Hi,

I planted two grape vines last year, then got too busy to stake them and
well they looked so dead when they arrived from Burpees I was not sure they
would grow. I have not pruned them yet either. Should I prune them way
back or leave them long. I will get the stakes and wire in place soon, but
I think I should prune them now.

Any good websites for grapes? I have seen some but most are on a commercial
level, I just have two vines hoping to get a few grapes.

Cheers,
Jim

On Mar 30, 9:12*am, "Jim" wrote:
Hi,

I planted two grape vines last year, then got too busy to stake them and
well they looked so dead when they arrived from Burpees I was not sure they
would grow. *I have not pruned them yet either. *Should I prune them way
back or leave them long. *I will get the stakes and wire in place soon, but
I think I should prune them now.

Any good websites for grapes? *I have seen some but most are on a commercial
level, I just have two vines hoping to get a few grapes.

Cheers,
Jim

UBC Botanical Gardens has a good forum on grapes.
http://www.ubcbotanicalgarden.org/fo...play.php?f=148
Dora

In article ,
"Jim" wrote:

Hi,

I planted two grape vines last year, then got too busy to stake them and
well they looked so dead when they arrived from Burpees I was not sure they
would grow. I have not pruned them yet either. Should I prune them way
back or leave them long. I will get the stakes and wire in place soon, but
I think I should prune them now.

Any good websites for grapes? I have seen some but most are on a commercial
level, I just have two vines hoping to get a few grapes.

Cheers,
Jim

Beware of what you wish for
http://books.google.com/books?id=tuR...PA198&dq=Carpi
nteria+Grapevine&source=bl&ots=85EVr9H9Jb&sig=uC-SRmzp0Sc_70yxVKT6GpZJlVU
&hl=en&ei=FSrRSZ3gDqP0tAO7n-ygAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result#P
PA198-IA1,M1

If you Google, "pruning grapevines", they have everything from
universities to videos.
--

- Billy
"For the first time in the history of the world, every human being is
now subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals, from the moment of
conception until death." - Rachel Carson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI29wVQN8Go

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1072040.html

On 3/30/2009 7:12 AM, Jim wrote:
Hi,

I planted two grape vines last year, then got too busy to stake them and
well they looked so dead when they arrived from Burpees I was not sure they
would grow. I have not pruned them yet either. Should I prune them way
back or leave them long. I will get the stakes and wire in place soon, but
I think I should prune them now.

Any good websites for grapes? I have seen some but most are on a commercial
level, I just have two vines hoping to get a few grapes.

Cheers,
Jim



If they were planted last year, then the only pruning they need is to
remove side shoots in order to create a central trunk. Keep one main
shoot until it reaches the top of whatever supporting system you will
use. Let it get a bit taller than the support and then head it back so
that it develops side shoots along the top of the support.

A mature grape vine loaded with fruit is very heavy. I use 3-inch
steel-pipe fence posts instead of stakes. I run wire rope between them.
See my http://www.rossde.com/garden/garden_grapes.html for details,
including a rough sketch.

Next year will be when you start serious pruning. I've seen several
good books on pruning trees, shrubs, and vines that had excellent
instructions for pruning grape vines. A good nursery or a well-stocked
public library should have 2-3 such books.

--

David E. Ross
http://www.rossde.com/.

Don't ask "Why is there road rage?" Instead, ask
"Why NOT Road Rage?" or "Why Is There No Such
Thing as Fast Enough?"
http://www.rossde.com/roadrage.html

"David E. Ross" wrote
Jim wrote:
Hi,

I planted two grape vines last year, then got too busy to stake them and
well they looked so dead when they arrived from Burpees I was not sure
they
would grow. I have not pruned them yet either. Should I prune them way
back or leave them long. I will get the stakes and wire in place soon,
but
I think I should prune them now.

Any good websites for grapes? I have seen some but most are on a
commercial
level, I just have two vines hoping to get a few grapes.

Cheers,
Jim



If they were planted last year, then the only pruning they need is to
remove side shoots in order to create a central trunk. Keep one main
shoot until it reaches the top of whatever supporting system you will
use. Let it get a bit taller than the support and then head it back so
that it develops side shoots along the top of the support.

