How to Build a Hops Trellis

Hops (Humulus lupulus) don't need a great deal of horizontal growing space. Hardy from U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 4 through 8 -- and sometimes even 9, hops plants can climb to a height of about 16 to 18 feet on a thin wire or twine trellis, which means a hops trellis is a feature that is hard to miss in a yard. Select a sunny location with a hops growing area slightly more than 8 feet long and 8 feet wide for your hops trellis.

Measuring tape

Drill with 1/2-inch-diameter drill bit

Cedar or redwood pole, 8 inches thick, 20 feet long

6 hook-and-eye screws

Post-hole digger

Helper

Dry, quick-setting concrete mix

Wheelbarrow

Measuring cup

Hoe

Bucket or garden hose

Carpenter's level

2 wood boards, each 2 inches by 4 inches by 8 feet

4 screws, each 3 inches long

6 heavy-duty, 18-inch-long, coiled stakes with eye hooks

Ladder

Roll of wire or heavy twine

Wire cutter or scissors

Drill six 1/2-inch-diameter pilot holes into one side of a 20-foot-long, 8-inch-thick, cedar or redwood pole, placing the holes about 1 inch from one end of the pole and roughly 1 inch apart. Twist one hook-and-eye screw into each pilot hole. One end of the pole should not have holes drilled into it because you will be placing this end into the ground.

Dig a 4-foot-deep hole in the center of the area in which you want to erect a hops trellis. Use a post-hole digger for the task.

Set the 20-foot-long pole in the hole, placing the pole end without the hook-and-eye screws in the hole. Have a friend hold the pole upright.

Pour an 80 pound bag of dry, quick-setting concrete mix into a wheelbarrow. Dig a small depression into the center of the mix using a hoe. Measure 3 quarts of water and pour 75 percent into the depression in the concrete mix. Mix the concrete using the hoe, adding additional water until the mix achieves a consistency like oatmeal. Do not add too much water that makes the mix thinner than oatmeal because it loses its strength.

Pour the concrete mix into the hole as your helper continues to hold the pole straight and upright. Allow the mix to dry for at least two hours before continuing with the project.

Set a carpenter's level against the pole, and adjust the pole until it is vertically straight. Place a 2-inch-by-4-inch-by-8-foot wood board against the pole, with one end of the board resting on the ground and the other end resting against the pole. Drive a 3-inch-long screw through the 2-by-4 and into the pole. Set a second wood board -- which has the same dimensions as the first board -- against the other side of the pole, and drive one 3-inch-long screw through the second board and into the post.

Set the carpenter's level against the pole's side, and adjust the 2-by-4s as well as the pole to make the pole vertically straight. Drive one more screw through each 2-by-4 and into the pole to hold them in place. Wait for the concrete mixture to dry.

Remove the 2-by-4s from the pole, using the drill's reverse setting. Measure 4 feet outward from the pole, and twist a heavy-duty, 18-inch-long, coiled stake with eye hooks into the ground at that location. Only 2 inches of the coiled stake and its top eye hook should appear above the soil surface.

Set a ladder near the side of the pole that is closest to the coiled stake you drove into the ground. Climb the ladder while holding a roll of wire or heavy twine. Locate the pole's hook-and-eye screw that is closest to the coiled stake that is in the ground. If you use wire, wrap the end of the wire roll around that hook-and-eye screw several times, and then drop the roll to the ground. If you use twine, wrap it once around that hook-and-eye screw, and tie the twine's end to the hook-and-eye's loop. Climb down the ladder.

Stretch the roll of wire or twine to the coiled stake in the ground, and cut the wire or twine about 8 to 12 inches longer than the distance between the pole and the coiled stake. Wrap the wire or twine around the eye hook's hole in the coiled stake. Tie off the twine and cut off its excess length with scissors, or cut the excess wire with wire cutters.

Twist five other coiled stakes into the ground, placing them 4 feet from the pole and about 2 feet apart. Connect them to the pole with wire or twine in the same way you attached the first coiled stake to the pole. Hops can be planted near each line of wire or twine, and the growing plants will climb the lines.

If you want to create perfect circle 4 feet from the pole, then begin by taping one end of a 4-foot-long piece of twine to a chalk duster and having a helper hold the twine's free end against the pole's bottom. Extend the chalk duster end of the twine outward from the pole, and dust the ground with chalk as you and your helper walk in a circle around the pole.

If you don't want to insert a pole in the middle of your yard or don't have room to do so, then install hook-and-eye screws and wires near your house's roof, allowing the house's height to supply the 16 to 18 feet hops can grow upward.

Plant the hops plant approximately 12 inches from the trellis.

Rinse the wheelbarrow out with water after pouring the mix into the hole. The sooner you wash away the concrete residue, the easier it is to clean.

Call your utility companies' hotlines before digging to ensure no underground utility lines are in the area.

Concrete can irritate the skin so always wear gloves and safety goggles while mixing and using.