I created a grape trellis the other day. I live in the hudson valley of New York. So we do get cold winters but I've seen local apple orchards have also grown grapes. I bought three cheap trellises from Lowes. I cut each one in half and then screwed the halves together to make a V shape. I wanted it to stand up with out having to rest next to anything. I wanted to do it the way the farmers do by using posts and wire but our ground is way too rocky and I'm a women so I don't have the physical strength to dig the deep holes for the posts. I wanted to do this myself with out my husbands help. Now I am worried that I goofed big time. The slant of the trellis is 3 feet but if you only measure from the ground up to the top of the trellis on the side it is only two feet from the ground. The length from the right side to the left side is over 6 feet. I have three plants. Two seedless concord and a seedless red grape. I am now thinking that three plants was too much and that I should have done only two but I was thinking of adding an addition to this trellis next year even. I'll buy more trellises to keep in the garage for when I want to expand down the road. I also put that special fabric under the trellis to keep weeds from growing under it and put wood chips on top. Now I am worried the trellis is too close to the ground. My husband says the lower grapes could touch the ground but I thought I could just then move some of the woodchips away from the grapes if they touched the ground, then they would only be touching the fabric. I also thought I could keep the grape vine clipped if it gets to be unmanageable or expand too much. What do all of you think. I have an attached photobucket site that shows pictures of what I did. Also the vines are in direct sunlight all day, so I planted them in the right place. I'm thinking of knocking down my trellis and trying something different.

http://photobucket.com/c12new77tp112z

-Carolyn