Hop rhizomes

[James P]

Hi All
(Hopefully I didn't miss a thread here, I searched first!)
Just wanted to see if anyone has rhizomes available this year? I hear there is a shortage, however if there are any suppliers anyone knows of I would be keen to given them a go!

Maybe we can get a list of suppliers going? I see in the old forum that Stephen @ Hallertau may have been one of them, any ideas?

Cheers

[nzbrewer]

this is a good time to start asking cause July is the best time to plant

[Steve Baker]

I planted my mystery german hops too late in the season to get a harvest, so I don't know yet if they're worth sending out.

[James P]

Please keep us up to date! Especially given they are mysterious hops as that sounds like a great name for a lager... Mystery.

[Steve Baker]

If these hops turn out to have a decent aroma/flavour I propose that it be dubbed "Geheimnis" (german for mystery)

[Bill Velek]

You might be surprised. Last year was my first year to grow; I planted three varieties: Fuggles (did VERY well), Centennial (did poorly with very little cone production and bines probably less than 3 metersl), and Magnum (did BADLY, with one rhizomes dying and the other growing to not much more than perhaps 1 meter). Despite the poor 'above-ground' growth of the latter, when I dug the crowns up to move them to a new location this past spring, I was surprised to find that the crowns of the two Centennial and one Magnum were nearly as large as the Fuggles (I cut the rootball for each of them down to about 1/3 meter by 1 meter, rolled the balls into a wheelbarrow, spray-washed the soil off with a hose, and harvested rhizomes). After trimming some very nice-sized rhizomes to give away, I divided the crowns into 'super'-sized crowns by cutting them into three pieces each, and they are now growing well in their new locations. Of course, if you are not planning to relocate them, you are probably well advised to leave them alone.

Since this is a New Zealand group, let me mention that we have only a single source of rhizomes listed on our Grow-Hops links page -- 'Fragrant Garden' -- so I would very much like to know of any other sources so they can be listed to help any members from N.Z.

Grow-Hops(Yahoo) now has 2,174 members plus we have a .com presence where we are developing a Grow-Hops wiki, etc. For more info, please visit www.tinyurl.com/29zr8r

Cheers.

Bill Velek

[James P]

Hi Bill

I'm a member on there too! :) But I was tyring for local knowledge and group members first before going to the GrowHops group. I'll take a look at fragrant gardens though, thanks!

James

[Steve Baker]

we have only a single source of rhizomes listed on our Grow-Hops links page -- 'Fragrant Garden'
That would be the source of my mystery german hops.

There are not a lot of options in NZ for sourcing rhizomes. This is due to import restrictions and the relationship between commercial hops growers and NZ brewing corporations.

An analogy for this relationship would most accurately involve degrading sexual acts.

[nzbrewer]

Bill

It is near impossible to get named varieties to grow in NZ, because of the control of the previous Hop Marketing Board.

Also it is illegal to import hop rhizomes into NZ. You need a permit, and they have to go into quarantine on arrival, and can be there for 3 years/season I think to see if they have carried in any diseases.

Cheers
Luke

[James P]

Hi Luke

Did some reading over lunch time (maf.govt.nz). Seems once you have the permit ($105+) and the quarantined nursery ($+++) then rhizomes may be imported and sit in quarantine for a minimum of 3 months (12 months for seeds). That looks like the basic information available online, and there is A LOT more than my lunch break would allow!

If it's that simple (ha ha) then that could make imports viable after season 2 as the first year they will still be in quarantine when they are supposed to be planted. (and probably dead from MAF care!)

May just have to take a drive up Nelson way one night.... (just joking!)

[Simon]

Here is a link from MAF on the role of the Hop Marketing Board in NZ.
http://www.maf.govt.nz/mafnet/rural-nz/profitability-and-economics/...

It does look like the Hop Marketing Board in combination with the strict quarantine laws in NZ has a bit of a stranglehold on the hop plant market. It would be good to see what resources us homebrewers that would like to grow our own have available to us in NZ.

[Simon]

I found this page: http://crops.orc.govt.nz/crop_print_version.php?cropid=51

This lists the following companies as sources for plants:

http://www.parvaplants.co.nz/catalogue.html
http://www.waimeanurseries.co.nz/

Haven't found out what these companies offer and whether that includes rhizomes.

[denimglen]

Waimea Nurseries stock Smoothcone, a cluster cross. I've emailed them about purchasing but still waiting on a reply.

I think I emailed Parva last year and they said they didn't stock them anymore.