I'm moving my young kiwi vines (Arctic kiwi) and need a real trellis they won't break down. Don't like to use treated lumber. Can I use metal posts, or what would work best, and be economical too.
Melba
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I will use existing (live) tree as a trellis. I planted recently Black Alder trees, some of them will be cut down once the fruit trees mature, and on some of them I might cut the top part, leaving lower branches, and plant vines below them.
You can use Black Locust wood, it is very strong and takes a very long time to decompose. I'm using a BL trunk cut in two for the base of my grape arbor, it's very very sturdy.
"To oppose something is to maintain it" -- Ursula LeGuin
I use small ash trees for more permanent supports. They last a long while as long as there isn't contact with soil. I put the support on a flat stone and then tie it to a stake that I hammer into the ground next to it. You can also coppice them and use the branches for trellising if you have a decent size tree. I keep a row of ash trees with the trunks cut at 4-6 feet tall and then harvest the 3 year old branches for garden supports. By the time the trellis is worn out I have a stockpile of branches ready to make a new one.
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This growing season I'll be building a large trellis along the south facing wall of a pole barn on my property by bolting 4x4's vertically to the exterior and "stretching" welded wire fence between them.
Still trying to decide if want to go with arctic kiwis or something else like hops.
I built this geodesic dome to use as a trellis. As extra as it looks, I suspect the cost and effort level is lower than a more "substantial" trellis type, I have about $250 invested in it altogether.