# How To Build A Hop Trellis



## punkin (11/8/12)

Just thought i'd add a searchable title to the thread, i know i did a fair bit of searching in the idea phase.

I have very limited room left in my yard that doesn't already have a fruit tree or a shed on it, so i had to be a little creative.

I have a small space that i could (with some persuading and sweettalking and a small tantrum) erect one discreet post...


I have two rhizomes i bought from one of the members here, a Goldings and a Cluster. The plan was to use 1 post in a way that would minimise bird shit on my hops but still allow four strings for either plant.

This is the space i had to work with..








Atm i've got the rhizomes planted in the grey tubes, but sprung my 'sudden new idea' on her yesterday to remove the herbs from the big cubic metre planters and put the hops in there so it 'would look neater'. :icon_cheers: 

My materials list;

4.3m length of 75 X 50 x 2mm RHS (second grade gal) at $27 per 8.3 m length = $14
1 m length of 65 X 35 X 4mm RHS (first grade) @ $12
couple of bits of scrap rhs welded to the base where the concrete sits
3 bags of Rapid Set cement @ $7 per = $21
two welded gal bolt rings @ $2.50 each from the big green shed
a 75 X 50 cap i had in the shed $2?
some paint

There is some paving between the planters to stop the weeds coming up around the firewood store. I removed some pavers and dug a 700mm deep hole, placed the 65 x 35 post in the hole and concreted it in straight and true.







Drilled a couple of 8mm holes in the top of the 75 X 50 mm rhs and bolted the rings for the strings on to either side of the top.






Painted the big pole with etch primer and two coats of white and hammered the cap on.



That's as far as i got yesterday, i'll take some more pics over the next couple of days.


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## punkin (11/8/12)

Put the pole up so i could have a squiz...








The post is just sitting over the peg so far. I still have to put some fill back on top of the cement and cut and replace the pavers. This will lift the post up another six inches or so.

I'll then put a bolt through the lot to stop people lifting it out and keep it straight and not rattling in the wind. Also on the to do list is somre rings down low for tie off points for the strings and to thread the strings.

The design was to allow the strings to be sagged to extend the height of the bines as they near the top and allow them to be lowered for progressive harvesting. For restringing when the strings rot or to remove and hide during the winter the pole just lifts up and is easily light enough to handle alone.

The design could be used in a garden setting for anything from 2 to 6 or 8 plants by just planting them in a wide ring around the base of the pole and adding more strings. It's cheap and easy enough for anyone to build, if you don't have a welder you could bolt some bits of scrap to the peg to make it secure in the concrete.
Then the only tool you would need would be a cordless drill.

All pieces are easily available from your local steel shop or hardware store.


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## 1974Alby (11/8/12)

thanks for this post...exactly the kind of info Im after,,,,I have two rhizomes still in the fridge and have made a planter 750x750x600...was tryin to find a cheaper alternative to a 1/2 wine barrel but I think I went overboard as the planter box is massive and will need a LOT of soil/compost to fill it..I will end up with the most expensive hops ever (and to think I thought it would save me money!!).

Anyway, will be erecting a self supporting trellis structure in the next week or so...dont want to concrete it in place but I spose I can always dig it up again at a later date if I need to...but I might try a deeply driven star picket and a square section steel sleeve to start with.


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## punkin (13/8/12)

You're very welcome. i'm glad i was able to help a little.


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## hotchilli (13/8/12)

Looks nice. I was just doing some beam analysis at work and then read your post - I thought I'd chuck your pole into an FEA package and see how it performs.

An 80kg side load on the top of the pole, is enough to make the pole bend and permanently deform. At this point, the top of the pole is 334mm off centre. Ok, it's unlikely to have a pure side load like that, but it's something to think about.




I also did a buckling analysis, and the pole will be at risk of buckling if it sees > 1 tonne downward vertical load.




It's only a quick and nasty analysis, but I recommend supporting the pole with guy wires anchored to the ground so the top cant sway too much, and keep the total load less than a tonne (hopefully not a problem assuming any guy wires aren't overtensioned)


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## Liam_snorkel (13/8/12)

Better not park your car on top of it.


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## IainMcLean (13/8/12)

hotchilli said:


> I also did a buckling analysis, and the pole will be at risk of buckling if it sees > 1 tonne downward vertical load.
> 
> It's only a quick and nasty analysis, but I recommend supporting the pole with guy wires anchored to the ground so the top cant sway too much, and keep the total load less than a tonne (hopefully not a problem assuming any guy wires aren't overtensioned)



Mate - Thems is damn big hops you're growing....


