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I don't know that you really need a telephone pole. This year I plan on going taller with some of those poles that run along the top of chainlink fences...
 
Yeah....how would you propose harvesting from a telephone pole? I know that the phone guys do it all the time, but they wear special harnesses and don't spend hours tediously harvesting cones 1 foot at a time. Sounds dangerous!
 
Best bet would be to ask your local telephone company but, do you really need telephone poles?

Not sure if the is one in New York but "Lumber 2 Home and Ranch" carries 6" diameter poles in various lengths for pole barn use. A 16 footer runs $33.00 here in OKC.

I have also managed to find less expensive wolmanized 4x4's up to 16 foot at the small Ma & Pop lumber stores ($14.25). For homegrown there really isn't any need to go the full 30 foot but I suggest you do allow at least 12 foot. Although many have gone much lower and haven't noticed any ill's.
 
cheezydemon said:
Yeah....how would you propose harvesting from a telephone pole? I know that the phone guys do it all the time, but they wear special harnesses and don't spend hours tediously harvesting cones 1 foot at a time. Sounds dangerous!


Sounds like the start of a comedy movie script about HB...
 
what about unfinished railing poles from Home Depot? long as hell 2.5" diameter..rough wood. can you grow on PVC piping (dont even know if that will work) cheap as hell and as long as you want!

Ps. great thread. a hobby that your not considered crazy asking where to buy telephone poles lol
 
Arneba28 said:
what about unfinished railing poles from Home Depot? long as hell 2.5" diameter..rough wood. can you grow on PVC piping (dont even know if that will work) cheap as hell and as long as you want!

Ps. great thread. a hobby that your not considered crazy asking where to buy telephone poles lol

The pipe/pole material doesn't matter if you attach strings/ropes to the top and running them down to the ground. The hops will have no problem climbing in that setup...
 
Yup, you want them to grow on strings, not the poles themselves. I used schedule 80 PVC for my uprights and am quite pleased. The regular white PVC (schedule 40 or 20) is too flexible.
 
Im not sure what pvc I used last year but around harvest it started to bend, it was 12ft and way to short I needed probably another 4ft at least, .

my idea with the poles. hook up a cable running run it from the ground at one end of the poles, through a pulley at the top of the pole, to the other pole with a pulley on top, then to the ground. attaching wires every 5ft or so for the hops to grow on.
 
Ahh!! Makes tons more sense. But still, you probably need to get a building permit for those. If one fell in a bad wind it could ruin a roof.
 
Standing a telephone pole takes a boom truck and a deep hole.

I would lean towards PVC or galvanized pipe.
 
killian said:
Im not sure what pvc I used last year but around harvest it started to bend, it was 12ft and way to short I needed probably another 4ft at least, .

my idea with the poles. hook up a cable running run it from the ground at one end of the poles, through a pulley at the top of the pole, to the other pole with a pulley on top, then to the ground. attaching wires every 5ft or so for the hops to grow on.

Forget the TP poles, IMO, too dang big a dimater and too dang tall.

I'd suggest you talk to fencing companys about custom length 2-5/8" poles or just plan on being lower to the ground.

I chose 13 feet.

By this I can bury 3 foot of the pole in the ground in concrete, thus not needing guy wires to support everything. I can comfortably use a ladder come harvest time. I am not violating any building codes (the trellis would not be considered a structure or a fence in my jurisdiction). And finally, I am not so high that if I did experience any catastrophic failures that I would cause any serious damage to my or the neighbors house (cept maybe a window).

My .2 cents.

Besides that, how do you plan to erect a TP pole? A skid steer auger and a crane?
 
I used 18 ft. pressure-treated 4x4's, although there is a pole mill just down the road. I figure it would take four people or some heavy equipment to set a utility pole. Had to special order the 4x4's, but that wasn't a problem.

I hook the twine on the cross pieces and at harvest, I use a long branch loper to lower the bine to the ground. I don't cut the bine, just strip the cones and leave it to store up food for next year.
 
We get used telephone poles form our local R.E.A.. To set the pole it takes a deep hole, tractor with bucket and a strong back. Last one we set was for a T.V. antenna that now will be used for hop.
 
aekdbbop said:
anyone try conduit? i am looking at going 8 feet up or so, and run line between two polls..

I've seen teepee designs using 3 sticks of EMT smashed at one end with a bolt run threw them.

I am planning on planting 2 4x4x16' and build a 2x12 box that will ride up and down both of them. Then using some pullies and cable I can raise and lower the 2x12 box as needed.
 
killian said:
I might be able to run the cable between two trees

I posed this idea to another hop group. I was told to be careful due to the way trees flex in winds. This could destroy/break a vine. One person told me:

" Tie a strong line to the tree and run it to a pulley. Run another strong line from your hops through the pulley and attach a weight heavy enough to keep the line taught but will still allow the line to effectively change length as the tree sways in the wind. A spring might also work in a similar way. I don't know how heavy a hop bine is but if it is heavy, you may need to change the weight to a heaveir one or use a heavier spring. This would preclude the hop bine traveling beyond the pulley so this may or may not work in your case, depending on how far out the pulley can be positioned. However, without some way of allowing the line to keep the same tension while allowing for tree movement the idea seems to be doomed from the start......."

