hop vine support structures...

jkellner29 · 02-04-2012, 12:15 AM

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** · 02-04-2012, 05:55 PM

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** · 02-05-2012, 03:17 AM

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.

jkellner29 · 02-05-2012, 11:48 AM

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** · 02-05-2012, 01:04 PM

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** · 02-05-2012, 03:21 PM

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** · 02-05-2012, 08:09 PM

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** · 02-06-2012, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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.

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

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=46746&stc=1&d=13285534 14

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=46750&stc=1&d=13285538 15

**BBL_Brewer** · 02-06-2012, 06:24 PM

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 · 02-06-2012, 07:55 PM

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.