Pruning is usually carried out in winter, but not when weather is at its coldest. Over and under pruning will cause grapes to be not as healthy. Pruning should be your next line of action especially after the first fruiting season is over. Cut out any extensive wood and vine growth as this impedes the growth of the plant. If you have taken good care of the plant then there will be a good quality in following years.
Clipping your vines after regular intervals is important. It helps to direct all the metabolic energy from the roots and the shoots towards the fruit. Pruning should start once the cold rough winter comes to an end. Buds often get damaged due to extreme cold weather and you should search out all the damaged buds from the vines and prune them. Additional shoots that come out at the sides of the main stem should be pruned, as they normally do not bear any fruit and rather, inhibit the growth of the main vine.
Grapes may be grown on a trellis, pergola, or arbor, as part of a pleached alley, or they may be trained to make a canopy over a patio to enable the owner and his friends to sit in the shade of the vines. Commercial vineyards use a trellis consisting of posts, 8 or 9 feet long, 6 to 8 inches in diameter at the butts, set about 20 feet apart, standing about 6 feet above the ground. These are put 2 feet 6 inches or 3 feet deep.
Two to four canes are pruned and tied to the bottom wire on each side of the trunk. As the shoots grow during the spring and summer they are tied straight up to the wires above. Once the shoots have reached approximately 16 inches above the top wire, they are cut off at the tips. This “hedging” prevents further growth and shading of the vine below.
Grape pruning needs to be carried out more severely and methodically than any other fruit crop. Pruning not only controls vine growth, but sets crop load as well. Without severe, annual pruning, grape vines become tangled masses of unproductive shoots that decline in yield and quality very quickly
This age old tradition of pruning and hobby is well worth the wait to see the fruits of your time and efforts. When it is time to open that first bottle of wine made in your own backyard, friends and family will be amazed at how good your wine tastes because of your newly acquired skill.
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