A mature grape vine loaded with fruit is very heavy. I use 3-inch
steel-pipe fence posts instead of stakes. I run wire rope between them.
See my http://www.rossde.com/garden/garden_grapes.html for details,
including a rough sketch.

Next year will be when you start serious pruning. I've seen several
good books on pruning trees, shrubs, and vines that had excellent
instructions for pruning grape vines. A good nursery or a well-stocked
public library should have 2-3 such books.



I like your set up. How old are your vines? Grape vines grow rapidly. I
planted two concord grape vines at my last house. They were very small,
looked like spaghetti sized twigs when I purchased them at a local nursery.
By the second year they reached the top of the arbor I built. By the third
year they spanned the the entire distance and were loaded with grapes, in
fact too many grapes, I had to find people to take them (not everyone likes
eating concords). Pruning is very important, once very heavily in the fall,
practically right down to the trunks, and again in the spring after
flowering, remove all growth past the flowers (the rule is to remove 1/3 of
the vine by weight, gotta kinda estimate, comes easier with experience).
For an arbor I used 3 fence postes with narrow wood strips for supports...
ended up working out very well as my main reason for the grapes was as
privacy screen... when in full leaf it was not possible to see through.
Jim, build your support now, grape vines grow much faster then you may
think.

A few pictures I dug up showing the support and how severly pruned... this
is spring when just beginning to bud:

http://i44.tinypic.com/2hedfgx.jpg

http://i40.tinypic.com/2v9c185.jpg

http://i39.tinypic.com/2dj9z5u.jpg

Concords still green:
http://i41.tinypic.com/2rf8nkx.jpg

Grapes require dedication, if you're not going to be religious about care
don't bother... I moved six years ago so I've no idea whether those grapes
are still there.

In article ,
"David E. Ross" wrote:

On 3/30/2009 7:12 AM, Jim wrote:
Hi,

I planted two grape vines last year, then got too busy to stake them and
well they looked so dead when they arrived from Burpees I was not sure they
would grow. I have not pruned them yet either. Should I prune them way
back or leave them long. I will get the stakes and wire in place soon, but
I think I should prune them now.

Any good websites for grapes? I have seen some but most are on a
commercial
level, I just have two vines hoping to get a few grapes.

Cheers,
Jim



If they were planted last year, then the only pruning they need is to
remove side shoots in order to create a central trunk. Keep one main
shoot until it reaches the top of whatever supporting system you will
use. Let it get a bit taller than the support and then head it back so
that it develops side shoots along the top of the support.

A mature grape vine loaded with fruit is very heavy. I use 3-inch
steel-pipe fence posts instead of stakes. I run wire rope between them.
See my http://www.rossde.com/garden/garden_grapes.html for details,
including a rough sketch.

Next year will be when you start serious pruning. I've seen several
good books on pruning trees, shrubs, and vines that had excellent
instructions for pruning grape vines. A good nursery or a well-stocked
public library should have 2-3 such books.

The training will depend in part on whether the grapes will be used as
food or to make wine. Different vines vary in there brittleness as well.
Head pruning, while old fashion (creates shady pockets in the foliage
where mold can establish itself) doesn't require support. Cane pruning
and cordon pruning do require a 2 or 3 wire support. Then there is the
arbor, which I saw used for wine production in northern Italy. You can
put a table and chairs under it and use it as a shaded area for outdoor
entertaining during the summer.

The fruit comes from last year's buds. The more buds, the longer the
time it takes the vine to ripen the fruit. Typically, in California, a
vine will be left with 24 buds for wine production but as you come to
know your vines, you may wish to leave more buds and have grapes that
are a little less sweet, or fewer buds and have the grapes ripen earlier.

As David said, the first three years of a vines life are usually given
to vine growth and any clusters that form should be picked off as they
will retard growth. Also remove any side branches or suckers that try to
form. The emphasis now should be on developing the central stalk. In
wine making, the first four years are given to vine growth with the
first crop being picked the fifth year. The vines then produce at a peak
rate for about another thirty-five years. After the age of forty,
production will slowly drop but the fruit is still fine and is highly
appreciated by consumers in the making of wine.

