[capozzoli]

Got some hop rhizomes from wzl46 today. Dude has been hookin me up!!

 With great anticipation I plan on planting them.

Should I just till some soil and add some fertilizer?

Any other green thumb tricks I should know about.

Not much of a green thumb myself, grew some plants closely related to hops years ago but not sure that it is the same.

[MrNate]

I don't know if it's the right way, but I dug a hole in our lovely clay about the size of a 5 gallon bucket, filled it in most of the way with soil and composted manure (50/50), planted the rhizome, then piled a good mound of 50/50 on top of it. Once they poked up I mulched.

[bluesman]

I would start them out in a small pot (1 gallon) with some decent potting soil to get them somewhat rooted and then transfer them in May to their permanant home in the ground. Pick a location that gets a good amount of sun in your house for now like a window sill.  You will need to fertilize them at some frequency after they have established. Read this article and go from there.

http://www.brewingtechniques.com/library/backissues/issue2.3/montell.html

[denny]

I dig a hole (not as big as a 5 gal. bucket, though!), add compost, and stick 'em in the ground.

[bluesman]

I dig a hole (not as big as a 5 gal. bucket, though!), add compost, and stick 'em in the ground.

+1

Organic compost is the best for hops.

[diybrewing]

For planting rhizomes the best way to do it is a dig a hole about 1 foot deep. Fill with a 50/50 blend of compost and dirt. Plant the rhizomes so that they have the white vine looking parts about 1 inch under the ground and they should be pointed up. Then top with a layer of compost. Water until saturated once a week and then let dry.over the week. Do this for the first two months then start watering every other week. After about a month or when your vines are about 1 foot start training them.

You should start them in a pot if your outside temperature is still going below freezing every night. But if you are in a warmer climate then you can just start them outside.
If you want to download our growing guide just click http://www.diybrewing.com/recipes/hop pamphlet.doc

[babalu87]

I dig a hole (not as big as a 5 gal. bucket, though!), add compost, and stick 'em in the ground.

Compost FTW

Also, put them on a little bit of a hill and create something of a moat in the middle.
One: To keep the nasty beasts away 
Seriously, the hill will prevent them from rotting early in their life and the moat will provide even moisture to said hill.

Good luck, hop growing is very rewarding 

[capozzoli]

Thanks guys, this really helps. I planned on doing it today but ran out of time.

Im gonna ddo it tomorrow

Its been pretty warm around here.

I have a bunch of ground hogs, skunks and rabbits out there. Wondering now what I can do to keep them away?

[MrNate]

I dig a hole (not as big as a 5 gal. bucket, though!), add compost, and stick 'em in the ground.

I'm guessing your soil isn't 4 solid feet of red clay and shale.

[bluesman]

I dig a hole (not as big as a 5 gal. bucket, though!), add compost, and stick 'em in the ground.

I'm guessing your soil isn't 4 solid feet of red clay and shale.

Gotta love our soil in these parts. 

[babalu87]

I dig a hole (not as big as a 5 gal. bucket, though!), add compost, and stick 'em in the ground.

I'm guessing your soil isn't 4 solid feet of red clay and shale.

Gotta love our soil in these parts. 

Nickname of the part of my town that we live in is Rock Village................took about three years of work to get the gardens soil where we wanted it.

[MrNate]

Could be worse. Up by my in-laws, any "digging" requires blasting. Neighbors had a pool put in a couple years back. That was interesting.

[corkybstewart]

Plant them where they'll get plenty of sun.  Also remember that the roots grow amazingly fast so you'll need to plant them in a place you can get to them to trim the roots every 2 or 3 years.  Also don't plant them near tomatoes, I don't remember why but they don't like each other.

[MrNate]

Just out of curiosity, what happens if you don't trim the roots back? I just tried doing mine last week and I pulled out a good twelve footer. Got me wondering if I was hurting production by doing that. The big concern I had was the varieties intermingling, but I couldn't decide if intermingled feeder roots had any impact on that.

[bluesman]

I don't pull the roots. The crown is the heart of the hops and should be left untouched. I only clip the vines back in the fall. I leave about 12" of vine exposed above ground.