Support for blackberries: Build your own trellis

Blackberries are very popular in home gardens. A trellis provides support for the shoots so that all fruits get enough sun. With our instructions you can easily build this climbing aid yourself.

The goal

The instructions describe the construction of a simple climbing aid with two posts and climbing wires stretched between them (basic variant). Optionally, it is explained how to build extensions with additional posts (option 1), as well as in width with several parallel climbing wires (option 2).

The preparation

To ensure that construction progresses quickly, you should get all the materials and tools required for your trellis and have them ready before starting work. Then all the work steps described below can be implemented quickly and without unnecessary delays.

material

Basic variant

• 2 fence posts, cross section approx. 10 x 10 centimeters, 150 to 200 centimeters long
• 2 pieces of drive-in sleeves, galvanized steel, suitable for fence posts
• 1 roll of garden wire, min. 2 millimeters thick, galvanized or plastic-coated
• Nails, e.g. B. Zinc-coated roofing felt pins or comb nails 2x50mm
• 4 metal pegs or rafter nails, min. 20 centimeters long

Option 1 - additionally for each extension element:

• 1 piece fence post as described
• 1 piece drive-in sleeve as described
• 2 pegs or rafter nails as described
• additional wire

Option 2 - per fence post additionally:

• 1 piece of roof batten 2.4 x 3.4 centimeters, length approx. 100 centimeters
• Wood screws approx. 5 x 50 millimeters
• additional wire

tool

Basic variant

• Sledgehammer
• hammer
• Pliers
• Spirit level
• Remnants of square timber or plank as a base for hammering

Option 1

• no additional tools required

Option 2

• Screwdriver, suitable for existing wood screws
• Wood saw, e.g. B. Foxtail
• Cordless screwdriver with wood drill, diameter 3 millimeters

The construction - step by step to the trellis for blackberries

Step 1 - The location

First of all, you should determine where your Trellis should stand. Either the location is already given by the blackberries growing there, or you have already considered a piece of your garden for the later planting of a blackberry bush. When choosing a location, also keep an eye on the configuration of your climbing aid later on:

• Post spacing between 1.00 and 2.00 meters
• lateral And at the front around 1.00 meter space for tensioning, as well as care and harvesting of the blackberries
• Location blackberry bush ideally in the middle between posts
• Option 1: for each additional post, an additional distance of 1.00 to 2.00 meters, in a straight extension or at an angle to the baseline

Step 2 - the foundation

The first real work is now to create the basis for the entire construction: The foundation

• Press the ground sleeves hand-tight into the ground at the planned post locations
• Align vertically with a spirit level
• Knock the sleeves completely into the ground with a sledgehammer
• Place or adjust residual wood to avoid damage to the metal
• Check the alignment as it progresses and correct it if necessary

Step 3 - the posts

Now the posts are erected as the actual load-bearing elements of the entire scaffolding:

• Adjust posts in ground sockets
• Secure the post against slipping out with nails through the holes in the drive-in sleeves

Attention: If, after installing the posts, it becomes apparent that the climbing aid is inclined, this cannot be corrected at this point. Pushing the posts right would only loosen the soil. Instead, you should return the alignment to the vertical during the final bracing using the tensioning ropes.

Step 4 - the climbing ropes

After the load-bearing posts, the elements that will later serve as climbing aids for the blackberries are on the way. Here you determine how densely the tendrils grow later but also how much light the individual shoots with their fruits receive.

• Drive a nail into each fence post 100 centimeters from the ground
• Drive in further nails upwards every 50 centimeters
• with nails approx. Let protrude 1 centimeter
• Wrap the wire above a nail twice around the post, twist the end with the wire leading to the roller
• Unroll the wire and guide it horizontally to the other post
• Wrap 2x around the post above the nail
• Cut off the protruding end and twist with the tensioned wire
• Repeat the process on all nails (different heights)

Tip: Ideally, the wire between the two posts should be slightly stretched so as not to sag when the blackberries are later exposed to stress. So that it does not pull the posts of the climbing aid together when tensioning, you can place a helping person on both posts until you have created the following bracing. If these helpers are not available, the posts may lean slightly inwards. You can then straighten it up again by tensioning it.

Step 5 - The bracing

If you already put in the effort to build a trellis, this should also safely withstand the enormous loads of the lush, heavy blackberry tendrils. So that the fence posts do not lean inwards or collapse completely as the load increases, the last step is to brace them to the side, similar to tent bracing:

• Define two anchoring points for each post: to the side and to the "rear" (opposite direction to the climbing wires) approx. 100 centimeters from the post
• Drive the peg or rafter nail into the ground at an angle away from the post
• Check the vertical alignment of the posts and readjust if necessary (helpers are required to keep the posts vertical until they are braced)
• Wrap the wire around a peg / nail at a tension point and twist the open end
• Feed the wire to the top nail in the post and wrap it around the post twice
• Guide the wire to the second tensioning point and fix it there in the same shape

Note: The tension wires should not sag, but they do not have to be stretched tight either. Due to the thickness of the selected wire, you will hardly give in with moderate tension and the climbing aid will, however, giveonly minimally. It is ideal if a helper pulls the post slightly outwards while building the bracing and also puts tension on the climbing wires.

Option 1 - extension elements

If the trellis is to be created for larger or even for several blackberry bushes, it can be expanded as required with additional posts and tension wires:

• Create additional posts at a distance of 100 to 200 centimeters in a defined axis, or with an angle as described
• Bracing of the middle posts according to the instructions, but only in a lateral direction to the wire rope direction, end posts as described

Option 2 - several climbing wires

If, on the other hand, you want to enlarge your construction not in length but in width, build one Auxiliary construction, over which you can stretch several tension wires at any height that has already been set can:

• Roof batten in approx. Divide 50 centimeter long sections
• approx. Drill holes 5 centimeters and 15 centimeters from the ends through the flat sides with a wood drill
• additional 2 holes approx. Drill in the middle of the batten through the flat side, distance approx. 5 centimeters laterally and in height
• Align the lath pieces in place of the previously described holding nails for the tensioning wires perpendicular to the tensioning direction of the wires and horizontally at the sides
• Align the roof batten "upright", i.e. with the flat side on the post
• Screw the battens to the post with wood screws through the middle holes with wood screws
• Guide the tension wire on the outer post through the hole in the lath, guide it twice around the lath and twist the open end
• Feed the wire horizontally to the same hole in the next post through the hole
• Fix the tension wire to the last post as described for the start post
• Repeat the process for all cross struts and holes

frequently asked Questions