ferteliser for hop plants

[Paul Fraser]

I'm just wondering what types of ferteliser other hop growers use/recommend?? I will try and get composting sorted out eventually but don't have any at the moment so would have to just buy some ferteliser from the shop. I've heard that i would want something low on Nitrogen but not too sure what else i should be looking for.

 

Cheers

[Brett Mason]

I've got a copy of "The Homebrewer's Garden" which recommends a good mix of compost or well rotted manure. Mine are in containers so unfortunately I don't have the space to keep adding manure.

 

For mine I used a base of potting mix (Yates premium stuff, wasn't cheap) and sheep pellets. I found that by mid December they were showing what I think was nitrogen deficiency so I started adding regular doses of a liquid fertiliser and things came right.

This year I've moved to larger 75 litre bags (biggest I could find) with some home made compost and slow release fertiliser. Will see how it goes but I expect they will be needing plenty of extra liquid fertiliser.

 

Would also be interested to hear what others are using for container hops. Particularly any liquid fertilisers that would be more effective (and cheaper) than the Yates stuff.

[Christian]

I recently got some Yates Dynamic Lifter pellets:

http://www.yates.co.nz/products/fertilising/organic-based/dynamic-l...

Seems to be doing the trick though it smells totally awful!

[Pilgrim]

Sheep Poo is all I use. They let sheep run through the hop fields once they are full height (the hop bines that is, not the sheep) and this helps keep down the weeds, control secondary growth and provides fertiliser.

If it's good enough for the pro's.....................

[Hugh Grierson]

Hops are gross feeders, same as citrus and other heavy yeilding plants. Basicly they are greedy for nutrients and are hard to over feed. Blood and bone, sheep pellets,worm farm tea, some of your own wee's (so long as you are not too dehydrated) all work sweet.

[Chad Keven]

just dumped some fert made from koi carp broken down with an aerobic digestion process inside machines 100% organic plants will leap out of the ground! check it out here

[Hugh Grierson]

I like the idea of this process, but there must be some greenhouse gasses created by the bacteria, less than landfill though.

Another thing to think about is the taste of your hops, if you keep feeding them into the budding stage they will taste a bit 'ferty', hydroponic growers usually cut the feeding right back when the fruit/flowers form. 

[Chad Keven]

no co2 whatsover other than caused by the electricity and transport, the process itself is a very "dark shade of green" the only gas is nitrogen lost as ammonia. the atmoshere is 75% nitrogen anyway

[Martin Bridges]

I thought you were suggesting you'd eaten some koi carp then taken a dump on your hops!

[Chad Keven]

haha! na wouldnt eat one of those stinky fckrs!