Trellis size

[HuggerOrange]

So back in early April I took the plunge and bought a couple hop rhizomes from Freshops and figured it would be bring a new dimension to my homebrewing. I warned the wife about the trellis I would have to build and the size it would have to be with nothing more than a grumble in return. I have four varieties coming up - Nugget, Cascade, Mt. Hood and Willamette - spaced about 5' apart and each has a couple of bines coming up about 12" in length. Of course, now that I am beginning to put up the trellis I am getting a load of grief about the look, size, etc. To make a long story short my question is what happens if I keep the trellis at about 8'. I've read that the plants will get bushy and shoot out horizontally if kept short. I even saw something in the hop growers guide Freshops gives you where they say anything over 6' is ok. I was considering just going to Home Depot and buying a couple of the 8' fan trellises - one for each plant - to give it that decorative look and keep everyone happy. Another thought was I was going to bastardize the hops-in-a-pot idea and stick a couple of stakes in the ground with the eyehooks so I can drop the bines as they grow. Will this reduce my yield? Will it hurt the plant? Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[Jmac]

I am doing the hops in a pot with adjustable trellis this year as well as in the ground.. We will see how it works out for me. Good Luck!

 

[pilotdane]

I'm talking without knowing so take it with a grain of salt... I have seen many pictures of those that have their bines grow up a 4ft fence post and then train it to run horizontally. You could train the bine to follow a zig-zag pattern up the fan trellis you mention. The bine coulg end up being 10 or 12 ft. long. I just think you will have to be vigilant once they really start growing. Forget them for a week and they might shoot straight to the top.

I have also seen one person who had a stake about 8 ft. tall with a rope hanging down from a pulley. As the bine grew he whould let out more rope and gently coil the bine on the ground at the bottom. I would be afraid of fungus and insects but apparently it was working for him.

 

[CarlLBC]

go up and over

 

[desertbronze]

I grow hops on trellises made from 4' x 16' welded wire fence panels. The panels are suspended on steel "T" posts. The top of the trellis is about 7' above ground. I grow 4 crowns of a single variety on each panel. You could grow more than one variety on the panels, but keeping them separated for harvest is difficult. The yield may be less than I would get with a 20' vertical trellis, but I get more hops than I can use and I don't have to climb a ladder at harvest time.

My neighbor and I also have some hop plants growing on chain link and welded wire fences. Hops will grow almost anywhere on almost anything. Anything that you devise for a trellis will work.

 

[HuggerOrange]

go up and over

Those are awesome - I fear to ask how long it took you to build them.

 

[CarlLBC]

yeah. don't ask. I added two more this year. those were last year pics.

 

[owentp]

CarlLBC, I built my trellis like yours and wanted to know how when the bines grew with the horizontal lines vs a vertical from a stake? How did you train them?


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