I was recently talking to a buddy who brews beer about growing hops. Has anybody tried this? I'm in the midwest, and I always thought that they only grew well in the pacific northwest....or in germany.

 

Anyone know how you'd go about getting some hops started?

I haven't done it yet, but plan to in the spring, I've heard that you want to plant them in March/April. Apparently they can grow just fine around here. They're basicly vines, and they start out as rhizomes (google 'hop rhizomes' to find a supplier). From what I've heard, they take a year or 2 to get established, but once they are, they go nuts. Good luck!

Thanks...that sounds kind of like grapes; it takes a few years before you can get anything off them. I wonder if it's the same deal as grapes though, where it's like, yeah you CAN grow them, but you can only get the good ones to grow in certain areas.

 

They're vines, eh? So you have to train them on a trellis of some nature?