Hops in Florida? We'll find out just how well they grow

Hop rhizomes, Chinook and Centennial

The hops rhizomes arrived last week, and over the weekend I had chance to plant them in the back yard.  I ordered one each of Centennial and Chinook.  The best hop growing region in North America is Washington state, and here in Florida, it is almost precisely opposite geographically speaking.

I'm told it can work.  Of course many things grow in Florida, with the summer heat and frequent afternoon showers.  The hops like the long summer days found in the more northern latitudes, so we have that working against us here in the south.

It will be interesting too, as others have purchased hops and we'll be able to compare results in several months.

I built a trellis in the back yard, at one end of an old swing set up built years ago.  They should grow up and up, and maybe across the top.  We'll keep an eye on the progress and report accordingly.

The top layer of dirt was built up to be above the ground level, as the hops will tend to appreciate the water filtering through the planting bed and not simply sitting in a pool of standing water.

Day 1: March 30, 2013