Kinda makes sense. I am still looking into this procedure. I think it i best to start the vine away from the rooty base of the tree and angle the vine upwards towards the tree on the pulley system. Charlie
 
I can see why it would not be wise to tie a line between two trees because the trees can sway away from each other and snap the line. If it were me I would tie a pulley to one tree, tie a line to the other tree and run the line through the pulley and attach a weight at the end. This way the tree can sway without stretching the line. Then secure the hop lines onto the line between the two trees. The bines shouldnt move around too much and to be honest Hops have been around long before the trellis :)
 
pjj2ba said:
Yup, you want them to grow on strings, not the poles themselves. I used schedule 80 PVC for my uprights and am quite pleased. The regular white PVC (schedule 40 or 20) is too flexible.

I like your design... but id have to modify it for graded land. (I'm on a slope) Probably add in some slanted supports for helping with swaying in the wind. I would also probably add pulleys for the lines with hops and have them tied down on the poles. This trellis would be surrounded by trees making it hard for it to hit a house but also sadly shaded a bit. Makes me want to chop some trees down. :mad:

What type of line is recommended for the bines to grow up on?

Edit... wow those cost on schedule 80 is much higher. Can you use schedule 40 for the connectors?
 
GilaMinumBeer said:
Besides that, how do you plan to erect a TP pole? A skid steer auger and a crane?

Think of all the stuff you've bought to make beer, and then ask yourself if a bobcat is *really* that far out of the question? Besides wouldn't this be a great excuse to at least rent one?

...if SWMBO falls for this, keep her--you found a good one. Or one who likes IPA's.
 
Hmmm now just to convince my neighborhood to allow me to build this.... some people are total dicks and who knows what they allow to be built. People behind me are big church people and then there is the person one person to the side of me who is in top secret stuff with the military who would blatantly be able to see this when both of them sit on their decks as well as 2 other houses... :(

And if this falls through their approval I don't have any other ways I know of to grow these here. Don't think I know anyone who could grow these for me either.


But back to more on topic the telephone pole does seem a bit too much work for this. Like others have said you really have to dig the ground up and stick them deep in.

If you are looking for online ordering of piping go to www.mcmaster.com and in the first pipe section is what to look for "Pipe Fittings and Pipe".
 
DeadDoc said:
What type of line is recommended for the bines to grow up on?

Edit... wow those cost on schedule 80 is much higher. Can you use schedule 40 for the connectors?
I used regular schedule 40 for the connectors - way cheaper.

Regular binder twine (sisal) would work fine. I however use coir twine for mine. I believe this is what is used commerically. I teach a plant called Plants People and Places and during the course we cover plant fibers so I couldn't resist another fiber example (I've got a nice dried sisal agave leaf, some nice manila hemp rope). Coir is from the husk that surrounds a coconut. It is very bristley - good for the hops to grab anold of and grow on. I got mine from Freshops Coir twine This will be my second year using it - the same pieces. I suspect each strand will last me quite a few seasons. I don't know if the commercial outfits reuse their twine.
 
Shovhed1 said:
3/4" galvanized steel electric conduit. cheap, light, strong, can be easily welded. $4 for a 10' length at home depot

How does that hold up to the wind?

With the pvc, I'm looking to do 2 sets tall 5ft(80) + 10ft(80) + 5ft(80) each held by a tee(40). 10 ft on the top connected by a 90* elbow (40). 2 sets of 5 ft(80) in the middle at the tees (or make it 10 ft and have a square that way). Everything is 2" wide with 2.5" i was looking at 2-3x the cost. Reason for the height is to compensate for the slope and to allow a barring depth of 1-3ft with a concrete base like ud do with a deck. For all of that, I am looking at $243.28+ shipping. I'm going to price around soon.

BTW this is working off a similar setup that someone else has posted, either in this thread or it was another one.

I'm going to get in contact with my friend in construction and see if he can help me with the purchase of the hardware, price wise.

For the Hop Twine from that site, what is the length? Bc if that works well I will probably buy that.... I was also looking at getting Carbon Steel Wire (1080-1090 soft temper phosphate coated) 0.067" thick 5# coil = 415ft for $25.21 if that would work.
 
I bought my schedule 80 PVC from a local plumbing supply place, the kind of store that mostly deals with contractors, not a regular hardware store or big chain store. Even the plumbing store had to order it in, which only took 1 day though. I can't remember the price, but I don't recall it being that bad, maybe even under $100 for 4 12' pieces.

I think the coir twine was either 18 or 20 foot. It works really well and I really like it. It is rougher than regular binder twine. You want something that the bine can grab ahold of and not slip.
 
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