How to trellis grapes: build a trellis, prune a vine

How to trellis grapes: build a trellis, prune a vine
GROW YOUR OWN Foodscape and organic garden in your frontyard.
foodscapingutah.org
We show how to build a simple trellis, prune young vines, and train them to the trellis. We then take a look at what pruning looks like on more established vines.
To add these trellised grapes to our foodscape, we planted one vine bareroot in March of 2018 and two potted vines in June of 2018. In this video, we show building a trellis in 2019 using 4x4 redwood posts and galvanized steel wire. The video features pruning demonstrations on all three 2018 planted vines showing how to set them up for training to a trellis both when trained or untrained during their first growing season. The look at what pruning looks like on more established vines features a spur-pruned variety which is trained to an arbor.
Learn more about Foodscaping Utah at foodscapingutah.org.
Learn more about our first arbor, paver patio, and grapes: foodscapingutah.org/2017/09/1...
See the basics of cane pruning and fast motion footage of us cane pruning a vine start to finish in our video here: • Cane Pruning Grape Vin...
USU Extension grape pruning video showing selecting canes for cane pruning: • How to Prune Grapes
OSU Extension on Growing Table Grapes. It includes diagrams on spur and cane pruning as well as variety recommendations with specifics on whether particular varieties should be spur or cane pruned.
catalog.extension.oregonstate...
For another source with all types of variety recommendations including pruning types, see: www.bunchgrapes.com/grape_vari...
USU Extension Grape Trellising and Training Basics: digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/vi...
USU Recommended Varieties for Utah: digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/vi...

[@dj_timoy]

best video on growing grapes!!

[@eddielane71488]

I really wanted to watch this video, but that backdrop is just too amazing. I cant look at anything else!

[@foodscapingutah5239]

😆

[@bubgum00]

I can’t wait until my Concord grapes are ready.

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Yay for grapes!

[@lorrainehuntley6604]

We have an old grape vine and 2 new vines planted last year. I am really new to pruning grapes. This information was really clear and much better than all the other videos that I have watched.

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Great! Glad it was helpful. I hope the new vines do great

[@thomasneely916]

Level is horizontal, vertical is plumb. Good information in video !

[@CuriousinNY]

Awesome video on starting, training and pruning grape vines!!!! The best one yet.

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Thank you! Glad it was helpful.

[@lettyzane2720]

Really excellent! I learned so much. Very heLpful that you had multiple vines to demonstrate on

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Glad it was helpful!

[@wayneshade9436]

Beyond making your presentation interesting and informative, you exhibit perfect grammar. That seems to be very unusual these days, particularly from one so young. The generous use of the disappearing adverbs is fortifying, and it makes your presentation even more impressive. You should thank your English teachers if they are still with us. Great video.

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Thank you!

[@aasthakujur6582]

Bbbioibb+îibbbbbbbibibibibibibbjbibbbibbb8jb hm o ojj jo

[@sashilemla6229]

Wow.. what an observation!

[@wayneshade9436]

@@sashilemla6229 Thank you.

[@billrobbins5874]

Mountains in the background, beautiful. Thank you for the info!

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Thanks!

[@susankim2039]

Thank you for sharing your experience with us!

[@foodscapingutah5239]

No problem!

[@modernmountaineer]

Excellent video! Very informative. Great job of explaining what your doing and how to do it.

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Thank you!

[@joedafrog]

This dude loves the word vigorously

[@foodscapingutah5239]

It's a good word 😆😉

[@suzyq6767]

Man, you know a lot of useful information. Thanks.

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Glad to help!

[@WENG4898]

Thanks for posting this video. Of all the videos that I've watched on KZbin, yours is the most informative and easy to understand. I have grapevines but not fruiting yet considering it has been almost five years since it was planted. Now I know that I had not pruned it properly. New subscriber here.

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Thank you! I'm so glad you found it helpful! Good luck with your grapevines. Hopefully you can give them a good pruning and get them fruiting!

[@gurmeetpawan3736]

000l

[@ritabaker7847]

Exactly what I was looking for. Thank you!!!

[@toridivincenzo3660]

This was so helpful! Thank you

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Glad it was helpful!

[@GerryStilton]

Wow, I am happy to come across your vid. Thanks for taking the time to share it. Looking to plan a muscadine. Subscribed!

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Thanks! Hope your muscadine grows fantastically!

[@LauraRodriguez-nf7vo]

Thank you!!!

