if you don’t get good snowfall for insulation and heaving. The time of year when the vines come up, flower, and die back is most determined by local temperature, day length, and the hop variety. The vines will not come up until soil temperatures have risen to where most spring flowers start to appear. A minimum of 120 frost free days are required for the hop to fully ripen a crop of flowers. The vines need to be supported off of the ground as they grow. Vegetative growth continues until approzimately mid-July when most hops are either in full bloom, or just past, depending up on location and variety.

When the vines are about 1 foot long, 2 to 6 vigorous vines are selected for each hill and the rest removed. 1 to 3 vines are trained clockwise per string, which has been staked to the hill and runs up to the top of their support. Hops grow vertically, but lateral side stems extend from the main vine and produce flowers, too. The main concern is to support the vines and prevent side stems from tangling. Most cones are produced on the upper part of the plant.

The flower is approximately 1/4 inch in diameter and is composed of many florets. This is when the flower is receptive to pollen and if males are present, wind-borne pollen will fertilize the female flower and result in a seeded female hop cone. At this point, miniature petals will start to grow which eventually result in a cone-like structure. Most female flowers develop and ripen between mid-August and mid-September depending on location, weather, and variety. Commercial growers actually delay flowering by removing the earliest vines in the Spring in order to enhance regrowth and encourage a higher yield of flowers. After the flowers ripen, the vine will continue to build energy reserves in the root until it totally dies back with the first freezes of Fall.

Hops prefer full sun and rich soil, preferably light textured, well-drained soil with a pH of 6.5 – 8.0 . If drainage is a problem, small mounds can be built using surrounding top soil mixed with organic matter. Each year, dig holes about one foot deep next to the hills so that some manure and other slow release organic fertiziers (blood/bone meal, greensand, gypsum, compost) can be mixed with your soil and placed into the hole. This puts all the nutrients right in the root zone. Once the hop is established after the first season, less frequent, deep watering is best, preferably drip irrigation. Try not to soak the vine during watering, as that will ecourage disease and molds. Each Spring apply a hearty dose of composted manure as a top dressing or fertilize with a balanced chemical fertilizer that is recommended for garden vegetables. Don’t expect very much in growth or flowers the first year because the hop is basically extablishing it’s root system. Full growth and maximum crops of flowers will be achieved during the following years.

In July, the lowest 4 feet of foliage and lateral branches can be removed for air circulation and to reduce disease development. Dry climates should not have this problem. The stripping of lower leaves must be done carefully to avoid breaking or kinking the main stem. Harvest when the cones are papery and dry to the touch, and there is good Lupulin (the yellow powder) production in the middle of the cone. Small scissors will aid the harvest, and if only the ripe cones are taken, you can get successive harvests every 2 weeks, and a higher total yield. In August allow additional bottom growth to remain on the plant, to promote hardiness of the crown and plant vigor for next year.

At the end of the season you can propagate new plants for next spring. Just bury the bottom vines in a shallow trench and mark their location. In spring dig them up and cut them into pieces about 4 inches long. Make sure each new cutting has an eye or bud. You can plant these cuttings to another spot, or sell them to recoup your initial investment. Your hops should produce for many, many years, and provide relief for the shortages the commercial breweries and home brew supply stores are facing. You may find you have more than you need and decide to sell to your local homebrew store. Don’t forget, if you’ve been using pellet hops, you’ll need a bit more whole cones for each batch. About 1.3 oz. whole hops to 1 oz pelletized should do it. As always, your mileage may vary…