DigitalVinyl wrote:

- Can I cut the (10-12') wood shorter now or will it shock the vine
too much? The vines are sending out laterals throughout the 12'
length--no dead wood.

do your best to leave the vine alone now. They don't like any pruning
except
fall pruning. You can take out 60-70% of the branches in october, and
train it
as you please. Other plants mind less when you prune them, but not
grape.


- Will it help to pinch some of the florets? Or should I wait to see
which pollinate? (I'm assuming there is some type of
pollination--although I don't recall it ever mentioned)

Leave it alone. You could strip the plant of the smallest bunches, once
they are formed but not ripened. The birds will take the rest.


- Should I allow so many lateral vines to form? Won't that take a lot
of energy from grape producing?

No, you should not. But right now they are making food for the roots.
Next year, and the years after, you will have a strong vine.


I'm reading more and more about the pruing methods, but I'm looking
for best action to take now to work towards having a decent year. If
this was a tomato plant I'd just pinch it down, but I've got no
experience yet with these things.



DiGiTAL ViNYL (no email)
Zone 6b/7, Westchester Co, NY, 1 mile off L.I.Sound
2nd year gardener
http://photos.yahoo.com/ph/royalfrazier/