Growing hops from seed

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adamzworld
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Growing hops from seed

Post by adamzworld » Mon Mar 04, 2019 12:39 am

I was wondering whether anyone had experience in growing hops from seeds?

I was given a hop growing kit as a gift and it says that to get the seeds to germinate, you need to leave them between two damp sheets of paper towel in the fridge for at least one month or until they show signs of growth.

My question is that each day the paper towel that they're wrapped in dries out so I have to keep wetting it daily. Am I doing something wrong here, should I keep the moistened paper towel in a sealed sandwich bag to prevent the water from evaporating and the towel drying up?

Thanks in advance

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keith1664
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Re: Growing hops from seed

Post by keith1664 » Mon Mar 04, 2019 1:01 am

I've no experience in growing hops from seed.
What I do know is that the resultant plant will be an unknown entity, all of the known varieties are clones grown from cuttings or rhizomes, anything from seed is an unknown. Many years are spent by the various hop people crossing varieties, growing from the seeds and seeing if the result is worth brewing with. It takes a lot of time to come up with a viable new variety.

Basically if you want something you know you can brew with get a rhizome and grow that.

If however you're just growing it for fun I'm sure a plant person will be along soon.
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keith1664
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Re: Growing hops from seed

Post by keith1664 » Mon Mar 04, 2019 1:02 am

But yes, I'd keep it in a sandwich bag.
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Re: Growing hops from seed

Post by adamzworld » Mon Mar 04, 2019 8:49 am

Thanks Keith, I thought that would help things along a bit of it was in a sealed bag. I'll transfer it today.

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Re: Growing hops from seed

Post by Nitro Jim » Mon Mar 04, 2019 3:51 pm

Of course with growing from seed there is no guarantee that you will get a female plant...
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Re: Growing hops from seed

Post by adamzworld » Thu Mar 28, 2019 10:58 pm

Thanks for the replies chaps. I was planning to just grow the hops for a bit of fun and a challenge to grow from seed! As to whether I'd be able to use the end product for brewing, well that will remain to be seen!!

The seeds have been in a sandwich bag now for around a month stuck to damp kitchen towel. There is no signs of any growth yet so I'm wondering whether to give up as chuck them or wait a bit longer. I wonder whether anyone else has grown hops from seeds and could advise whether I'm doing anything wrong?

Cheers

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themadhippy
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Re: Growing hops from seed

Post by themadhippy » Fri Mar 29, 2019 12:34 am

personallly id get em out of the fridge and out of the plastic bag.Tissue paper on a saucer kept moist with another bit of tissue over the seeds is a popular method of getting one of there distant cousins to kick into life
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Re: Growing hops from seed

Post by McMullan » Fri Mar 29, 2019 8:39 am

themadhippy wrote:
Fri Mar 29, 2019 12:34 am
personallly id get em out of the fridge and out of the plastic bag.Tissue paper on a saucer kept moist with another bit of tissue over the seeds is a popular method of getting one of there distant cousins to kick into life
Those distant cousins don't necessarily require a cold period to mimic winter like many seeds of temperate flowering plants do. The germination rate will be higher if they're kept in the fridge for 4-6 weeks.

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Re: Growing hops from seed

Post by McMullan » Fri Mar 29, 2019 8:44 am

adamzworld wrote:
Thu Mar 28, 2019 10:58 pm
Thanks for the replies chaps. I was planning to just grow the hops for a bit of fun and a challenge to grow from seed! As to whether I'd be able to use the end product for brewing, well that will remain to be seen!!

The seeds have been in a sandwich bag now for around a month stuck to damp kitchen towel. There is no signs of any growth yet so I'm wondering whether to give up as chuck them or wait a bit longer. I wonder whether anyone else has grown hops from seeds and could advise whether I'm doing anything wrong?

Cheers
If they've had a sufficient cold period, just sow them shallow and (if viable) they'll germinate.

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Re: Growing hops from seed

Post by adamzworld » Fri Mar 29, 2019 9:37 am

McMullan wrote:
Fri Mar 29, 2019 8:44 am
adamzworld wrote:
Thu Mar 28, 2019 10:58 pm
Thanks for the replies chaps. I was planning to just grow the hops for a bit of fun and a challenge to grow from seed! As to whether I'd be able to use the end product for brewing, well that will remain to be seen!!

The seeds have been in a sandwich bag now for around a month stuck to damp kitchen towel. There is no signs of any growth yet so I'm wondering whether to give up as chuck them or wait a bit longer. I wonder whether anyone else has grown hops from seeds and could advise whether I'm doing anything wrong?

Cheers
If they've had a sufficient cold period, just sow them shallow and (if viable) they'll germinate.
I was thinking about doing that, but just wondered whether I should expect to see some signs of life before taking them out of the fridge, or whether taking them out now, planting them and moving them somewhere warm will encourage them to germinate?

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themadhippy
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Re: Growing hops from seed

Post by themadhippy » Fri Mar 29, 2019 11:29 am

Those distant cousins don't necessarily require a cold period to mimic winter like many seeds of temperate flowering plants do
Actually they seem to work better with a cold spell before germination,not sure if its 100% necessary,but the theory is your tricking the seeds into thinking its winter so time for a kip,o hang on wear out the fridge,must be spring, time to wake up and get growing
Warning: The Dutch Coffeeshops products may contain drugs. Drinks containing caffeine should be used with care and moderation

McMullan

Re: Growing hops from seed

Post by McMullan » Fri Mar 29, 2019 12:38 pm

adamzworld wrote:
Fri Mar 29, 2019 9:37 am

I was thinking about doing that, but just wondered whether I should expect to see some signs of life before taking them out of the fridge, or whether taking them out now, planting them and moving them somewhere warm will encourage them to germinate?
Go for it. Just avoid any late frosts.

McMullan

Re: Growing hops from seed

Post by McMullan » Fri Mar 29, 2019 12:42 pm

themadhippy wrote:
Fri Mar 29, 2019 11:29 am
Those distant cousins don't necessarily require a cold period to mimic winter like many seeds of temperate flowering plants do
Actually they seem to work better with a cold spell before germination,not sure if its 100% necessary,but the theory is your tricking the seeds into thinking its winter so time for a kip,o hang on wear out the fridge,must be spring, time to wake up and get growing
I wouldn't know, but I once got a small 'plantation' growing down the bottom of the garden after dumping old bird seed.

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themadhippy
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Re: Growing hops from seed

Post by themadhippy » Fri Mar 29, 2019 3:54 pm

I wouldn't know, but I once got a small 'plantation' growing down the bottom of the garden after dumping old bird seed.
sounds like the paul Mcartney defence,"i didnt know what the seeds were so i planted then and they came up illegal"
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adamzworld
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Re: Growing hops from seed

Post by adamzworld » Mon Apr 01, 2019 9:55 pm

Thanks for all the comments chaps. I'll take them out of the fridge and get them potted in compost then move them out to our conservatory. There's plenty of natural light and they won't be exposed to any late frosts that way.

On a side note, I've also ordered a Challenger rhizome online so if the seeds fail to germinate, then I have a backup plan!

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