Trellis Plans

[Navy_Chief]

These are the plans I have com up with for my future hop garden trellis, any comments or suggestions would be appreciated. I am only planning on the two varieties as that is all I have space for with any separation between them. I may change how the twine is run up to the trellis to create more space at the top between the varieties.

 

[Bensiff]

16 feet is really high, I'd go lower, but I live in a neighborhood so neighbors are a consideration. You will probably also need something to aid in structural stability in case of a wind storm. Finally, make sure you have enough distance between the varieties at top or they will get intertwined and hard to seperate.

 

[Navy_Chief]

I had gone with 16 feet under the impression that the more vertical space I can provide the better off I would be in the end, I can definitely decrease it if necessary. How short can I go before I have issues? I could re-design this to provide more horizontal space but it would complicate the construction, I am thinking I can have the twines for each variety terminate more towards the end of the cross arm and it would provide plenty of separation between varieties (thinking two twines for each mound all going to about the same spot, and lower them down to harvest).

I am not too worried about the stability of it, it is hard to see but there is a cable guy wire from the front of the trellis to provide support from the direction that the wind here always seems to come from.

 

[Bensiff]

Oh yeah, there's the guy wire. Yes, more vertical space is a good thing...my considerations were, stability of the pole and neighbors. Another thing to consider is if you have a safe way to reach the top of that thing to set the twine and cut the bines come harvest time. I personally use the eave of my house which is a rambler. The shortest is about 9 feet and the longest about 12 feet that I run. The hops stop at the top and bunch up some, but they seem to do just fine. I have two cascade and two centennial on opposing sides of the south side of my house. I have one plant in each mound. My cascade is around 4 years old and grows like crazy so I have four bines coming up from that plant, two on each twine terminating at the top about 3 feet apart. This is close enough that they do get a little intertwined, but not too bad. However, consider that they are trained in a 'V' pattern so that they are going away from each other instead of towards each other. If they get intertwined its not a big deal b/c they are the same species.

 

[Bobby_M]

I'm much more in favor of a two post system where the top horizontal support is a cable or rope that the vertical climbers are tied to. It makes it easy to lower the whole thing down for selective harvest. This system hasn't failed me for 4 years now. My neighbors haven't complained about the 18 foot verticals at all but who knows.

 

[Bensiff]

I'm much more in favor of a two post system where the top horizontal support is a cable or rope that the vertical climbers are tied to. It makes it easy to lower the whole thing down for selective harvest. This system hasn't failed me for 4 years now. My neighbors haven't complained about the 18 foot verticals at all but who knows.

If I didn't use my eaves I'd go more this route as I could make it easily stable...wind issues where I live and all.

 

[Navy_Chief]

To lower them I am going to run the twine through loops on the horizontal support and down to cleats on the vertical post so I can lower them without climbing the pole. To change the lines when needed then entire system is capable of being lowered to the ground; the vertical support is not in concrete it is bolted between two 2x4's that are in concrete. When it is time to do maintenance I will remove one bolt and the guy wire and lower it to the ground on the second bolt as a pivot. I do not have approval from my home owners association yet but I don't think it is going to be a problem; if it is I can re-design then but all indications right now is that it will not be an issue.

BTW if you ever have the choice between two homes, one with a HOA and one without run to the one without.....

 

[Randar]

I'm much more in favor of a two post system where the top horizontal support is a cable or rope that the vertical climbers are tied to. It makes it easy to lower the whole thing down for selective harvest. This system hasn't failed me for 4 years now. My neighbors haven't complained about the 18 foot verticals at all but who knows.

Ditto. And go as tall as you feel you can get away with, up to 20 ft. I simply cut mine down at harvest but you still need a way to anchor the twine each spring, so some mechanism of getting up there (or getting it "down here"


Oh, and if you're feeding some string through an eye bolt, I hope you have a way to get back up there when the string decays or slips and runs back out through the eye bolt.

 

[cram]

I'd be concerned with the 8' piece of wood at 16' high and the torque on it from wind blowing heavy bines around. It looks nice but I get the sense that a wind storm in July/August would be a dicey proposition. Guy lines help with stability, obviously, but I have to throw my support to the two pole method that Bobby and Randar mentioned.

Your idea of anchoring the post between two sunken 2X4's sounds like a pretty good removable option--I would just do two instead of one and run a line between them. The other thing about a wooden trellis in the middle of the bed is inevitably it will succumb to the elements since it's in an environment that's watered regularly and home to many little critters. Two posts encourages you to mount them outside the bed where less water and less decay might occur. Two poles makes it easier to expand, too, if you decide to plant some new varieties next year because you can run hops up the guy lines off each side of the two posts...Instead of cemented 2X4's for mounting, you could also sink a galvanized fence post and then put a smaller diameter pole in that (with a carriage bolt through both) if you want a more lasting option. Hope this helps!

 

[Bobby_M]

This is what I did and I wouldn't change a thing. The only change I've made so far is to run 3 thinner twines up per plant.

 

[heathsw]

I too would suggest guying the trellis all for sides. I had mine guyed out to protect the trellis from the prevailing wind but a freak wind crashed my 50' four tiered trellis several Labor Days ago. Mine are also 16' tall and those hops will create a great sail. In Washington, all my 8 varities run to the top and then some.

Give yourself plenty of space between your hop varieties, overhead and in the ground. I have resorted to creating 2 to 4 foot open spaces in my raised beds to keep the root system seperate. With four feet of space at the top, there will still be some intertwining.

I use plastic baling twine because it lasts for several seasons. To make it easier to harvest, I run a piece of twine from the raised bed, up to the trellis and back to the raised bed frame. On your system this would double bine space. To harvest, untie one end, setup your ladder, pull UP the lose end as high as you can reach and then pull down from the other side. I still have to pull the bines off the trellis top.

Wind protection and space between varities will make your hop garden easier.

 

[Navy_Chief]

Thanks for all of the inputs, I have redesigned things a bit with these ideas in mind. I am now going with a two pole system with a rope between them that the twine runs to. I am setting this up so that I can lower the top rope when I need to for maintenance or harvesting. Here are the current plans, I have about five and a half feet between the different varieties in this design so there should not be any major issues with them intertwining. I have also shortened it a couple of feet to reduce the sail area for the windy days, but with this design I don't think it would be a major issue as the uprights are 4x4's which should provide plenty of structure to prevent disaster.

 

[Rbeckett]

16 feet is really high, I'd go lower, but I live in a neighborhood so neighbors are a consideration. You will probably also need something to aid in structural stability in case of a wind storm. Finally, make sure you have enough distance between the varieties at top or they will get intertwined and hard to seperate.

Healthy hops will go to the eaves of a second story house normally. My buddy had 32 footers the last three years. Hops love to grow vertically, so give em lots of room or they will intertwine near the bottom and become mixed if your not vigilant. If that happens you end up with mystery hops. Not what you are looking for I am sure. Just a thought from the lunatic fringe.
Wheelchair Bob