New Hop Trellis

My first hop trellis was only about 7-8 feet tall, and by the end of last year's season, most of my first year plants had overgrown the trellis. So, I decided that the trellis needed to be taller and just hoped my neighbors wouldn't complain! So, what to do for the new trellis and keep from spending a lot of $$$?

I was able to get some 8ft lengths of 1 ¼ inch boiler steam pipe from my dad along with a length of pipe that fit just over the the outside of the 1 ¼ pipe. That allowed me to take two 8ft lengths of pipe and weld them together to total 16ft tall, using the over sized pipe to provide strength. The picture on the left, shows the section of one of the pipes after being welded together. Each of these pipes was sunk into the ground 2 ½ ft, making the new trellis 13 ½ ft tall. The picture on the right shows one of the new pipes next to the old trellis showing how much taller it is.

I made caps to go on top of each of the 4 pipes I used for the trellis. I cut short lengths of the over sized pipe, welded plate over the top of one end and then drilled and installed large eye hooks. The caps had 2 purposes, provide a place to string trellis line and to keep water out of the pipes. Needless to say, it was a bit unnerving stringing all of the lines. Since the caps were 13 ½ ft off the ground, I had to stand on the top rungs of an a frame ladder to barely reach.

My helpers chillin out on the roof of the shed!