# Looking for hallertau & tettnanger rhizomes



## philistine (17/4/14)

Hi guys, I know it's too early but just wanna get a foot in the door.
I'm after some hallertau and tettnanger hops rhizomes, so yeah - if anyone's growing any and planning on digging this year gimme a heads up!

Thanks in advance


----------



## sp0rk (17/4/14)

I have some Hallertauer I may be getting rid of, just depending on how big the root system is
I'll let you know once it's died off and I dig it up


----------



## barls (17/4/14)

I've got a wurtenburger which is the ancestor of tettenger


----------



## hoppy2B (17/4/14)

Aussie Tett are descended from Fugglies. They grow very little and yield fluff all.


----------



## Hintadupfing (21/4/14)

sp0rk, if you have enough Hallertau, I'm after some as well.


----------



## sp0rk (21/4/14)

Too easy, still waiting for the bines to die back and then I'll assess if it's worth dividing it up
will report back
In the mean time, if anyone wants to swap for some cascade, let me know and we'll swap once it's ready


----------



## 431neb (2/5/14)

hoppy2B said:


> Aussie Tett are descended from Fugglies. They grow very little and yield fluff all.


I thought it was just me! My second year Tettnanger was blown out of the water by a first year EKG this season. The Tettnager yielded enough cones to be a useful addition in one brew but the bittering was done by something else. So yeah, not much.

I dunno if I'll have large enough rhizomes to harvest but I'll poke around when it dies down.


----------



## eresh666 (4/5/14)

I'm keen for some hallertau if there is enough to go around, just let me know how much  (SA Adelaide).


----------



## hoppy2B (6/5/14)

philistine said:


> Hi guys, I know it's too early but just wanna get a foot in the door.
> I'm after some hallertau and tettnanger hops rhizomes, so yeah - if anyone's growing any and planning on digging this year gimme a heads up!
> 
> Thanks in advance


You can have my Tettnanger for free if you want it. Just send me a PM and we can arrange postage.


----------



## Cavemanbrew (11/5/14)

Any of any left, my green thumb is only painted on, I have not had a great deal of success with hops, managed to get approx, a hand full of flowers two years ago, but this year I should have grown weeds, or carrots, would have had more success. 

I'm in the lower hunter valley (maitland) any advice on growing and the rest.


----------



## philistine (11/5/14)

Advice on growing plants I can do (trust me I'm a qualified proffessional!)

First, pick out a sunny spot - the sunnier the better. In melbourne the sun can get pretty intense during late jan & early feb and somewhere that gets a bit of shade in the late afternoon is probably preferable, but you may have a slightly different climate in the hunter valley.

Second, prepare the soil prior to planting. Being in a valley, you're already blessed with fertile ground but a little extra prep will definitely help. Break up and loosen the soil with a shovel to a depth and width of at least twice the size of the root ball or pot you're planting. If it's just a single bare rhizome, work at least 30cm depth and 40-50cm width.
While you're doing that, turn in some good compost or rotted manure. If you don't have any at your disposal, you can buy it bagged from a nursery or bunnings or wherever. Dynamic lifter is a great all-round organic fertiliser made primarily out of poultry manure (it fucken stinks too).

If planting a new/bare rhizome, just place it on top of your newly cultivated soil and lightly cover it with a little bit of potting mix or more soil. In other words, don't dig a hole and bury it, just cover it with a couple of centimetres of loose, rich soil.
If planting an established root ball or potted plant, just make a hole and put it in and cover it lightly.

Next, lightly sprinkle a handful of blood and bone around the plant but not directly on the plant itself.
Water it in well with some seaweed solution (eg Seasol) diluted at half strength.

Lastly, mulch it well with a thick layer of straw mulch - pea straw would be the best option as it contains a lot of nitrogen that slowly releases as it breaks down , which is something that a perennial vine like hops will hunger for as it comes out of dormancy and has a massive surge in vegetative growth.

As your vine grows, keep it well watered - hops hate being thirsty! Just don't overdo it, wait till the surface looks dry before giving it water. A big mistake that many people make when watering anything is giving it frequent light watering which encourages plants to develop a shallow root system. The key to a strong healthy plant is a deep root system that is insulated from the highly fluctuating conditions of the surface. Deep watering, less often is the way to go.

As your vines grow they need something to climb on and things like rope, string or wood are preferable to wire because hops use their fibrous furry stems to cling to things as opposed to things like grapes and passion fruit that develop tendrils.

You can just let them do their own thing but commercial growers will 'thin out' weak and smaller shoots to select and favour a few strong vigorous ones.

Regular fertilising is always good but be wary of feeding them things high in nitrogen as flowering approaches because you'll end up with strong veg. Growth with minimal flowers.


If ground space is something you're limited by, you can also put in a small wooden frame, say around 50x50cm and 30cm deep around the planting spot prior to putting the plant in. This also makes it much easier to lift them out in winter.

Hope that helps!


----------



## philistine (11/5/14)

check out this vid - these guys do a show called 'chop n brew' and this episode (part one of three I think) is all about growing hops
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIia4q3_rSY


----------



## Cavemanbrew (12/5/14)

Thanks guys, a laminated copy and video down load recorded thanks again


----------



## mr_wibble (13/5/14)

I would like to add to what philistine said ~

if you have chooks, cats, wallabies, etc. consider putting some pickets and mesh around your vines.

Do it at the time of planting, otherwise you'll come out to check them a few weeks later and find a dried-up rhizome sitting next to a pot full of cat shit. :angry:


----------



## Weizguy (13/5/14)

Cavemanbrew said:


> Any of any left, my green thumb is only painted on, I have not had a great deal of success with hops, managed to get approx, a hand full of flowers two years ago, but this year I should have grown weeds, or carrots, would have had more success.
> 
> I'm in the lower hunter valley (maitland) any advice on growing and the rest.


I'm in Medowie, and they seems to grow fine here. Good soil, lots of deep watering, nutrients and good sun = good harvest.

Just be aware that the wind and rain will attempt to knock the trellis down a few times in the season.

Les


----------



## Cavemanbrew (13/5/14)

Cheers to all guys

Time to give it ago


----------



## sp0rk (19/5/14)

Just cut my Hallertauer bines down, but now I'm a little too scared to dig up the rhizome incase I damage it :unsure: 
Any tips from anyone?
Should I moisten the soil first?


----------



## philistine (20/5/14)

They're pretty resilient, but making the soil moist first will make it easier. 
It depends how big the root ball is
But If you stick a shovel in, say around 30-40 from the center, then lever it up to lift and loosen the soil and then keep doing that all the way around , you should then be able to just use the shovel to 'pop' the whole thing out....
Damaging the finer feeder roots on the outer is inevitable and even if you break bits off the thicker, central, root ball/rhizome part it'll still be fine and if bigger bits do break off, they'll probably sprout again in spring.
That video link that I posted above shows them lifting one I think... Or it might be in part 2 (which you'll find a link to by clicking on part 1)


----------

