Thanks -- glad you found this to be an interesting post. And I'm always happy to meet another hop grower! Depending on your climate, you could sink the 5-gallon pots into the ground and mulch them heavily. Most hops like a cold period. But hops are a tough plant and they aren't that particular, as long as there is good drainage in the soil.
My biggest tip for your spring planting is to give them room to grow up and out. They will want to run and spread over time, but your yields will be better if you thin them out. That's OK because the spring shoots are really tasty!
Cool. I have plenty of room for them and full, all day sun. I'm in Washington state. I'm thinking of making a tee pee style trellis with wire staked down in a big circle and attached to a tall center pole set in the ground. They should grow up the wire to the center pole, right?
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They want to grow UP, for sure! I"m on Oregon's Willamette Valley, which is region with the 2nd largest hop acreage in the US. But Washington is number 1, mostly in the Yakima Valley. But Kent, Washington, near Seattle, used to grow a lot of hops, early in its agricultural history. I'll look forward to seeing your hop harvest in 2017 or 2018! : )
Im in Snohomish! Maybe we'll meet at a Steemit Meetup.
That would be neat, @luzcypher!