[@a2n_channel491]

Amazing

[@BlessedBaubles]

Prob the best grape video I’ve seen in a long time. Take or leave, but I’d like to share this comment too, because I now know, from my own experience, that depending on how we prune, it can be the biggest seen and *unseen results in so many ways! To me, most people miss the equally true unseen results when we don’t prune in a proper way. We don’t see what could have been as far as quality of fruit AND so much more! The cuts we make (and here’s my point, or even cuts we don’t make) tell the vine what to do in the coming years as well. It’s just so awesome! Pruning is such an awesome experience that God gives us! Depending how we prune we can still get fruit but there’s so much more to gain in the how! I hope I’m making sense and sharing at least a little bit of value. Enjoy! This is a great video!

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Thank you!

[@mikeSTER721]

"Vigorous" 😂 great video!

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Thanks! 😆

[@kathleenreynolds6492]

Excellent! Thanks.

[@jamesmorton7881]

WELL DONE, GOOD USABLE ADVISE. 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@foodscapingutah5239]

james morton Thanks! Glad it has helpful.

[@jamesmorton7881]

@@foodscapingutah5239 Tip, Tory Morton permaculture

[@troydye81]

I just bought some plants from Lowes. This will be the very first food that I've ever grown! This was very helpful. BTW, I love the mountain view in the background

[@foodscapingutah5239]

tapertroy It’s so exciting to get started growing food!! You’ll love it. Our website has lots of info to help get started. -and we love the mountain view too!

[@Itried20takennames]

Fruits often take a few years to get up to speed, but if cared for reasonably well….they put outa huge amount of food. Once lived in a small suburban house with a huge grape vine over the 10x15 patio roof, and it put out so many grapes every year, we couldn’t even keep up with it.

[@LGGGlove]

Great information . I have 4 grapevine I will be using your technique on

[@joanneholcombe735]

Good simple teaching..im a beginner and no one ever said to cut thru a node to, I assume, stop the growth of the trunk...i understand much better..thank u..

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Glad to help!

[@MiaUy]

Very informative! I will try to do that. Thanks for sharing!

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Glad to help!

[@boldpicturesgardeners]

Very beautiful video n informative❤

[@matthewmills6452]

2019 and still rockin' the short sleeve over long sleeve!

[@foodscapingutah5239]

You know that's right. 😂 90s for life ✊

[@francescapoteet5481]

@@foodscapingutah52392024 and I still like that look. It’s what my boys wore back then when they were growing up. 🥰

[@camboshareidea]

Love your idea man,

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Thank you

[@andymckenzie8031]

Thanks for posting this! This past winter I moved into a house with a grape vine planted in the yard. The "trellis" it's on is about two feet high, which isn't doing much for it. It's producing some (tiny) fantastic grapes, and I'm planning to put it up on a better trellis as soon as I can get around to it, probably in the fall. This has been a great intro to what I'll need to do.

[@foodscapingutah5239]

You're welcome! Glad you found it useful.

[@andymckenzie8031]

@@foodscapingutah5239 I harvested 8 or 9 clusters of grapes this year, so the arbor definitely helped! Thanks again.

[@foodscapingutah5239]

@@andymckenzie8031 Great! Thanks for sharing. Hopefully it'll be easier to maintain and full of grapes in the years to come!

[@gadingborneo5704]

Excellent video! Very informative. Great job of explaining what your doing and how to do it.i plant at home table grape jupiter

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Thank you!

[@thewhittierhousewife3898]

Awesome information, it was very informative and encouraging, thank you! I have an old vine next to our chicken coop, and we have not gotten a harvest yet! The grapes start off well, then they get a white power on them and drop their fruit. They also end up infested with leaf hoppers😬. Maybe I don't water enough? I'm determined to harvest some grapes even if it takes me the rest of my life!😃

[@foodscapingutah5239]

You're welcome! Hopefully you will get some grapes sometime soon! Good pruning and management can definitely help. The white powder could be powdery mildew or downy mildew. I'd look into managing those, maybe at usu or wsu. Pruning to have better air circulation might help with diseases.

[@thewhittierhousewife3898]

@@foodscapingutah5239 yes, hopefully!

[@tokyukvitz88]

Thanks, John Denver!

[@alseveron6558]

Good helpful video, thanks! I've done similar thing with 4" posts. If you nail a long cross member across the tops of your posts, you can tighten your turn-buckle good and tight, without loosening the end posts. That's what I did, anyway. Just a suggestion.. (from the southern England). Good luck with your growing...

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Good idea

[@JazzMeUinFLUSA]

Oh I did not prune mine that way, but there still fruiting a lot too but of course your way is really awesome.

