Trellis!

So, I went ahead and built the trellis for my hops to climb on today.  I started out digging postholes 3 feet deep, and setting in 15 foot sections of alder trunk and burying them there.  Next, I added 3.5 foot cross sections, held in place with countersunk 2.5 inch wood screws that I had laying around.  On these, I rested the 9 foot long main supports, and I attached them with the same screws.  

So, it started out looking like this:

Here, I have 3 complete layers all attached to the vertical posts:

And finally, I have added 2 more layers, one on top, and one below.  starting from 2 feet above ground level, I have 5 layers of supports at 1.5 foot intervals:

Wow!  I had a plan in my head, but, um, it turned out a bit bigger than I had pictured.....

The main vertical supports are about 13 feet above ground level, which is probably a bit extreme, so I don't think I need to add any more layers until my hops prove they need them.  I do have room for 3 more layers up top, if they become necessary however.  

This certainly isn't the very best plan for a trellis system for the long run, but I was clearing the area where most of these little alders were growing up anyways, and rather than burn them, I decided to put them to use.  I'm not sure on the exact numbers these days, but if I assume 4, 15 foot 4x4's for the vertical supports, at $20 each, and 5 layers, each with 3 supports, at 9 feet long, that's 135 feet of, say, 2x2, 16, 8 foot boards at $5 each brings the total lumber cost to easily $160.  

Let me know what you think of the design, and if you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them!  Next week, I hope to build another similar trellis system for my beans, which will be going in the adjacent bed, so if you see room for improvement, let me know before I get started on the next one.  Thanks for stopping by!