I live in the north, along the southern coast of Superior. A lot of gardeners use raised beds here. Anybody do something similar with their hops? I was thinking of setting up some buckets to grow in. What needs to be done to the buckets–just drill some holes in the bottom for drainage? Anybody go this route? How’s it going?
I did wine barrels last year. This year I am moving them to beds made from 4 railroad ties and 2x6s for the ends to give them more room.
Yeah, just building raised beds is definitely an option, but I was trying to get by with a little less labor and a little less permanency in case the experiment falls on its face.
Using buckets (or any kind of container) will severely limit the growth of your hops. They form a huge root ball and if they don’t have room to do that they become stunted, to a greater or lesser degree.
I just had to move my potted plants. The problem I had was they burst throught the buckets/pots and made it into the ground. I had to cut them out to bring them to my new house, hoping I didnt kill them. They are tough plants and dont really like to be in a small space. Use metal or something strong.
I grow mine in Central Vermont in the ground on regular hills to keep them drained. No need for buckets here.
