Thursday, March 26, 2009

Hops in Pots

No, its not really a Dr. Seuss book. After doing much research and with encouragement from the last issue of Brew Your Own magazine, I've decided to try growing some hops in pots. I had thought it might be too hot and humid in Houston, but I've found several people that have successfully grown hops in various regions of Southern Texas, so I figured I'd give it a go. The soil around here is not very good and I'm not sure what area of the yard is suitable, so the pots will allow me to provide good soil to grow in and the ability to move them around to adjust the amount of sun and shade. It gets pretty scorching down here in the summer, so I have a feeling they'll need sun in the morning, but protected from it in the afternoon.

Since this is my first attempt and I have no idea whether it will actually work, I'm starting with just two hop plants. I decided on Cascade and Nugget and ordered a hop rhizome of each from Fresh Hops. Cascade is one of the most commonly used hop in craft brewing. Its typically used for aroma, but can be used for bittering as well. Nugget is a strong bittering hop, but has a descent aroma profile.

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