[@BlessedBaubles]

I’m really happy that you got such nice fruiting! I only share this because I now know, from my own experience, that the quality of fruit is the biggest *unseen difference in how one prunes. (Not saying you didn’t get quality). I say unseen because, when we see fruit, we don’t see what could have been as far as quality AND especially the cuts we make in how we prune that tell the vine what to do in the coming years as well. It’s awesome! Pruning is such an awesome experience that God gives us that had such a huge difference depending how we do the pruning. We still get fruit, but there’s so much more to gain too! I hope I’m making sense and sharing at least a little bit of value. This is a great video!

[@motleyhobby7913]

Best video I've come across on growing grapes. I wish I'd found it earlier! Unfortunately when I started my grapes 4 years ago I didn't do enough research and now they're a bit of a rat's nest. Not sure how to fix them, but I definitely need to build them a trellis like that...the trellises I have are too small for them and don't really help keep the shoots off the ground

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Glad you enjoyed the video. Yeah, grapes can get unruly fast. Good luck with the building trellises! Hopefully they go up fairly easy.

[@JazzMeUinFLUSA]

I wish I can grow my grapevines like you do. I can't plant my grapevines outdoor because the birds and the squirrels will eat them so I just planted my grapevines in pots ang fortunately, they are now loaded with fruits.

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Glad you are getting loads of fruits! -We usually need to throw a bird net on ours just before they ripen.

[@fitrisoemardi5051]

Thank you so mach

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Most welcome!

[@braulindisla-elburrodelaba5361]

Nice thanks

[@foodscapingutah5239]

You're welcome.

[@chrisw5353]

Thank you for the great video, I wish I watched it couple of years ago when I first planted my grapes. I guess not too late to fixing some trimming mistakes this yer 😅

[@foodscapingutah5239]

The great thing with grapes is that they tend to keep growing back, so I'd say keep pruning and working with it until you get how you want it. Good luck!

[@florentinoencabo298]

WoW nice,..

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Thank you!

[@natenoneofyourbusiness3623]

your checking plumb . but great video!

[@lesliekendall5668]

Oh yeah? I planted my grapes last Spring to grow on an old swing set. Lol. I'll let you know how it turns out.

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Please do! Sounds like a great experiment.

[@BC25citizen]

Leslie Kendall I would love to see that. Great use of an old swing set. I hope you get lots of grapes.

[@p-san]

I was watching the video thinking those looked like Utah mountains. Sure enough I see the title "foodscaping Utah" ah, they are!

[@foodscapingutah5239]

They sure are! Love them.

[@sonsofliberty3081]

You only need 14ga wire or 12ga. You can use either on a high tensile electric fence for horses and cows.

[@adorable3006]

I discovered an awesome collection of videos that may help you at Grape grower folio

[@stephenlevitt4872]

Thank you for your videos, you create beautiful garden spaces and your espalier video helped me very much. I have a question about pruning grapes - why are you topping it "between" a node instead of right above the node that is at the height you want the vine to top out at? What does cutting through that node 1-above the node you want to have the top-most growth come from do? Thanks again

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Thanks. Glad you've liked the videos. Cutting through the node basically just gives you a few extra inches of cane to tie onto your structure. Plus, the larger size of the node itself helps prevent it from slipping out of the tie. Not cutting through the node probably wouldn't be a big deal though.

[@kevlarshanahan1087]

Thank you so much, just what I needed. I have a single cane and two cordons (4’ each) on my 3rd year Niagara, and Concord table grapes. Is spur caning the preferred method and if so, shall I limit the spurs (~15/cordon) to ~6”.

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Glad it was helpful! We don't have niagara or concord, but I think you are right that they are usually spur pruned. 15 per cordon sounds good but you might be able to find specific recommendations for each variety.

[@williamm1971]

I can across this video on Grape grower folio - there are lots useful videos there that will help you

[@piggyman1585]

Goodman

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Thanks

[@MrJoyboii]

Do you have instructions on making your trellis at the end of the video the one that you have on the structure the end of the video

[@johnburns2510]

Enjoyed your video Blessings To All Worthy Of Being Blessed

[@Hasnie]

When did you put the post in the ground? Did you have to wait for 2nd year until they grow some length? I have two grapes plants and just wondering how long trellis i need to build.

[@foodscapingutah5239]

The trellis that we show installing in the video we put in the ground in the early spring one year after we had planted the vines. However, in most cases, trellises are constructed just before planting young vines. It is nice to have the trellis in place so that it can be used to start training a trunk to reach the top wire. It is also fine to just let the plants grow as a bush the first year in the ground to get established. In that case, you don't really need the trellis until the second year.

