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How to Build a Garden Trellis for Grapes and Kiwis

Dave — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 02:43:08 +0000

For years I’ve had great plans to build a garden trellis for my many varieties of grapes & kiwis – and finally this summer I took the plunge. I built a simple, but solid trellis for the vines I have growing along the south side of my garage. It’s probably a little bit over-kill, but it’s certainly able to hold the weight of all my grapes and kiwis (which is actually pretty significant – as I have two grape vines and two kiwis and all those vines, leaves, and fruit can get heavy!)

So if you’ve been looking to build a trellis in your own backyard, let me show you my design:

First of all – my materials list.

(3) 4 x 4 x 12′
(1) 4 x 4 x 8′ – (since my one section is under my garage window)
(17) 2 x 4 x 8′
(1) 2 x 4 x 12′

The first thing to do was to dig my post holes. I dug 6″ holes about 32″ deep – spaced 4′ apart – about 1′ from my garage wall.

The 12′ posts were too tall to fit beneath my garage eaves (even when planted 32″ deep), so I had to trim a few inches off the tops to fit just under my eaves. I had a window (as you can see in the picture below) that I didn’t want to cover up, so I planned to build that section at half height. Once the posts were in, I backfilled with gravel and tamped them in. You could use concrete if you like, but I think gravel holds it just as well (if it’s well tamped) and it allows the water to drain away from the post so it doesn’t rot.

Once the posts were all trimmed to the proper, level height, I simply attached the 12′ 2 x 4 to the top of the taller sections, and a 4′ section of 2 x 4 for the shorter one.

Next, I ripped the remaining 2x4s in half – giving me 2x2s. (The actual dimensions were 1.5″ by 1.5″)

Then I proceded attach the 2x2s horizontally between my posts. The posts were spaced with 4′ centers, so the actual length of the horizontal pieces was 45″. Underneath each horizontal piece, I attached a short piece (6.5″) to the 4×4 sides to give the proper spacing of 8″ centers. These shorter blocks also provide a ledge to screw the horizontal pieces into.

Once all the horizontal pieces had gone on, I was ready to attach the vertical pieces – and believe it or not – I was almost done! I told you this was simple!

With the posts perfectly spaced at 4′ centers, these vertical pieces attached every 9″ between the posts. That means that the squares of the grid aren’t perfectly ‘square’, but are 8″ x 9″. I made the length of my vertical pieces so that the ends were about 8″ lower than the lowest horizontal piece. (You will have to measure the total overall height of your trellis to find this measurement.)

And that’s it! Your trellis is ready for grapes, kiwis, and whatever else you can throw at it!

This is my final product! You can see my two grapes starting to leaf out. The kiwis hadn’t yet made their appearance. At first, I thought I had made it too massive for those few little plants, but by the end of the summer, the entire structure was COVERED with vines! I even had to trim them back a couple of times. So I was glad that I had made it as beefy as I did.

You can read this post about my grape harvest!

If you’re planning to build a trellis this next year, feel free to use my design! I’d love to see what you build!

Questions? Comments? Leave ‘em below!

My Fruit Trees Are Budding

Dave — Mon, 14 May 2012 02:26:44 +0000

Well folks, I took another photo stroll around the yard and snapped some of my favorite pictures yet! I’ve got some beautiful pics of my plums in flower, as well as a super cool close-up of my grape buds about to burst, plus a sweet pics of my haskap, and a new-before-seen view of my Patmore Ash. Have a gander and see what you think…

And make sure you click each picture for a larger view – I love the details of the close-up!

This is a bud from my Marechael Grape. Notice the bits of fuzz… That’s awesome! Who knew, right?

Haskap. Borealis, I believe this one is. Again – who knew flower buds were so fuzzy?

This one may be my favorite. It’s from my Brook Gold Plum. (It’s now my desktop background.) Go ahead. You can use it too!

This is another plum. This one is the Pembina plum.

This is a Barberry that I inherited and I’m trying to nurse back to health. I love how their leaves are bunched up in clusters like that.

Crabapple. Big River Flowering Crab to be specific. Love the texture!

Here’s a zoomed out shot of that Brook Gold Plum. I like this one too!

These are the tight little bunches of lilac buds. (But you probably figured that one…)

Not a fruit tree. Actually, not a tree at all, but a Bleeding Heart. I just like them…

Now this is a weird one. This is a Patmore Ash tree. That is some awesome texture and design! I love God’s creativity!

Just a common strawberry. But look close. Notice the fuzzy strands on the edges of the leaf.

This is the Golden Spice Pear. Of all the buds I’ve looked at, this one seems the most… complex.

And finally, this is the beautiful leaf of a blueberry. (You don’t usually see color like that until fall!) So that’s my spring gallery! Whaddya think?

Kiwis, Grapes, Blackberries, and More!