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## luvbeer (13/8/12)

great idea!! easy to tell which is which during harvest too!! great for privacy!! Don't think you will need to worry about it bowing though.
plus hops in buckets is a great idea too. dont have to worry about the spread. my rhizomes have spread over 2 meters in 2 years each.


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## booargy (13/8/12)

couple of sheaves on dem eye bolts and some fine stainless cable with something to anchor it to down the bottom would also make harvesting easy. like a gin pole


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## punkin (13/8/12)

Thanks for the comments. i won't be parking a car on top, so should be safe enough. I used twine for guy ropes. :icon_cheers: 

Some more pics of the finnished setup. The four lengths of twine on either side come all the way back down the pole, so the idea is to be able to allow a stack of 'sag' as the hops start approaching the top of the strings. Means i've potentialy got 7m of string they can grow on.

I'll give the system a go with this string set up this year and if i see where improvements can be made i'll do that for next season.


I'm hoping that even if there is a strong wind when the bines are fully grown there won't be enough tension to bend the rhs.














Spent a further $20 odd down at bunnings today. Got the two cleats to tie the strings of too, some rings to join the lowering string to the growing strings and the fancy twine.
Also got a pack of the copper plant tags so i could remember which side was which.


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## edschache (13/8/12)

Where's the flag?


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## punkin (14/8/12)

edschache said:


> Where's the flag?




I'm not allowed to put a flag on top....yet...


Baby steps with the lady. First was getting approval for a great pole in the backyard in the first place. Then i took over her herb gardens.

Flag will be later.


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## Yob (14/8/12)

Are different varietys going to be grown up that mast punkin?


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## Weizguy (14/8/12)

punkin said:


> I'm not allowed to put a flag on top....yet...
> 
> 
> Baby steps with the lady. First was getting approval for a great pole in the backyard in the first place. Then i took over her herb gardens.
> ...


Do you really need a flag?

Are you turfing the herbs out of the garden, as I'd imagine they would quite happily grow under the bines.


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## punkin (14/8/12)

I have a goldings in one pot and a cluster in the other. Do you think there will be problems with them intertwining?


Yes, i told her some of the herbs could go back in to co-exist. Don't know if that would work or not, but we have plenty of those herbs growing in different spots in the garden.
I use a lot of herbs in my cooking.


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## drsmurto (14/8/12)

punkin said:


> I have a goldings in one pot and a cluster in the other. Do you think there will be problems with them intertwining?
> 
> 
> Yes, i told her some of the herbs could go back in to co-exist. Don't know if that would work or not, but we have plenty of those herbs growing in different spots in the garden.
> I use a lot of herbs in my cooking.



Massive issues with intertwining.

Unless you plan on spending everyday of the growing season untangling the bines your system will cause all manner of angst.

You can't tell hops apart by looking at the leaves or cones, people have tried but no-one has demonstrated it can be done.

Every season i go through this process, hours wasted untangling bines but this year i now have a 4m gap between varieties which i hope (fingers crossed) will be enough to keep them seperate.

Planting them 2-3m apart is good but you undo all your good work by allowing them to grow towards each other. They will grow 10m vertically if you give them something to climb.


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## punkin (14/8/12)

Ok thanks for the advice. Good thing is they should go together in a brew if worst comes to worst :lol: 

I'll see how i go this year and seperate them next year if nessercary. Wouldn't be hard to have a say out from the post, but i'm trying to avoid the bird crap issue as best i can.
I haven't seen a system without a compromise yet.






There'sAlwaysTheGamoIfItComesToItPunkin


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## Yob (14/8/12)

My trellis is_ almost _the same as yours Punkin, however I decided early that I needed to have some horizontal lines to be able to separate them (following Dr S's advice)

this was my build back HERE

Ive slightly revised it this year but I still think the theory is strong... that is until the hops think and do otherwise  

:icon_cheers:


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## Batz (29/8/12)

I just made a trellis up out of bamboo, it fairly high and perhaps being first season it won't all be used. How do you guys harvest hops from the top?

Batz


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## hoppy2B (29/8/12)

Batz said:


> I just made a trellis up out of bamboo, it fairly high and perhaps being first season it won't all be used. How do you guys harvest hops from the top?
> 
> Batz




You can either use a ladder or lower the hops down on strings. The above described design has rings at the top of the post with the string passing through and back down to the ground enabling it to be lowered.
I know back in England they used to grow them on poles and lower the poles to the ground.


