[MickyB]

I picked up some half price trellis which I figure would be good to use to train some fruiting plants on and it also has the added bonus of screening off the untidy looking area at the bottom of my plot. I was thinking off creating  a tunnel (pergola kinda thing) for the climber to grow up and over and wondered what the best fruiting plant would be...... I considered trying Kiwi but was put off by it's rampant growth and hit and miss fruiting and I am now leaning more towards grapes, I would prefer seedless grapes, does anyone have any recommendations as to the best variety of grape that would suit being grown in the middle part of the UK? Any general advise regarding my idea would be welcome. I have three pieces of trellis each piece measures six foot, these will be used in a line on the open allotment side, the other side of the tunnel is going to be the fenced boundary between mine and the neighbouring plot so only one side will be open for growing.

The photo shows the bottom left of my plot is where I plan to put the trellis.

[Lincolnshire Floyd]

You need a variety that will do well outside. Don't buy one that will only do well in a greenhouse.

There are only a few that meet your requirements i.e hardy AND seedless.

Brant....Dessert grape, red and seedless

Lakemont....Desert/winemaking, white and seedless

Romulus...Dessert/winemaking, white and seedless

Seyval Blanc....Dessert/winemaking, white (very few seeds)

Superior Seedless....Dessert, white and seedless

If you contact R.V.Roger Ltd They will advise on which would do best in your area but my guess is that they all would because Rogers is based in Yorkshire and they only sell grapes that they grow themselves.

[MickyB]

Brilliant, thanks Floyd, the Lakemont would be my choice of the selection - I have saved the link to R.V.Rodger.

[Yorkie]

How sturdy is the trellis?

Grapes are very heavy and frequently grow on wires ... it would be awful to get to a decent stage of growth with it, only for it to collapse.

[MickyB]

How sturdy is the trellis?

Grapes are very heavy and frequently grow on wires ... it would be awful to get to a decent stage of growth with it, only for it to collapse.

Not sure how to describe it but it's the stuff that can be used as fencing, I am going to use fence posts to string it all together and I will add some tensioned wire for added support, just to make sure - thanks for the tip.
I will need to make sure that the whole structure is not going to rot for a good few years.

[Yorkie]

You can get sleeves for fence posts, which are plastic with tar lining (or something like that).

So you put the sleeve around the post, so the bottom of the post is in the concrete, the sleeve starts just before the top of the concrete, and goes up to above the soil line - so the soil doesn't get in contact with the fence post.

Or so I was told by a couple of people who just quoted to replace our fence 

[MickyB]

You can get sleeves for fence posts, which are plastic with tar lining (or something like that).

So you put the sleeve around the post, so the bottom of the post is in the concrete, the sleeve starts just before the top of the concrete, and goes up to above the soil line - so the soil doesn't get in contact with the fence post.

Or so I was told by a couple of people who just quoted to replace our fence 

Sounds like a plan, I found some online and the price looks reasonable, I will only need 8 so definitely worth a try - http://www.postsaver.co.uk/

[Sparkyrog]

Never sit a post in concrete the bottom must always go through so it doesn't sit in water