[@josuenielson]

Great info! I can't wait for it to warm up here in UT again to start my own vineyard. Thanks for sharing. Would you be able to post pictures of how the vines look today on the trellis you built in the video? I would like to see how you are using that middle wire.

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Glad you liked the video! We haven't really used the middle wire yet, simply because we won't need them until the next late winter pruning (I usually prune in February). At that point we will select some good looking (~pencil-thick) canes to train to that wire as well as the top wire so we end up with four canes radiating out from the trunk. Here is a good video to give you an idea of what I mean. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jJ-6mJSPhNJjY68

[@josuenielson]

@@foodscapingutah5239 Good stuff. Thank you!

[@kevlarshanahan1087]

Q2: with 2 sets of wires, will you grow 4 cordons? Early on I read about a 2nd (this year’s new growth)cordon set for next year’s fruit-producing arms with last year’s arms (cordon) being the arms that set fruit for harvest this year, does that make any sense, if so, can you please elaborate.

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Yes, I think what you are saying makes sense and yes with 2 sets of wires what we typically do is cane pruning. It is hard to explain in words but it's probably what you said, where you leave a renewal spur in the middle near the trunk that will grow a new canes that will be the fruiting wood for next season. Another way to think about cane pruning is that you are choosing new 'cordons' for the wires each year; the cordons are just called canes they are chosen from last years growth and they only last a year, whereas cordons can be kept for years when used for spur pruning.

[@peggythompson2159]

If I plant two kinds of grape vines together will they cross polinate?

[@bridgetbean79]

Per grape, how long is the space between your posts and how high?

[@bridgetbean79]

I have 1 grape I’m growing. I have it spanning across 1 cattle panel that is 8ft long. Last year it grew past the length of the panel so now I’m reconsidering changing its trellis system. If I go with your plans here, how long and tall should I have the trellis to make this work for 1 grape?

[@aball423]

Plan on building a trellis for my grandmas grape vine. It's been there for my entire life. I'm afraid of digging for the posts don't won't to damage the root system any advice?

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Grape vines are have vast root systems and are very resilient. If the vine is otherwise healthy I wouldn't worry about it if you cut a few roots while digging. If you hit a large root, you might want to give it some extra water for a few weeks while it recovers. Can you make it so that there isn't a post right next to the main trunk?

[@sakethk4184]

Can I plant grape in a vegetable bed next to vegetable vines? My vegetable bed is 12 inches deep.

[@Vector_Ze]

I was surprised by your trimming through the nodes. But, I don't know anything about grape vines (yet).

[@eyadhamza3147]

Hello, I have a 3 year old grape vine in the ground that I just pruned for the first time. It's never put out any significant crop (probably because I never took good care of it) but this year I want to give it ideal conditions. I'm building an arbor trellis for it but I need to move the entire plant because some construction is going to happen over top of it. Is it possible to transplant a 3 year old vine? How big of a root ball should I expect? I really want this vine to live. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!! Thank you

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Eyad Hamza Hello, at 3 years old I think transplanting would be a challenge, but grapes can be very resilient though. It might take a couple years for it to recover. In general the older the plant is the harder on it transplanting is as the roots will have extended a long ways laterally. If you want to give it a go, I would dig a large rootball and maybe even follow a couple of the longer roots beyond your rootball digging them out as you go.

[@roscoc4480]

If you wait until winter when the vine is dormant you shouldn't have any problems transplanting the vine. Without seeing the vine, you can cut the vine right back to the trunk leaving one "one-year-old" cane with approximately 10-15 buds. Try and leave as much of the rootball intact, immediately below the trunk. Dig maybe a foot to a foot and a half out from the trunk, all around the trunk. Depending on the soil type, you will have both thick woody roots and fine roots. You want to try and keep as many fine roots as you can. Grapevines grow like weeds once they have a good mass of roots beneath them. Dont be afraid to sever the big woody roots a foot (350-400mm) out from the trunk. Plant the vine in its new position and water it in. Once the vine comes out of dormancy and the soil temperature increases, root growth should accelerate. It should be possible for the vine to produce grapes that season.

[@onlywatch99]

Did you talk about how you built the "roof"? Did you just use the wire back and forth? Or did I miss that on how you accomplished the wire above?

