Hop Garden Designs

[wakkatoo]

Couldn't find a thread specific to hop yard designs. A general google brought up this type of thread on some USA forums so I figured one here would be good too.

So....show us ya hop gardens. I began mine today. Just need a trip to a big green shed for some bolts, wire, twine and stakes.

Mine runs east to west so the plants are going to get equal sun. Watched it today and this area got a good 8 hours direct sun. In summer this will be closer to 11 or 12.



Yes, it used to be my driveway . Some silly councillor decided when the land was being subdivided I had to have access to this street. Never mind I have frontage to the street out of shot to the right , so the wife and I decided it would become an orchard / hopyard. Lot of work ahead of us to prepare the soil tho - heavy clay with a lot of quartz rock, which is pretty typical of this area.

Oh, dimensions are 3m high - comfortable working height on top of step ladder and gives the plants enough room but small enough to stay in neighbours good books. The cross beams are 1m wide, might extend that to 2, will see how it goes. And yep, they are crooked because they are just sitting there, need to get the bolts to fix them in place.

Poles are placed 6m apart, so I'll be able to fit 6 plants in there. More than enough for me. Lastly the wire will be strung from each end of the cross beams. The twine will form a 'V' for the vine and will be anchored near the plant with a small star picket. So far its cost me nothing - posts are a tree I felled today in the F-I-L's farm, cross beams are two bits of scrap I had. $30 should see me with all the other bits I need. Low tech and functional is what I was aiming for, and I'm young enough to not be fussed about having to go up a ladder to harvest / attach twine.

Sorry the long post, figured I try to get all the info in at once. Looking forward to seeing what everyone else has...

 

[IainMcLean]

I need to buy a house first, then move the brewery into MY garage not a bro-in-law's garage but a hopchard would be great...

 

[wakkatoo]

Strung up the wires last week. Gave them a tighten but will have to re-do it as the cable has stretched (as I expected).

A couple of pics:



One hole is dug and is half full of dried cow manure and some of the better topsoil. Will plant the first rhizome as soon as we get a trailerload of better soil for the veggie gardens.

 

[clarkey7]

Looks Great Wakkatoo,

I will be s doing something very similar with posts and wire for my place this year.

I hadn't considered the idea of the cross beams allowing your V pattern and being able to plant more in that short space.

Thanks for posting, and good luck with you plants this year.

As a matter of interest - Are they all different varieties in your six or are you propagating from 2009-2010 season?

PB

 

[wakkatoo]

I plan on having 6 different varieties. Not sure if I'll get all six this year. I've been fortunate to get a couple given to me and I have access to others - just gotta see what ends up being available. Nothing against those that are selling them but I won't buy mine and in turn I'll repay the favour and give away any rhizomes I have in the future.

 

[raven19]

Basic design in limited space at our place.



Hops are dying back at the moment - this will get taken down once all died back. Reassemble next season.

 

[cdbrown]

Raven - what size hollow sections are you using and what height?

 

[fraser_john]

Raven,

those uprights will need to be strengthened as the hop rhizome becomes larger and capable of producing stronger bines. My goldings was very vigorous this year (third year in ground) and was very heavy when I lowered it for harvesting!

Three year old Goldings early summer

 

[beerbrewer76543]

wakkatoo, I planted 7 varieties in pots last year, 2 of which have died back completely so on the weekend it trimmed all the bines off and tried to move the pots... Lo and behold the roots had found their way through the drainage holes into the ground below. So after I dig up all the roots I can find I will be putting the pots on concrete pavers to avoid having hops growing in the ground. Apparently they can send shoots several metres away meaning there is a potential for cross contamination if you know what I mean

Just thought I'd let you know so you don't run into the same problemo

 

[cdbrown]

That's good info L_Bomb. I'll be putting my 4 plants into 1/2 wine barrels as the wife was worried about the hops taking control of the garden. Looks like I'll be putting some pavers under them.

 

[Wolfy]

Lo and behold the roots had found their way through the drainage holes into the ground below. So after I dig up all the roots I can find I will be putting the pots on concrete pavers to avoid having hops growing in the ground. Apparently they can send shoots several metres away meaning there is a potential for cross contamination if you know what I mean

Given time and favorable growing conditions, hops will send their roots down to about 3.5m.
Much of the horizontal spread will be via rhizomes which are usually close to the surface but in mature plants can be up to 4ft from the 'parent'.
In commercial situations I believe they use mechanical methods to 'cultivate' the soil around the main plant, turning over the soil and also chopping up any spreading roots or rhizomes - this then restricts the plant's growth to where required and also prevents any spread or cross-contamination.

 

[Hashie]

Looks good wakkatoo.

Happy growing.

 

[Nick JD]

I'm trying to find a good place in my back yard for my hops to climb and ironically it's the neighbour's Coconut Palm :huh: that's shading the place I really want to put it.

Yes, I know - FAIL. But I'll give it a damn good go anyhow. :lol:

 

[raven19]

Raven - what size hollow sections are you using and what height?

Same as my brew frame, 20 x 20 SHS iirc, about 3.5m high - bolted to a piece of 40 angle which is just driven into the ground with a sledge hammer. 2 bolts means it can be tilted down with the removal of one bolt.

Raven,

those uprights will need to be strengthened as the hop rhizome becomes larger and capable of producing stronger bines. My goldings was very vigorous this year (third year in ground) and was very heavy when I lowered it for harvesting!

Three year old Goldings early summer

Yeah, this season the top rope did bough a fair bit - thinking of tweaking the frame next season to something more substantial in terms of stability. But on the flip side I am limited by space!

I set it up so the top rope could be dropped down, but fark it was an effort pulling it taught again - and only the Chinook took off this season. Next year 3 plants will be going mental.

Edit: FJ - that setup looks perfect for my needs next summer. Can keep each plant separate too. Winner!

 

[antains]

Fantastic! I just got a POR rhizome, yesterday, and I've already got chinook in a pot.

Good thread. :icon_cheers: