growing hops in QLD

[hugcra]

any luck with the rizomes mate, was thinking of giving it a crack, as ive got apples in bris and they go alright

 

[hoppy2B]

Have a go, hops will tolerate some heat as long as they receive ample water.

 

[seehuusen]

Mine arrived Thursday arvo, vacuum packed. I will be planting them out tomorrow will report back on how they go

 

[indica86]

I'll have to give it a shot here... Martin can you spare me a rhizome or two for a trial???

 

[seehuusen]

I'll have to open the package up to see how many came for each variety. As mentioned before, these do start getting sold/shared around July I believe. Happy to help out when I have some to share

 

[seehuusen]

Got my rhizomes in the ground today
BTW there was only one of each

 

[seehuusen]

Hey guys,

A bit of an update. I'm starting to see a couple of shoots come through already...
I am wondering if this is just because the crop thinks it's summer (compared to where in WA it used to be)??
Any suggestions on what to do with the shoots, do I nip them off or let them keep on trucking?

What has other growers in QLD done? What's the norm in QLD?

Here are a couple of pictures, Flinders, Goldings and Cascade have all risen from the dark, only Red Earth left to pop through

 

[Bribie G]

I tried hops on Bribie Island but they didn't do too well, stalled after a couple of months and finally gave up the ghost in their first season. In theory hops shouldn't grow North of about Port Macquarie but nobody has told them that

Several members here including Florian and NickB have had some success. The thing is to avoid winds, probably the reason mine failed on Bribie and why they seem to do well in flat countryside where they are grown between wind-rows of trees (Google Earth Motueka, NZ).

Hops grow best with 15 hour days, hence the higher latitudes.

 

[Liam_snorkel]

It's not cold enough here to stop them from growing so they will continue to throw out shoots. You'll find they won't start to climb until the length of daylight hours is enough though. Here's what mine look like at the moment:

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[HBHB]

Hey guys,

A bit of an update. I'm starting to see a couple of shoots come through already...
I am wondering if this is just because the crop thinks it's summer (compared to where in WA it used to be)??
Any suggestions on what to do with the shoots, do I nip them off or let them keep on trucking?

What has other growers in QLD done? What's the norm in QLD?

Here are a couple of pictures, Flinders, Goldings and Cascade have all risen from the dark, only Red Earth left to pop through

I'd lift the existing mulch, put on a half a bucket of mixed manure and a handful of blood and bone scoured into the surface, water well and then pile 20-30cm of mulch on top so it's dark and discourages the shoots growing outside of the main growing season.

 

[seehuusen]

thanks guys!
I'll update once we get further along into spring I guess

The soil I've used is already good quality, with cow manure, chicken pellets and water crystals (to assist with the drying out problem here in QLD).
That's why I've added the mulch on top as well, as that retains more of the moisture

Cheers
Martin

 

[kalbarluke]

Lots of people have said the same thing as me but I will give my 2c. I've grown hops for the last few years in SEQLD with differing degrees of success. Yes, you can grow them but your yield will be much lower than down south. Plus the heat and wind knock them about badly. You also need soil that has good drainage that is soft (not hard or clay like).

 

[oakburner]

I have grown cluster quite successfully here on the Sunny Coast hinterland and am putting in Cascade and Chinook. I will always still purchase pellets as well for brewing but it is very nice to brew with your own. Currently have a choc porter with cluster aroma hops bubbling away....

Does anyone here in Qld lift the crown and refrigerate over winter each year? I wonder if this would increase production quality as you trick the plant into dormancy for longer????

OB...out.

 

[seehuusen]

Thanks ob, that gets my confidence up, along with me rhizomes going hard
My missus is great with the green fingers (even has a degree on the subject) so I reckon I've got the right soil mix
The crop, whatever the size, will only be for a few single hop batches to start of with

Missus says that pulling the rhizomes out and storing them in a fridge is going to do them less good than leaving them in the ground.
FWIW, I got some rhizomes once, that had been stored in a freezer, they never worked...

 

[Batz]

I have grown hops here on the Sunny Coast Hinterlands for several seasons, I always get a fair crop. You do need to lift the rhizomes in our
climate, they will rot in the wet weather. Just wrap them in wet newspaper and place in the crisper of your fridge, I have had them there two years and they still grow great.

I dig a big hole and fill it with mushroom compost and some good soil, water well and use some chook poo 'tea' fertilizer.

Batz

 

[brando]

I grew POR in bayside Brisbane a few years ago.

Most of the cones didn't reach full size, and the yield was not great. I ended up tossing out the harvest and giving away the rhizome to an AHB member from down south.

I would consider doing it again (not POR), but next time have it set up with a drip watering system and timer, because I'm too busy (and lazy) to keep up the watering requirements by hand.

 

[seehuusen]

I learn something new all the time A couple of questions if you don't mind mate

...they will rot in the wet weather.

Sorry for the perhaps silly question, but when in the year is that? summer is generally the wet time, and I expected them to be growing then?

...Just wrap them in wet newspaper and place in the crisper of your fridge, I have had them there two years and they still grow great.

My fridge drops the humidity to nearly nothing, wouldn't this dry out the news paper, or do you keep moisture up on the news paper?

Cheers
Martin

 

[oakburner]

I reckon you are right Batz..... Only reason I got away with leaving mine in the ground this summer was the unseasonably dry weather. I am at Mooloolah and our soils get wet wet wet during normal summers. Anyone up on the range like to comment?
With perfect draining volcanic soils up there, I imagine they may get away with leaving them in the ground.

OB...out.

 

[wynnum1]

Vermiculite may be useful if planting cheap if buy in bulk and not from the hardware stores .

 

[seehuusen]

When are you guys growing the plants, and what month is harvest then?

The sandy soil at Golden Beach is never wet for any length of time