Just curious, how did you do your end posts?
After building a H-brace for my dog pen this winter, I am convinced that if I ever build another trellis, I will use the H-brace method. Ha, I am even tempted to dig up the end post on a trellis that I tried to concrete in that ended up leaning inward and redo it using a H-brace. I have never liked the idea of using anchor wires.
@Richard, I wish that I knew of a page that had the same information, just for muscadines instead. These might help somewhat. One is a University of Georgia Extension page on muscadines. For those not in the know, UGA has a decent amount of agricultural work going on. The other is from a large purveyor of muscadine vines, and for those who are inclined they have some instructional videos.
@tennessean, have you also considered the Kiwi brace?
There are a dozen different methods used to stabilize end posts when building fences and trellises. Iāve tried about 3 or 4 of them over the years. Some work very well though they all have limits and weaknesses. My current trellis system uses a T-post at an angle to maintain stability of the end posts. The angle brace has a weakness that the end post will be pulled up out of the ground if enough weight is on the wires. To avoid this, I drive a 2 foot long piece of rebar in the ground at an angle so it prevents the end post from lifting.
Others I have tried and liked include using a screw in anchor with a wire to the top of the post. The problem with this setup is that mowing is prevented at the end of the row. I cemented posts into the ground which is very effective if you put the post deep enough and let the cement harden for a week or so before putting up the wire. I also used the flat rock with a wooden angle brace on top of the rock. Twist a wire to tension the brace. This method works very well, but also tends to pull up the end post when the grapes get really heavy.
My trellis is 6 feet above the ground which means the grapes are at eye level for me, Iām 6ā2". This also means I can mow under my trellis. It is a lot easier to care for grapes if the trellis is positioned so it makes upkeep and fruit picking easy.
Here is a pic of an end post with brace.
And here is a pic of the post with rebar across the flap. The flap prevents the post from lifting.
Well, no I was not even aware of the Kiwi brace, but I looked it up. Looks like it would work except probably not as strong as a H-brace.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0sbB4XhD-s
On the other hand, Iām sure that it would be possible to design the end post simply by using an iron T-post as an end post using attachments to brace against a second T-post (attachments that are sold by Tractor Supply). Maybe @Fusion_power is using this or some other design using his arc welder.
You posted your reply just as ending up typing my post. But I was right in guessing that you were using a T-post as your end post.
Are you using welding on your end T-post? I canāt see for sure from the picture.
@tennessean and @Fusion_power, I have also experienced a wooden corner post wanting to pull up and out of the ground when a very heavy load was placed and using a Kiwi brace. I like the idea of anchoring the corner post in a better fashion. My initial solution with it was to not use the Kiwi for such an acute angle on my long fencing runs.
I also bought one of those Z brace kits that they sell at Tractor Supply, the ones that allow you to connect several steel T posts with their stamped braces, I just never got around to trying them out.
The cross member is welded to the vertical T-post. The angle brace is held in place with a wire so I can adjust it if needed. I just pull the end post back a couple of inches and push the angle piece down under the next notch on the end post and wire it back into place. It does the job and is easy to maintain. You should be able to click on either of the photos and enlarge them big enough to see details.
Just got around to pruning my two muscadine vines yesterday. Went and out there this morning and they were bleeding somewhat. Guessing they will be okay.
Not so fortunate with my two concord vines though. One has died over the winter and the other one seems unhealthy. Pierceās disease undoubtably taking its toll.
Plumb forgot about finding a wild muscadine vine in my deer woods last fall. With my luck if I was to dig up a supposedly muscadine vine it would be certain to be poison ivy or honeysucker or something weird. Maybe Iāll dig up a half dozen or so vines and then plant them in basically the same hole and then when they sprout out, Iāll just let only the vine that looks the most like a muscadine vine live and maybe I will get lucky, and it will be self-fertile. Got to be a fool proof method of doing this. Hmmm. 
