Rookie with Hop Trellis Questions (Stability and Materials)

I have taken the plunge and decided to get into growing some hops. I convinced SWMBO that it would be a great border for one of our gardens out back . I picked up 3 rhizomes (Cascade, Centennial and Chinook) and got them planted last weekend. I have an idea in my head of what I want for my trellis and am now trying to figure out the details and make sure it will work out how I think it will. This is where you come in.

Below is a sketch of what I am thinking for my trellis. Here are the details. Posts will be 4x4 -16' burried about 3.5' and filled with concrete. This will leave me with about 12.5' tall trellis. The overall span will be approx 24' from post to post. I plan to add one more rhizome to make 4 total hills spaced about 6 ' apart. To start I will run two strands of Jute Twine to each hill. This will give each rope a lengths of approx 13' Should be plenty for year 1 from what I have read but may need to consider something else in the following years.

My questions are as follows:

1) I assume this will be sufficiently stable with the concrete and 4x4's?

2) How strong does my main line need to be? Considering some kind of 1/4 wire.

3) My plan to keep the main line taught was to install a 6" Dock cleat on one of the 4X4's. This would allow me to untie from the cleat and lower the main line for harvest or whenever needed. The other though was to attach the ropes to the main line using caribiners so that I could just take down each rope whenever I was ready to harvest. Only issue with Caribiner seems to be how to keep them from sliding on the main line. Thoughts? Will the Dock Cleat idea work??

4) Will an eye bolt pull out of the 4x4? do I need to bolt it completely through the 4x4?


Thanks for any thoughts or help you can give me!! I apologize if any of this is stupid. I have read through as many of the threads as I can find on this but I am not super handy and havent really dealt with this kind of work before. Thanks again!!!

View attachment Hop Trellis.pdf

Looks good to me. I used a similar approach with the 4x4's buried and ran wire back to match roof line of my storage shed. It works well, but one thing that i noticed that without a guy line to counterbalance the tension between the two 4x4's you might not get the top line super tight, if that make sense. I have my posts buried 36'' in concrete and there was still a bit of sway at the top. Check out my post under 1st year hops in NC. It may help explain what I'm talking about.

I used a thin braided cable (1/8 I think) with eye bolts on the shed and the posts. I think it should be plenty strong enough, and don't see any way the eye bolts will come out. I would suggest drilling pilot holes (about half size of the eye bolt screw) before screwing them in. slip a screw driver or something through the eye to give you some leverage when screwing them in.


You should be in good shape though.

Congrats on the hop growing! I went with the same 3 hop species for my 1st year.

I agree with the above post. The only other thing that I thought of would be to make each 4x4 a T and run two main lines. This would allow you to run four runners up per plant. Also, you might want to run guide wires out from the posts to keep them straight - like guide wires for telephone poles.

Thanks guys!!

lkj - I was actually checking out your thread when I saw your post. Ill be interested to track our progress as I am a couple weeks behind you on planting. Love your design. Ill get pics up in the next week or so when I get mine up.

Gridlocked - I've seen a lot of your stuff on here while researching hops. I was planning to do something very similar to what you have but the side of the house wasnt going to get enough sun. Ill put pictures up soon when I get this baby finished. I like the T idea. That will most likely be my year 2 project. Thanks for all the info!!

You mentioned you would run 4 ropes off one plant? I have never seen more than 3. I was considering 3 but wasnt sure if I would get enough growth year 1. Other than root capacity Im not sure why it wouldnt work?

+1 on the guide wires. i would also throw a turnbuckle in there if it is possible so u have a way to keep everything as taunt as u want it.

I think you might want the 4x4's angled away from each other - it'll help balance the load on them and keep the line between them tight. You can still use the turnbuckles on the end (anchored to the ground) and that'll further support it.

With a single line between the posts, I'd just throw a string over it for the hops to follow. To harvest, just untie one side and the whole thing comes down to the ground. To set up for next year, just throw the twine over the horizontal line and tie it to a stake and you're done. Plus, a string going up and back down doubles the load it can handle. This is how I'll be rigging my setup.

It's my first year growing hops as well - I'm going up the sides and back of the house.... that might help shelter them from all these tornadoes we've been getting these past few years (and last night!). I'm right down the street in Woodstock.

Good luck! We'll have to compare notes after this season's harvest. I've tried to find others that have grown hops in GA and came up pretty much empty handed.

_JP_ said:

It's my first year growing hops as well - I'm going up the sides and back of the house.... that might help shelter them from all these tornadoes we've been getting these past few years (and last night!). I'm right down the street in Woodstock.

Good luck! We'll have to compare notes after this season's harvest. I've tried to find others that have grown hops in GA and came up pretty much empty handed.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice. These storms have been pretty nasty man. We kind of lucked out here in Roswell and missed most of the recent one. Im sure you saw a little more than we did.

I will definitely be interested to compare notes on the hops. Really hoping they take off like I think they will. Pictures will be going up in the next week or two when I get my 4x4's.

P.S. You arent by chance selling 20 # CO2 tanks are you? Random yes, but a purposeful question.

I have 2 of them.... not for sale though

I got both of them, full of CO2, for $140 off craigslist last year. You gotta check every day, they're out there.

We missed the storms too. We're right on the Roswell border.