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How to Make a Trellis for Berry Vines

Berry plants allow you to grow your own fruit, even in a small backyard garden. Some berry plants, including raspberries and blackberries, require a support system to grow best. A trellis keeps the berry canes upright, allowing them to produce better. Upright plants take up less garden ground space and are easier to access for harvest. Pruning is also simplified when the plants are trained to grow along a simple trellis. A simple T-bar trellis requires minimal labor and materials to erect and maintain successfully.

Things You'll Need

  • Shovel or post-hole digger
  • 6-foot posts
  • 2-by-4-inch boards
  • Screws
  • Eye hooks
  • 12-gauge wire
  • Wire clamps
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Instructions

    • 1

      Dig a 10- to 12-inch-deep hole at each end of the berry row. Space the holes 6 to 10 feet apart, keeping in mind that a single plant can grow to 6 feed wide; therefore expect to place only two bushes under a 10-foot trellis (assuming you haven't planted yet.) Use a shovel or a post-hole digger to make the holes.

    • 2

      Set a 6-foot-tall post in each hole. Fill in around the post with the removed soil, tamping it in place solidly so the post is anchored well.

    • 3

      Place a 30-inch-long 2-by-4 on top of each post to make the cross arms of the "T." Screw the boards to the top of the post.

    • 4

      Screw an eye hook into either end of each crossbar, for a total of four eye hooks.

    • 5

      Stretch a length of 12-gauge wire between the two opposing eye hooks on each T-post. Secure the wire by twisting the ends together or using a wire clamp. Repeat for the second set of eye hooks. The finished trellis has two T-posts opposite each other, with two wires stretching between them that are attached to the ends of the cross bars.

    • 6

      Stretch a second wire between the two main posts, halfway between the soil level and the top of the posts. Tie shorter canes to this wire loosely to provide them with some support until they are tall enough to reach the top of the trellis. You can tie them loosely to the top wires once they are tall enough.