Tension and Securing Hop Guides

I am growing hops for the first time around Atlanta, Georgia. I am growing them in planters. I have strung 2-3 strings of twine per pot that go up to my deck about 20 feet above the planters. They are secured with eye bolts on top. I put six inch plastic steaks in the ground and hooked the other end of the twine it. The hops have grown 5-10 feet already and are pulling the steaks out of the ground. The ground is fairly soft Georgia clay and it rains most days. The main question is how much tension is needed on the twine and what other methods do you use to secure them to the ground. I was thinking of putting some weights on the steaks but not sure how long that would last.

 

Get the kind of metal stakes that screw into the ground. Problem solved.

http://tinyurl.com/pruaoll

Cheers,
--
Don