Check with the nearest college's or university's Ag Dept. to determine
the best type of training for your vines.

Have fun.
--

- Billy
"For the first time in the history of the world, every human being is
now subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals, from the moment of
conception until death." - Rachel Carson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI29wVQN8Go

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1072040.html

On 3/31/2009 4:32 AM, brooklyn1 wrote [in part]:
I previously wrote [also in part]:
If they were planted last year, then the only pruning they need is to
remove side shoots in order to create a central trunk. Keep one main
shoot until it reaches the top of whatever supporting system you will
use. Let it get a bit taller than the support and then head it back so
that it develops side shoots along the top of the support.

A mature grape vine loaded with fruit is very heavy. I use 3-inch
steel-pipe fence posts instead of stakes. I run wire rope between them.
See my http://www.rossde.com/garden/garden_grapes.html for details,
including a rough sketch.

I like your set up. How old are your vines?

When I first wrote my Web page on grapes in 2000, the vines were about 7
years old. I was getting very abundant crops of 'Perlette' and almost
as large a crop of 'Black Monukka'.

In the summer of 2004, a raccoon discovered my garden. I got one bunch
of under-ripe 'Black Monukka' and about 6 bunches (less than half the
crop) of ripe 'Perlette'. The raccoon got the rest, neatly picking off
the individual grapes and leaving all the stems (even the tiny little
stems for each grape).

The grapes were planted on a slope in my back yard. In a heavy rain
storm in January 2005, the slope failed. Repairs were not done until
the end of 2007, when new grapes were planted: 'Perlette' and 'Black
Monukka' plus 'Flame'. The 'Perlette' and 'Flame' are now about a foot
high; the 'Black Monukka' has not yet sprouted and might have to be
replaced. I don't expect to see any grapes until the summer of 2011.
Then, I will have a raccoon trap baited and waiting.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary

"David E. Ross" wrote in message
...
On 3/31/2009 4:32 AM, brooklyn1 wrote [in part]:
I previously wrote [also in part]:
If they were planted last year, then the only pruning they need is to
remove side shoots in order to create a central trunk. Keep one main
shoot until it reaches the top of whatever supporting system you will
use. Let it get a bit taller than the support and then head it back so
that it develops side shoots along the top of the support.

A mature grape vine loaded with fruit is very heavy. I use 3-inch
steel-pipe fence posts instead of stakes. I run wire rope between them.
See my http://www.rossde.com/garden/garden_grapes.html for details,
including a rough sketch.

I like your set up. How old are your vines?

When I first wrote my Web page on grapes in 2000, the vines were about 7
years old. I was getting very abundant crops of 'Perlette' and almost
as large a crop of 'Black Monukka'.

In the summer of 2004, a raccoon discovered my garden. I got one bunch
of under-ripe 'Black Monukka' and about 6 bunches (less than half the
crop) of ripe 'Perlette'. The raccoon got the rest, neatly picking off
the individual grapes and leaving all the stems (even the tiny little
stems for each grape).

The grapes were planted on a slope in my back yard. In a heavy rain
storm in January 2005, the slope failed. Repairs were not done until
the end of 2007, when new grapes were planted: 'Perlette' and 'Black
Monukka' plus 'Flame'. The 'Perlette' and 'Flame' are now about a foot
high; the 'Black Monukka' has not yet sprouted and might have to be
replaced. I don't expect to see any grapes until the summer of 2011.
Then, I will have a raccoon trap baited and waiting.


When first moving here I thought grapes would grow well in the Catskill area
but then I realized that there are deer and plenty of other critters. Deer
I could fence out but raccoons can pretty much go over any fence at will,
and worse are the murders of crows... I can net my blueberries but I doubt
grapes would tolerate netting without entanglement. So I decided I'll be
getting my grapes from a bottle. Right now I'm waiting to see if the two
apple trees and two plum trees I planted last year will blossom.. I know
they made it through the winter as their buds are swelling but still none
opening, probably a couple three more weeks.