3 year old grape vine, first year fruiting1
- Thread starter pebbles
- Start date
We have 2 grape vine plants that are about 10 years old a piece, we discovered that cutting them back every other year makes for great harvests. The year after they get cut back they don't bloom much because they're busy growing. WIthout cutting them back they just get out of control in a hurry, they even choked out mint. yes mint, after not cutting them back in their 5th or so year...but if you have plenty of room for them then it shouldn't be a problem.
Helvete said:
I have two as well and I can agree with this statement. I put two in 4 years ago on one side of a purgula and a wisteria plant on the other side. The grapes have to be trimmed back or they will choke out the wisteria and I didn't think that would be possible.
Other than some moderate pruning, mine have never been cut back but it is about time. In the fall, they will get a real aggressive trimming.
What type of grape is it. I planted a Concord grape not expecting much in two years it produced fruit two years later my wife and I picked 100lbs and didnt put a dent in the production. This year I should have w/o exaggeration +500lbs. I am removing it after this season to plant a wine grape. I can eat only so much grape jelly.
Helvete said:
Thanks for great info and first hand experience. I trimmed the vines late December and only left the main vines, it turned out very effective. I amended the soil in autumn as well.
As for the variety... its pitch black outside right now, but I will go out and check tomorrow morning, still got the label hanging there. It's a purple variety.
I grew up in the vinyard didtrict and there are as many pruning methods as grapes it seems ... don't let your young vines bear too much ..you sacrafice growth .. you can cut back in the summer to let sunlight at your grapes for sweeter grapes ..look up pruning grapes and decide what suits you ..
HatedByAll
Banned
Your grapes look absolutely healthy. Are you spraying any chemicals on it to prevent bugs?
And about those pictures: No comments.
Thank you for sharing!
And about those pictures: No comments.
Thank you for sharing!
tim storey said:
Yes that seems to be the case. You mentioned letting sunlight in... I think I will try that later in the season. The foliage is quite thick. I also pick the very small fruits that just won't get any larger than a BB bullet.
HatedByAll said:Your grapes look absolutely healthy. Are you spraying any chemicals on it to prevent bugs?
And about those pictures: No comments.
Thank you for sharing!
No they haven't been sprayed with anything. I plan, after the rainy season is over, to put some fine cloth netting over them to keep birds and bugs away... already noticed some interest from the local birds
the more you prune in the dormant season the more growth you get , summer prunings inhibit growth generally .... take off anthing down low but leave the srpout that is growing opposite of your fruit bunch .. and thining in all friuts does makes for fewer, but larger fruit . We had a winter with many days of 30+ below [at that temp it does not matter celsius or farenhiet ] so some my grapes are still deciding if it's worth living ....sighpebbles said:
Birds are a problem .. we have racoons and bears no netting holds them off !!!!
They are of the Kyoho variety, meaning they will grow rather large, also I am happy that I can make wine from them if I want... not a big fan of sweets and fruit. I will probably end up giving them away at least this year.
Thank you, I realised that. I cut back all low hanging leafs and foliage today, opening up for more sun to reach the fruit. I took away all small fruit as well as a few bad looking one. Also ended up putting the fine mesh cloth around the grapes. Looking forward to see what happens when the rain period ends and the real summer heat comes.
I am sorry to hear about your grape and "pest" problems. Crossing my fingers it will live. Is there anything you can do in the cold winters to help it survive, like covering the soil with black plastic to try to keep the cold of the roots? Anything you can do now?
tim storey said:
Thank you, I realised that. I cut back all low hanging leafs and foliage today, opening up for more sun to reach the fruit. I took away all small fruit as well as a few bad looking one. Also ended up putting the fine mesh cloth around the grapes. Looking forward to see what happens when the rain period ends and the real summer heat comes.
I am sorry to hear about your grape and "pest" problems. Crossing my fingers it will live. Is there anything you can do in the cold winters to help it survive, like covering the soil with black plastic to try to keep the cold of the roots? Anything you can do now?
It will probably survive ..... grapes put down deep , deep roots.. The grapes i have come from North dacota or Sweden not two of the warmer locations .
Mine are in locations where I can't protect them ..and when it goes to -40c it probably wouldn't help anyway .
The big problem we have are late spring frosts , the vines are fine, but the fruit suffers ..
this spring we had our first crop of apricots and then a -7c night ..even with me building a fire next to the tree all night .. all the tiny apricots fell off.
. we now have a large dog [ 39kg ] who takes her job of guarding the garden seriously so the coons,, bear, deer and rabbits are very wary now .
Mine are in locations where I can't protect them ..and when it goes to -40c it probably wouldn't help anyway .
The big problem we have are late spring frosts , the vines are fine, but the fruit suffers ..
this spring we had our first crop of apricots and then a -7c night ..even with me building a fire next to the tree all night .. all the tiny apricots fell off.
. we now have a large dog [ 39kg ] who takes her job of guarding the garden seriously so the coons,, bear, deer and rabbits are very wary now .