hop vine support structures...

[jkellner29]

What is everyone using as support for your hop vines to grow up? Planning on growing for the first year, I purchased nugget and cascade to give a try but want to have something built that will allow them the best support.

 

[Greatlakeshops]

A 20' flagpole works great. Plant your hops in a 12' circle around it. Replace the hoist rope with a heavier one and add a metal loop around the pole where the flag clip is located. Attach your growing twines to the loop and hoist 'em up (you can lower them in the fall to p1ck 'em) Looks like a big green tepee - (my kids think it's super cool also!) If you only have a couple to start; plant them opposite each other. Growing hops is almost as addictive as brewing, so I'm sure you will fill in the circle with more varieties.

 

[Chamuco]

If you have a two-story house you could do something similar to what I've done. SS cable from the center of my planters to the eve of my roof. The 2nd year vines hit the top and could have gone another 5'. After harvest I cut the vines near the planter and let them dry out. A few months later I could easily pull the dead vines down the wire.

View attachment 2011-07-29 20.14.38.jpg

 

[jkellner29]

Thanks for th great ideas, I don't have a flag pole or a two story home, Damn, I may need to build something afterall.

Maybe a clothes line, half to please my wife and the cost of materials, and a few lines for me...we'll see.

What's the average length of line needed, 25 foot???

 

[jamboparty]

I went a little overboard as far as my post goes, but I wanted to make sure it could withstand the weather we get around here.

I bought 10 ft. 4 x 4's, cut one in half and then bolted them together like this...

____________________ ____________________
__________ ____________________ __________

I then had a very nice neighbor bring his tractor and auger over and dig a 4-ft hole to drop the post in.

My thought was that this would make a sandwiched 4 x 8 that would resist warping as the wood dried out and so far, so good. That thing is rock solid.

I then added eye-bolts at the top and the bottom to allow for a pulley system on 3 of the sides which allowed me to lower the ropes and harvest.

As far as the length of rope... I intentionally left lots of spare rope to allow me to lower the ropes completely during harvest and then pull them back up tight.

 

[sweetcell]

for two plants i will be doing something similar to Chamuco.

for the other two i will be running ropes up to my second story balcony. if the hops still need growing space, they can crawl along the railing of the balcony.

 

[B-Hoppy]

I don't know what your growing area consists of or what materials you have access to, but I use tall slender trees and lash them to a pipe driven into the ground about 3 feet. When you want to harvest, all you have to do is untie the pole and lower, pick then tie it back up. It's worked for me for 20-some years:

 

[wolverinebrewer]

What is everyone using as support for your hop vines to grow up? Planning on growing for the first year, I purchased nugget and cascade to give a try but want to have something built that will allow them the best support.

This is what I did. Twenty first year cascades supported by 20' 4X4's. Thanks Homer.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=46746&stc=1&d=1328553414

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=46750&stc=1&d=1328553815

 

[BBL_Brewer]

Fences work well if you have one and are willing to train the vines manually once a week or so. I have some on fences and some on a 15 foot trellis I made out of electrical conduit.

 

[mthompson]

Last year, I threw up a quick trellis using a metal fence post in the ground and a 15 ft. bamboo pole attached to it using stainless hose clamps. I tied the twine to each mound with a smaller (3/8") steel post that was pounded in to the ground next to the mound and bent over the mound. This worked great until a 45mph gust snapped the 3" thick bamboo completely in have at the top of the fence post. That was later in the season, so I just lowered it down and re-clamped the now-shorter pole.

it got a little top heavy, with 4 bines per mound (12 total).

This year, I am going to move these crowns to the backside (south-facing) of my steel building (~20ft.) and run the twine between the raised beds and up underneath the metal roof where I can access them from the inside. Should be a much better operation.

 

[sweetcell]

mthompson - in that last pic, i hope those hops were all of the same variety. otherwise it would be nearly impossible to distinguish between them when harvesting, no?

 

[mthompson]

mthompson - in that last pic, i hope those hops were all of the same variety. otherwise it would be nearly impossible to distinguish between them when harvesting, no?

Yeah, it's the same type all the way around. It was a pain pick either way!

 

[jkellner29]

Thanks again everyone for the ideas.

So I think I came up with something that I can easily remove after the season so its not out in the cold weather.

Making a "T" shape trellis.
2 inch 10' high pvc pipe by about 8 ' across on the top. Then going to run twine through eye hooks on the top in a V shape down to a square box, 2x6 where I will plant a rhizome on mob sides. Making a total of 4 plants in total. One side nugget and one aide cascade.

I'm stuck on the support for the main 2" pvc pipe going up 10'. I picked up a heavy duty metal T shaped fence post, 6 ft. Not sure it will go high enough up on the pvc to give enough support. I guess I need two feet in the ground, leaving about 4 ft of inside support.

Figured this would be a cool trellis that I can slide over the fence post and remove from the yard if I need too.

Thoughts, anyone try this setup before

 

[sweetcell]

Thanks again everyone for the ideas.

So I think I came up with something that I can easily remove after the season so its not out in the cold weather.

Making a "T" shape trellis.
2 inch 10' high pvc pipe by about 8 ' across on the top. Then going to run twine through eye hooks on the top in a V shape down to a square box, 2x6 where I will plant a rhizome on mob sides. Making a total of 4 plants in total. One side nugget and one aide cascade.

