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Fruit & Orchards

How to put in trellis posts

13 years ago

This post is copied from the compost forum:

I have a ~40' row of raspberries I'd like to trellis but am not sure how to put in the three posts required. They would hold wires 5' high, and I expect a fair bit of pull on the end posts, maybe 50 lbs at 5'. Subsoil is sandy with rocks from egg size to a cubic yard. I can pound in a rebar some 3', as it slides off and between the rocks, but I can't pound in a 2x4 or 4x4.

I'm hoping for advice on how to put in more-or-less permanent posts. I expect to dig with a post digger but am unsure how deep to go, what to use for a post, and how to fill the hole once the post is in. I don't want to use pressure-treated wood, so a steel pipe makes more sense than cedar or untreated wood. I don't want to pour in any more concrete than I have to, but am willing to do it if it's the only way to go.

Any advice on how to put in these three posts would be welcome, and thanks in advance.

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Comments (2)

atpdave
13 years ago
I set my posts straight into the ground without concrete. Just make sure they are deep. 3 feet will usually suffice but if you really want to be sure, then go down 4 feet. As you backfill the dirt back into the hole, tamp as you go. You'll end up with a post that can withstand a huge pull.

A steel pipe can rust away faster than cedar will rot. If you use a cedar post, just make sure the water drains away from the post rather than sitting around it for days. Done that way, the cedar will last a decade or longer. Just heap the soil around the post a few inches higher than grade.
oregonwoodsmoke
13 years ago
If you don't want wood, you can buy those galvanized posts that they use for chain link fences. If you expect the posts to bear weight, you'll want the heavy posts that are intended to support gates.

The big box stores have all sorts of hardware to attach all sorts of different things to those chain link posts.

The lighter weight posts will bend, so aren't a good choice for trellis.

My posts for berry trellis are 2 feet in the ground, with concrete. My trellis for grapes are 3 feet in the ground with concrete. But, I am using 8 inch diameter pressure treated logs for my uprights.

I am using electrical conduit, set in concrete to support bird netting over the berries. Bird net is light, so the posts don't have to support much weight.
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