Planning to do a single wire at about 5 feet, might add another wire a foot below top, not sure if that will be necessary. Have 3 rows spaced 8ft apart. posts are 30ft apart, total length is about 220ft. Using 12.5ga class 3 high tensile wire. Old railroad ties should be plenty strong and were cheap, they are stuck in 12" holes drilled with a skid steer, about 3ft deep. End posts will be secured with earth anchors and 9ga soft wire. Will have a spring loaded wire strainer and tensioner on both ends of each row. I will post updated pics as progress is made. Any comments, advice, suggestions or general discussion is welcome. Post pictures of your trellis if you have one!
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That second wire will be useful as a training wire. I prefer gripples to tensioners but the latter is ok–downside to gripples is the cost of the tightening tool but you could always borrow one of there are vineyards in your area. Thirty feet is on the longer side for a panel but it shouldn’t matter in short rows like those.
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An additional wire twelve inches below the top wire isn’t typical. I use a cedar 1x2 vertical for the vine to climb and tie to, and a second wire at 36-42 inches to give the stake and vine stability.
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i thought about that. Gonna keep the plants 6ft from posts and these are old, some r stamped 1950s
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Your RR ties are probably strong enough to do without an anchor but you probably still want them leaning away from the row–that farthest post in the picture is already leaning in and won’t provide as much support.
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yeah those weren’t set at all yet, just dumped in the hole. holes r bigger than i thought, 16". anyone have good advice how to pack the dirt well? was using a manual tamper but damn that’s hard work… got blisters after doing just a few. someone said to fill holes with dirt and then water and let the water dissipate, think that would work?
The rule of thumb is not to tension your wires until the posts have gone through a winter, to settle them. The first year you will have very little vine weight on the wires.
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Which grape cultivars are you planting?
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Itasca, La Crescent, Valiant, Marquette, Sommerset seedless, maybe others
Marquette makes a nice wine. Very vigorous vine. I know a grower who was getting $1200/ton for it.
Im growing yard in town, but out on this land I dont have access to irrigation etc, so Im not sure how they will handle the less controlled conditions out there. If they do well I could expand potentially, if theres a market for the fruit…
Keep us posted on your vineyard. I have two rows @ 30’, with the vines 6’ apart.
I’m experimenting with varieties to see what does well here…Marquette, Petite Pearl, Crimson Pear, Verona, Lacrosse, Itasca and Brianna. The whites should be ok. The reds may be variable, especially the Marquette due to early bud break.
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I planted 2 scuppernongs spring before last. Still waiting for ‘that trellis I was promised’! I want something simple and strong. I’m goin for the ‘Asian Architectural’ look. Meanwhile . . . I’ve had to resort to ‘Texas Tomato Cages’ - my ‘go to’ support. I’m going to read thru all of the grape arbor posts. Haven’t been here in awhile. I miss reading what everyone is up to. 
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As you probably know muscadines/scuppernongs grow very fast. If your not ready for a permanent trellis you might want a temporary support so you can start training the vines down the wire. The single wire in my opinion is best due to the tendrils clinging onto mesh wire and becoming difficult to remove. Good luck and I’m looking forward to hearing about you picking 50-75 pounds from each vine.
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Wow! That is a lot!
But it makes me want one plant.
Where would be a good place to get one? I live in Vancouver, WA near Portland, Ore.
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I can get most of my vines locally. If I was ordering I would go with Ison’s. Greg Ison also has great videos on growing muscadines. My experience is that 50 pounds per vine is achievable after the vine is 3-5 years old. If your only getting one vine make sure it is self fertile like Lane or Hall.
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Are your vines self fertile?
I expect they are self fertile . . . because they are full of little tiny grapes this year. Thanks for the input. I only have 3 plants. Just a little hobby grape arbor is what I’m shooting for. My son loves them . . . and has no place to grow them at his home. We just eat them fresh. No jams or wine or anything.
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