On a somewhat more serious note, my nephew wants me to help him prune his 10ā15-year-old muscadine vines which has never been pruned. Not sure where to start. Donāt think he has got a main cordon. Just a trunk with a tangle of canes. What would you do?
I built my grape trellis with pressure-treated 2x4 studs and 6-ft metal T-posts. The T-posts are sledgehammered into the ground 2 feet deep at 8 foot intervals. Vertical studs are attached to the T-posts with U-bolts but do not go below ground. I cut the verticals to maintenance height. I also used pressure-treated studs for horizontal pieces, attaching them to the verticals with 2x4 joist hangers. If you are only going to have a single trellis row then youāll need āout postsā attached to every other vertical about 2-4 perpendicular feet away at 4 ft height, with the same securing anchor T-post and horizontal attachment via joist hangers. The out posts should all be on the same side of the trellis. Otherwise in the case of multiple trellises Iād attach each row with horizontal studs at every other post. In the case of three or more rows Iād attach the horizontals at alternate positions.
The horizontal lattices on top have proven too flimsy. Iām replacing them this year.
Richard it looks great.
Not likely. Wild muscadines are almost 100% either male or female with no self-fertile. Iāve seen a couple of wild female muscadine vines that would be worth growing.
I like your humor and attitude. As Fusion said youāre unlikely to find a wild self fertile. The ratio of female to male vines in the wild is low. If you want a wild female it is best to wait until they have fruit and mark the vine for later removal. I have one wild vine that I got by this method and I only have it to show how much the newer varieties have been improved.
Exactly.
Iām jealous.
@tennessean, post a good picture of each vine, taken from 8 to 10 inches away. I know most of the ones that grow wild in this area of Georgia and can assist with identification.
As far as ones that donāt have to cling to the trunk in order to climb, youāve got Japanese honeysuckle, Chinese wisteria, kudzu, smilax, crossvines, and muscadines. Ones that cling to the actual trunk: poison ivy, English and similar other ivy, Virginia creeper. If I think of any others Iāll post them as well.
Edit: thereās a climbing rose
Edit #2: thereās dodder, field bindweed
I like this image that @Auburn provided last year that shows the muscadines three flower types. Maybe I can spot a female bloom on a vine during turkey season! I assume that a wild muscadine would bloom at the about same time that my Cowart vine blooms. Iām not sure that Iām enough of a biologist to remember what the parts of the flower are called but isnāt the middle part of the female flower referred to as the āstigmaā or something like that?
In the trivia area of muscadine culture, very few wild vines are self-fertile. One was found on the Peedee river in North Carolina near Raleigh. Iām going on memory, that vine was found over 100 years ago and was determined to be worthless due to too many negative traits.
I tasted some wild muscadines in eastern NC that had superb flavor though not very sweet. Iāve tasted wild muscadines in Western Alabama that are the best jelly making vines Iāve tasted. You wouldnāt eat them fresh, but for tart tangy muscadine jelly, they canāt be beat.
Self-fertile varieties are common today, but even so female vines are still considered to be better overall. Supreme and Summit have their names for a reason.
Are there any muscadine varieties that can survive in zone 6a without heroic efforts? Tasted some for the first time a couple years ago, and would like to try growing some, but my searches so far make it look like it requires a lot of work to get them to survive, much less thrive, in areas with colder wintersā¦
Of named varieties, no. Muscadines are native in parts of New Jersey, Kentucky, and some parts of Missouri and Illinois. It might be possible to find a more cold tolerant wild vine from those areas. I stress the āmightā because muscadines spread north after the last ice age from their native range in the southern tier of states. I can tell that native muscadines in Tennessee are more cold tolerant than the named varieties that I grow. It is not much, just the ability to handle cold temperatures a bit better.
At what age (or other determinant) would one seek to āreplaceā the main trunk or cordons by training new shoot(s)?
My oldest vine is maybe just 6 years old.
I discovered a bud went unnoticed last season low on the main trunk and got
Several feet long, which made me think of this question