Dave — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 00:42:45 +0000

In my last post, I took a photo stroll around the yard. But at that time (May 20th), there were quite a few plants that still hadn’t grown enough to have much to show. But now after a long spring, I can show you all the other odd and unusual plants that have finally made an appearance.

But first, an update on my plums! Here is one of about half a dozen Pembina Plums.

Nice, huh? Am I ever excited for these guys! But back to the update… First of all, this is one of my grapes. Its a Marechael Foch Grape – my other one is a Valient. Both are doing nicely so far!

Then, there is my Issai Kiwi – I have two of them as well. I’ve tried growing them twice before. The first time a heavy frost just after planting took them out. The second time was an accidental death that I’d rather not get into!

I also have two Blackberry Vines in the works. This one was just planted this spring – so we’ll have to wait to see how they do over the winter.

I’ve also dug up some Black Raspberry plants from the farm and brought them to our new place. They will be planted along the fence, once the fence gets built! But for now they live in pots.

My cucumbers are doing nice. Just ate the first cucumber of the season yesterday.

And my tomates are happily growing in the greenhouse.

And that’s about it for now. Perhaps next time I’ll update you on whether or not my pole beans have overtaken the corn in which they have been planted! Until then…

Summer 2010 Recap

Dave — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 20:58:14 +0000

I must say, this has been probably the worst gardening year I’ve ever experienced. The weather has been very unfriendly to gardeners in Alberta. And yet, there is always a silver lining. All is not lost. Gardening in Alberta means making the best of your situation – whatever that may be. So here’s how I made the best of my garden this year.

One major project was to bring in a whole pile of mulch. (And I do mean that very literally.)

My father-in-law brought out a whole grain truck full of mulch that we applied liberally to our planting beds, in our greenhouse, and around our trees. It was a lot of shoveling, but I’m convinced that all that mulch will be worth it.

I also added a few plants to my landscape – plum trees, chum trees, cherry trees, kiwis, and grapes. Here’s some of the grapes.

Although many things in my garden didn’t do so well, the tomatoes prospered (even though they were a bit late.)

So that’s a quick update on my garden this summer. I’ve got a couple of other things brewing, but I’ll tell you about those later!

17 Hardy Fruits That You Can Grow On The Prairies

Dave — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 22:39:57 +0000

When I was a kid growing up in central Alberta, I was pretty sure that all good fruit came out of B.C. True, I we had raspberries and strawberries on the farm, but apples, plums, cherries, grapes and the like where all “exotic” fruit that simply didn’t grow in Alberta. How mistaken I was! Or at least, how things have changed! I never would have thought that I could be growing plums, grapes and kiwis just outside of Red Deer, Alberta. But it’s true. There is a whole world of hardy fruit plants that can survive and even thrive on the northern prairies.

So if you’re looking to grow some “exotic” fruit of your own, here’s my list of 17 hardy fruits that you can grow on the prairies.

1. Cherries

The University of Saskatchewan has really done great work in making cherries a viable prairie fruit. I now know of at least 10 varieties that are available. (I personally have 7 varieties.)

2. Haskap/Honeyberries

This fantastic fruit is amazing! Consider this… Can withstand -47 degree weather, ready for picking by the end of June, can produce 7 kgs of fruit per bush, and tastes great! Take a look at this article I wrote about haskap earlier.

3. Grapes

Yup, that’s right. Grapes in Alberta. Valient is the most common variety, but there are others as well. I’ve had mine for two years now, so I’ll be looking forward to my first harvest soon.

4. Plums

Pembina is the most common, but I’ve found about ten other varieties around.

5. Kiwis

This one blew me away when I heard about it. Kiwis in Canada. Go figure.

6. Blueberries

Perhaps the world’s favorite berry. You too can grow them.

7. Strawberries

Mmmmmm. Strawberries… Perhaps another one of the world’s favorite berries.

8. Raspberries

Despite all the “exotic” fruit I’ve mentioned, I’m afraid the plain ol’ raspberry is my favorite. Red, yellow, or black – wild or tame… They are delicious!

9. Hazelnuts

Nor really sure it’s a fruit, but close enough.

10. Apricots

I haven’t yet planted any yet, but the nursery just north of me is growing them.

11. Chums

Cherry plum, that is.

12. Pears

There are a few good varieties out there with more being developed!

13. Saskatoons

One of the few fruits native to Alberta. Also called service berries.

14. Gooseberry

Much better than the wild kind you ate green as a kid.

15. Cranberries

Why not my your own cranberry sauce this year?

16. Currants

Great for jams and jellies.

17. Apples

Not just crab, but there are all kinds of apples that are hardy enough for the prairies.

So there you have it. Proof that you don’t have to live in California to grow your own fruit. Did I miss some? Let me know!

You can find all of these fruits at either DNA Gardens or T & T Seeds.