PVC for a Trellis?

[fishhead202]

It's my first year at taking a crack at this. They've gotten to the top of the 8' fence, and I was planning on running them from the top of the fence, overhead to the top of the house, about 10' away. I'd rather not screw something into the actual house, if it can be avoided.

Can I use PVC as the trellis next to the house?

Also, is the twine strong enough to run overhead, or do folks use something stronger?

Lastly, this would be going over the rest of the garden (the wife's tomatoes, cucumbers, beans.......) would the hops get so big that they'd block the light?

Appreciate the help. Right now they're tall, but not filled out at all. Just want to be set up for success.

 

[Homercidal]

So let me understand. You want to sink a PVC pipe in the ground next to the house, then run a twine from the top of the 8' fence to the top of the PVC pipe?

If so, I would caution that PVC pipe may not be strong enough to resist the weight of the hops. PVC has a decent amount of flex. You may be able to overcome this by filling with sand or something.

I've used 16' treated 4x4s successfully. My only problem was one post that warped a bit. It looked bad, but I ended up taking it out since I started cutting back the number of runs I let grow.

 

[fishhead202]

Yea, that's exactly my question, thank you.

I was hoping to make something more temporary, so I could pull them down easily, but if they can't handle the wait, wood it is.

I'm thinking I may need to move these guys next year. I'm afraid of them blocking the sun for the wife's garden

 

[Homercidal]

You mean something temporary so you can remove the post, or harvest the hops?

I built a pole system that pivots to the ground pretty easily (maybe need 2 people depending). Works pretty good for the 2 times a year I'd use it.

Others have built pulley systems that work good but I'd be concerned with the hops growing over the top and hanging up the plants.

 

[Onkel_Udo]

Not a hop guy but if this is a wood privacy fence, drill 5/8" hole through the middle of the post parallel to fence near the post base.

Get an 8' x 4" x 4", two 12" x 1" x 4", a bunch of 3" deck screws, 8' of 1/2" nylon cord a 1/2 x 7" lag bolt or all thread, a nut and a washer (two of each if using all thread).

Attach 6" of the 1 x 4 to opposite sides (same end) of the 4 x 4. Drill a 5/8" hole 2" (center of hole) from the free end of the 1 x 4. Slip this over the post and put your carriage bolt through all three holes.

Drill a 5/8" hole parallel top the fence in the top of the post and the top of your 4 x 4. String the rope through both and raise your cantilever arm and pre-installed twine.

to harvest you can always raise the 4 x 4 to almost vertical and the rope will sag.

Edit: Forgot to mention that you can vary the length of the vertical run by raising the pivot point...aka the bottom 5/8" hole in your fence post. there is a practical limit of course but until you hit about 2' from the top of the fence post you are still good.

 

[DrunkleJon]

My father wanted to plant hops for me this year in his backyard so who was I to argue with him? I bought him 8 rhisomes and he asked me to come by and help him build the trellis. He had bought a bunch of PVC to do just this. I doubted it was strong enough to withstand the UV and weight of everything (plus it would be less attractive and my mom would kick his butt if I had let him). It turns out we were able to get 4X4s for the same as what the PVC cost and still be stronger (though heavier).

I on the other hand put two plants in and dug down 2 feet and hammered an old piece of scrap black PVC that I had from a renovation I am doing a further 2 feet or so then buried it. I then took two sections of 10 foot long black gas pipe, screwed them together put a T on the top with 3 foot sections for arms with Ts on the ends to string my rope through for the hops to climb. It is a little unwieldly but theoretically I can remove the trellis post harvest and reinstall it in the spring. Being black pipe its not too ugly either. Will attach a picture of what I put together later.

 

[DrunkleJon]

Found a picture. Here is what I put together. For refernce I am about 6 feet tall. That thing was awkward to put up.

View attachment 1436447059099.jpg

 

[Thanks_Yeasties]

Something to consider is if the plants can get enough of a grip to climb the smooth pvc pipe?

No experience with pvc and hops so just throwing this out there, may not be an actual issue.

Edit: sorry re read your post, sounds like you are only using the pvc to build a structure to attach the twine to.

 

[rekoob]

Found a picture. Here is what I put together. For refernce I am about 6 feet tall. That thing was awkward to put up.