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## HBHB (29/8/12)

Batz said:


> How do you guys harvest hops from the top?
> 
> Batz



One of these ought to do it Batz.


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## Malted (29/8/12)

Batz said:


> I just made a trellis up out of bamboo, it fairly high and perhaps being first season it won't all be used. How do you guys harvest hops from the top?
> Batz





punkin said:


> The design was to allow the strings... to be lowered for progressive harvesting. For restringing when the strings rot or to remove and hide during the winter the pole just lifts up and is easily light enough to handle alone.




I am an advocate of the flagpole arrangment of using a rope to hoist them up and down the pole instead of using the pole itself. It allows a harvest without them scratching the shiite out of you which I used to get a lot when up and down a ladder, reaching across/through etc. Leaves can get on the ladder rungs and make it slippery and there are always cones that are just out of reach, but if I just lean out a bit more I will get them... 
I'd hate to fall off a ladder and get hung up on barbed wire used in the trellis, that sounds dangerous.

In the picture below taken in June, you can see the arrow pointing to one of the hoisting ropes tied off on the fence rail. With lots of birds in my area, I now try to reduce horizontal structures (aka perching structures). It works for me, it may not work for other folks. There may be better ways of doing it.


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## hoppy2B (29/8/12)

The flagpole is a very neat method. Couple of sturdy poles with mesh between is very practical and its possible to lean a ladder against it. I like the idea of growing hops twining around bamboo poles and then lowering the poles. Poles are very sturdy and don't get blown around in the wind the way that strings sometime can.
My yard has a combination of string, mesh and bamboo poles on account of the fact I still haven't figured out what I'm doing. :lol:


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## Batz (29/8/12)

hoppy2B said:


> The flagpole is a very neat method. Couple of sturdy poles with mesh between is very practical and its possible to lean a ladder against it. I like the idea of growing hops twining around bamboo poles and then lowering the poles. Poles are very sturdy and don't get blown around in the wind the way that strings sometime can.
> My yard has a combination of string, mesh and bamboo poles on account of the fact I still haven't figured out what I'm doing. :lol:




Mine are bamboo poles with string, I guess I'll have to park the tractor next to them and use it to support the ladder.
Anyway harvset is a long way off yet. :lol:


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## punkin (23/9/12)

Got three Cascade rhizomes in the mail this week, so i'm taking the doctors prescription and adding a very large pot to the front of the trellis and four more strings.

I'm removing the goldings and cluster and shifting them some where else (somewhere  ) to make the single pole a support for three plants the same.

hopefully that will give me a decent yeild and i won't have to worry about the combining of the plants at the top.

What i was going to do was add the cascade instead of the Goldings and pick the cluster from one side, the cascade from the other and when i got to the top where the intermingling was just pick cascade/cluster combo for a pale ale.

No worries now though.



Obviuosly the side strain will make it impossible to park my ute on top now with hops pulling from three sides, so hopefully someone (besides malted) will recalculate that for me.


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## punkin (30/9/12)

Just to add a pic of the 200l pot in front.


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## punkin (20/8/13)

Just finished a rebuild of my string arrangement.
I had some failures last year as the string i was using rotted in the weather and towards the end of the season some of the wild winds combined with the weight of the bines caused the odd string to break.

Making sure that doesn't happen again now. Climbing strings are now 2.5mm stainless balustrading wire and a bit of parramatta rope for hoisting them up and down.


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## Dave70 (21/8/13)

That's fecking top idea. 

You should really consider adding a pirate flag though.


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## punkin (22/8/13)

Need an AHB flag


Simple Really?


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## Trevandjo (21/5/14)

punkin said:


> Just finished a rebuild of my string arrangement.
> I had some failures last year as the string i was using rotted in the weather and towards the end of the season some of the wild winds combined with the weight of the bines caused the odd string to break.
> 
> Making sure that doesn't happen again now. Climbing strings are now 2.5mm stainless balustrading wire and a bit of parramatta rope for hoisting them up and down.


Hi Punkin,

Thanks for the posts. How did the stainless wire end up going? Was it still ok for the hops to climb?

Cheers,

Trev


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## blekk (18/8/14)

punkin said:


> Just finished a rebuild of my string arrangement.
> I had some failures last year as the string i was using rotted in the weather and towards the end of the season some of the wild winds combined with the weight of the bines caused the odd string to break.
> 
> Making sure that doesn't happen again now. Climbing strings are now 2.5mm stainless balustrading wire and a bit of parramatta rope for hoisting them up and down.
> ...



Any luck using the SS wire? Ive heard mixed reviews with the hops being able to climb it


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