I'm stuck on the support for the main 2" pvc pipe going up 10'. I picked up a heavy duty metal T shaped fence post, 6 ft. Not sure it will go high enough up on the pvc to give enough support. I guess I need two feet in the ground, leaving about 4 ft of inside support.

Figured this would be a cool trellis that I can slide over the fence post and remove from the yard if I need too.

Thoughts, anyone try this setup before

i'm not 100% sure i understand your plan... any chance you could draw it up? or show pictures that illustrate parts of what you're doing?

 

[jkellner29]

Sure, I'm not an artist, hope you understand the basic idea, cost about 60.00 for everything from lowes.

 

[CastleHollow]

Here's a picture at the end of my second season (2009.) I've use the same structure each year for my Cascades and Nugget mounds (2 each.) It's made out of PVC, sissel cord, and vinyl coated clothesline across the top which is anchored midway up the two corner base posts. The whole structure comes down at the end of the season except for the three base posts which are anchored pretty deeply in the garden.

 

[sweetcell]

Sure, I'm not an artist, hope you understand the basic idea, cost about 60.00 for everything from lowes.

View attachment 49009

that looks like a fine design to me! one thought is to anchor both ends of the "T" to the ground, to provide overall stability.

i would make sure that the same variety goes on one side, so when the plants reach the top they are mingling with the same variety. otherwise sorting them out once harvest comes is going to be a pain.

 

[jkellner29]

Getting there... Put together my trellis, just need to string the line from my boxes to the top then wait for my cascade and nugget to come in from American brewmaster, raleigh nc.

 

[SGFBeerBuzz]

This has been an interesting thread. I plan on starting my hop growing endeavors this year, and have heard rumors of shorter hop trellises working well for some varieties. Does anyone have any experience using shorter trellises?

I was thinking of going with the same kind of theory some commercial hop growers are working with in which they use a 8-10' trellis using mesh rather than a single line from the ground. The bines then train themselves on the mesh and you simply pick them like grapes. At the end of the year, you don't trim back the remaining bines, but let them remain to support the next year's growth.

 

[cram]

I'd go taller whenever possible and use guy lines for support. Yes, some varieties will grow taller than others but most can get 15-20 feet pretty easily if cared for properly. For example, in CastleHollow's picture, I think it would be just as easy and arguably more effective to either screw an eyelet from the peak of the roof and string lines down teepee style from there for the bines to grow up. Or, better yet, to add a pole from the peak of the roof anchored with guy lines to the corners of the house to extend it up even higher. Keep in mind that a healthy, mature plant will weigh a bunch toward the end of the season, and wind/weather will tax a PVC set-up quite easily, especially as you extend it higher and higher. People in wide open sapces without structure to anchor them often find two 8-10' galvanized poles coupled together make a more lasting and weather-withstanding option but again a lot depends on your particular set-up. Consider if there are anchor points on houses or patio covers or trees that would work to help support or extend trellises from. I recall someone posted pictures of a well-made, heavy-duty steel setup last year. And when a hurricane blew by, even it came down...don't underestimate the weight of your plants and their ability to catch wind. Having mature bines fall down during the course of the season sucks--it's even worse to string them up again! Forethought now, and building soon, makes a lot of sense for the new growers because it's shocking how fast these things grow come May and June.

 

[sweetcell]

This has been an interesting thread. I plan on starting my hop growing endeavors this year, and have heard rumors of shorter hop trellises working well for some varieties. Does anyone have any experience using shorter trellises?

check out willamettevalleyhops.com - they have Summit hops, a previously proprietary variety. to my knowledge, they are the only ones selling this rhizome. Summit's claim to fame? it's the first widely commercially used dwarf hop. more info: http://adha.us/dwarf-hops (this page also lists other varieties that have been successfully grown on low trellises).

 

[tknice]

We ran cables between trees for ours. More cables hang down for the supports. Not sure if you have an area like this or not.

http://www.brewgeeks.com/grow-hops.html

 

[udt89]

Do hops have grow vertical or can they grow horizontal?

 

[pvtschultz]

Do hops have grow vertical or can they grow horizontal?

They much prefer to grow vertical but will grow horizontal if you train them.

 

[homebeerbrewer]

I posted this in another thread, but I figured it would be appropriate here too.

Here's my trellis:

 

[Bobby_M]

Just a quick observation. I see a LOT of people installing flimsy poles of inadequate height literally 2 feet away from structures that are a lot higher. Nothing is going to beat the ability of a two story building or roof line for an anchor point. Put some eye bolts into the eve overhangs of your roof.

 

[Oscar56]

They much prefer to grow vertical but will grow horizontal if you train them.

I was also thinking about doing something like this. Constructing a fence line dedicated to hops. There will be extra effort for training the hops but less effort for picking. The one big downfall may be the "foot print" for one bine.

Will a horizontal trellis result in reduced production? Any other issues?

 

[Bobby_M]

I can tell you that the upper 2-3 feet of growth always produces the largest cones for me. I suspect they get sun earlier and keep it later than the rest which may or may not matter in your situation.

 

[SGFBeerBuzz]

I'm using the eave of my house, but it's not all that tall, being single story. If it doesn't work out as well as i'd like, I may try building a better support next year. The bed they are planted in gets at lease 8 hours of sunlight per day.