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!
(SA Adelaide).
