Texas is a big place, and only parts have caliche soil. The eastern half has pretty rich soil- deciduous and pine forests, productive farms, etc.. The northern half and panhandle are pretty much farmland of one sort or another- the heat and rainfall are the real limiting factors, not the soil fertility.
From what I’ve read, they require a larger day length in the summer than we get, being further south than their ideal habitat and all.
One other thing to add- fucking bugs*. The ones that eat holes in the leaves.
Last month I spent a few hours over three days picking caterpillars off the bottom of the leaves with tweezers and drowning them in soapy water.
Today I had to shake all the bines with a broom to get the beetles off. Tons of them all of a sudden. *And some did appear to be fucking doggie style. So tomorrow I have to buy some of those stupid looking beetle trap bags. Can’t really spray poison on something I’m going to put into beer.
So maybe hops aren’t plant it and forget it. You have to daily check for and remove pests.
Get some guinea fowls and use that medieval british horizontal grid method of supporting the bines. Guinea fowl can eat the shit out of tons of bugs - we haven’t had an influx of lady bugs, love bugs or ticks since getting them =)
trust me, I want some free range chickens, but my wife ain’t on board with the idea.