Hops are a perennial climbing plant that is grown commercially because the fruits are essential for beer production. But hops are also enjoying increasing popularity as an ornamental plant in the home garden. How to Grow Hops in the Garden.
How can I grow and use hops in the garden?
To grow hops in the garden, you need a sunny to partially shaded location with slightly moist soil. Care for the climbing plant by watering, fertilizing and cutting regularly. Propagation occurs via cuttings or root division. Harvest ripe hop fruits for use in natural remedies or for brewing beer.
What are hops good for in the garden?
- Outdoor or container
- Privacy protection
- Shadow Provider
- Greening of pergolas and balconies
Hops grow very quickly and form a dense privacy screen in the garden. It can also be grown very well to add greenery to pergolas or to provide shade on the balcony.
The climbing plant can be planted directly outdoors or kept in a pot on the terrace or balcony.
If you rely on natural remedies, you can harvest and use the fruits of hops. The young sprouts that grow in spring are edible and are prepared like asparagus.
The right location
Hops like it sunny to partially shaded. The soil should be slightly moist but definitely not waterlogged.
Caring for hops in the garden
Hops cannot tolerate drought any more than they can tolerate waterlogging. Water more often in hot summer, especially if you grow it in a pot.
Since the climbing plant grows very quickly, it needs regular fertilizer. Vegetable fertilizer is ideal for this.
Cutting is only necessary once a year. Hops move in in winter and sprout again in spring.
Sowing hops or propagating them via cuttings
Real hops are usually not sown, but propagated via cuttings or root division. Mainly female plants are bred because male plants do not bear fruit.
Only Japanese hops are sown. It is an annual and dies at the end of the gardening season.
Process your own hop fruits
Ripe hop fruits can be harvested and dried. You can use it to prepare calming teas or natural remedies.
If there are enough hop cones hanging on the plant, it might be worth trying to brew your own beer.
The ripe fruits are used. The only way to tell whether hops are ripe is to cut them open. Overripe fruits become brown and inedible.
Tip
Hops have a big disadvantage. In a favorable location it tends to overgrow and is difficult to remove from the garden. However, the spread can be prevented if you grow the hops in the bucket.
