A few years ago, I made two grape trellises (himrod & interlocken
grapes) and had the same problem. I wasn't happy with any "wooden"
trellis that I found. Not to mention, I greatly suffered from sticker
shock, too!

So, I had a "light bulb" moment -- why not use some plastic coated wire
shelving components e.g., http://www.closetsplus.com/vinyl.htm. They
come is a variety of sizes and shapes, etc., and are very affordable.

I used two 4"x4"x12' posts about 8'-10' apart, then attached the
shelving material vertically to the posts with plastic zip ties. Used
more plastic-coated wire shelving for the horizontal cross-beams (I
don't know the correct term!!) between the two uprights. Works
wonderfully, and I'm quite pleased with the results! Plus, it's so easy
to see through this trellis during the off season.

When the grapes grow, one cannot see the trellis for all the leaves!
This year, I hope my grapes will bear. They haven't yet, but they are
four & three years now, respectively. Year before last, spouse decided
to use dandelion killer around my himrod -- to say the least, that
greatly stressed the vine, but it survived, luckily.

Sky (who knows very little about grapes)
hmardis "aught" uiuc "daught" edu



Koen wrote:

Hi,

I bought some vines to cover a wall on our house. Then I went shopping
for trellis at my local home improvement store (Lowe's , HomeDepot).
Unfortunately what they have is either very expensive and ornamental,
or some junk pieces of wood stapled together. Also tried a few
nurseries/garden stores, but their collection wasn't that great
either.

Any suggestions where I can go for a nice, simple trellis? Maybe I
should just build one myself?

thanks,

- Koen.