Nice looking trellis. How do you plan to get to the hops at the top? If' it's 3 or 4 feet into the ground you can't lift it out and lower it. Just wondering.

@Onkel_Udo, I like your idea using the existing fence post. Good idea.

@fishhead202, Good luck with you're hops. I like the idea of a drip system to water them. My neighbor and I both planted our pepper and tomato plants at the same time this year. He is using a drip system, but with what looks like small spray heads at the plants, and his plants are two to three times larger than mine. I think by next spring I will install one for my hops as well as for any garden plants I have going. Just seems like a watering schedule, his is twice a day, is working much better for the plants then my every couple day watering.

 

[DrunkleJon]

Nice looking trellis. How do you plan to get to the hops at the top? If' it's 3 or 4 feet into the ground you can't lift it out and lower it. Just wondering.

Yeah, my plan is to pull the stakes that hold the roping down, press one or two other people into service and lift the pipe out of the ground and lower the entire trellis/hop plants/etc down to the ground/driveway. Then after the harvest, disassemble the entire thing and store for the spring.

The PVC is 4+ feet buried and the gas pipe is maybe 2 feet underground. Since I hammered it in the 2 feet that much of the PVC is full of dirt.. The gas pipe has a little clearance around the pvc, but with the roping (and I overdid it a little and got thicker rope than the coir that is often used for structural reasons) keeps the trellis from moving or swaying even in the littlest bit. The Xing of the rope is just to take up the extra bit and provide a place for the hops to have a closer place to get started.

 

[Onkel_Udo]

@Onkel_Udo, I like your idea using the existing fence post. Good idea.

Like most of my good ideas...totally stolen. My dad, the former agriculture professor did this when we moved to Oklahoma from North Carolina for a totally unrelated reason. He was having difficulty getting his blueberry bushes to thrive because of the intense summer sun.

He planted 4 x 4 's 6' high on the SW side of the bushes then did a cantilever like a described but with twine interlacing the cantilever. He grew his green and wax beans on the trellis which partially shaded the blueberry bushes. He could re-angle the cantilever to adjust the shade profile and to lower it to harvest beans.

Dirt farmers are an ingenious lot. You should see how he has overcome the complete lack of soil in San Antonio!

 

[fishhead202]

Sorry I didn't reply earlier, but thank you all for your thoughts!

Yes, my thoughts with PVC were:
- cheaper (although apparently maybe I'm wrong about that!)
- easy to build something temporary (so I can pull it all apart when it's not in use)
- less obtrusive

I'm leaning now towards building a (wood) trellis over the beds. I just need to be careful I don't block out much light. The wife seems pretty on board though, so we'll see how it goes

Thanks again for all the advice!

 

[wshearer9]

I have a ten foot tall PVC trellis and it's working great! I put 8 foot metal stakes about 3 1/2 feet in the ground and put the 10 foot PVC pipe over it! Then I put metal eyelets at the top to hold the rope going across. Next year I'm planning on making a taller PVC trellis! It will work if you make it 10 feet tall.

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1436900636.662463.jpg

 

[Onkel_Udo]

I have a ten foot tall PVC trellis and it's working great! I put 8 foot metal stakes about 3 1/2 feet in the ground and put the 10 foot PVC pipe over it! Then I put metal eyelets at the top to hold the rope going across. Next year I'm planning on making a taller PVC trellis! It will work if you make it 10 feet tall.

View attachment 290121

Just be careful if yours is a windy area. Around here but even moreso when I live in OK, 4.5 feet in the ground would not be enough without a 4th ground wire per pole.

 

[DrunkleJon]

Yeah. I would worry about the wind combined with the sails that the hip bines would become. With them being 10 foot tall, half structurally supported I would have no fear. It's when you expand it taller that I would worry. I don't know if the PVC will be able to handle the stress of the weight along with the weakening that would be caused by prolonged uv damage.
Let us know how it holds up

 

[Onkel_Udo]

UV can be mitigates by a quick quote of cheap latex.

The downward pressure is fine as well.

Bending Up to 3-times the diameter per 10' is fine.

Without 3-equally space wires/ropes with one of them being to the interior, the wind deflection could be a problem. Think Ham radio tower but with about 1 times the sail effect.