[@foodscapingutah5239]

We didn't give detail on the arbor in the video. We only focused on how to build the trellises. For the arbor, we used 2x4 wood every 24" going one direction and then wires going the other way every 18" or so. Here's a post we wrote about it with more details and a few photos of the arbor when we first built it: foodscapingutah.org/2017/09/19/grape-arbor-build-feb-2015-paver-patio-july-2015-fresh-grapes-aug-2016/

[@PhillipOliver]

Would this also apply to ornamental grapes like 'Crimson Glory' that is growing on a large pergola to provide shade and fall color? Also, if you didn't prune during the first winter, should you start again the second winter from the beginning?

[@foodscapingutah5239]

We haven’t grown ornamental grapes but I would assume this approach would work well for them as well. If you missed the first winter pruning, you could start fresh or, depending if you had enough strong growth, you might be able to select a good cane to become your trunk, just make sure it is at least pencil thick and reached the height of your trellis. Does that make sense?

[@PhillipOliver]

@@foodscapingutah5239 Yes it does - thank you so much!

[@daphnedenny2493]

Hello! We are hoping to put in a grape arbor this winter here in the wine country of Central California. We would like for our arbor to provide filtered shade for our veggie garden under it. Our summers are HOT and the sun is intense. Any ideas on this?

[@foodscapingutah5239]

A grape arbor would be fantastic! It might be tough to grow veggies under it though. Most grape arbors get so densely packed with grape-leaf canopy that it becomes full shade underneath. That doesn't mean it'd be impossible to grow some shade tolerant veggies under there though. It is a neat idea because I'm sure that summer heat makes vegetables in the summer a challenge. If you want to go for it, I'd suggest sowing and/or transplanting cool weather crops (leafy greens, etc) really early before the grape leafs out in the spring. Then you'd be able to get them established while there are more hours of direct sunlight and then continue harvesting into the heat. They might be spent by mid summer though. Another strategy would be thinning the grape leaves mid summer and later in the season to allow some more sun through. If it were me, I don't think I'd try fruiting veggies like tomatoes, peppers, squash, etc, because it might be too hard to get enough sun for them. You could definitely grow them the first and second years before the grape vine(s) are established and covering the arbor.

[@markhellner5916]

What does cutting through the node vs above it do? Is it to stop it’s growth from continuing upwards?

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Yes, basically it just prevents that node from producing shoots, but still gives you a few extra inches of cane to tie onto your structure. Plus, the larger size of the node itself helps prevent it from slipping out of the tie. Not cutting through the node probably wouldn't be a big deal though.

[@PBarry]

Very helpful video! So you didn’t build the trellis until the second year?

[@PBarry]

Also saw that the grapevines were not in the raised bed. Is there a reason for that? We have a septic tank on one side of the yard so we were considering doing all of our fruiting plants and veggies in raised beds but now reconsidering with the grapes.

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Glad it was helpful! Yes, we didn't build the one trellis until the second year (the trellis we showed building in the video). The other trellis next to the raised beds we did build before we planted. In the first year, especially in colder climates, it's fine to let the plant grow into a bush form and get roots established. Those plants were given to us late spring after they had already become bushy so we decided to wait until the second year to train them

[@foodscapingutah5239]

@@PBarry Grapes tend to grow well even in poor soils, so they wouldn't need a raised bed, but they'd probably be fine in one. We didn't put them in those raised beds just because we wanted to be able to grow vegetables in those beds and wanted to limit the competition the grapes would give the vegetables. Grape roots can be quite vigorous.

[@michaeldavidson9042]

Learn the difference between level and plumb!

[@shashimanthena2029]

Nice and educational. Wish I could have watched your video 2 years ago. I was so amateur that I totally ignored how important pruning was. I let it grow in all directions and I have at least four vines and none of them are really straight. Two of them are about an inch thick. I didn't see any fruits the first year but this time I see some. It was planted on the corner of my fence and I let it rely on it; so no trellis either. Is there something I can do now to take care of it so it's at least as healthy as it is now? Please advise.

[@foodscapingutah5239]

I think grapes are challenge to manage on fences. However, I'd say that doesn't mean that you can't make the best of what you have. Pruning heavily and with the idea that you want to allow more air and sunlight onto the leaves still should help it to be healthier and produce better grapes. If it looks too tough to manage, you could also just do what you can, and not worry about it too much (it will still probably produce some grapes) and then plant a new grape and build a trellis somewhere nearby. Good luck!

[@earthling94]

I have a mature- out of control vine on my property and I'm new at this but I have one question, as of right now, 5/7/2020, is it too late to prune?? Thanks

[@shashimanthena2029]

@@foodscapingutah5239 Thanks for your reply. Is it a good idea to leave it as is for this year and start pruning it for the next? If yes, whhen will be the right time to do that? I live near Dallas, TX. If there are 4 vines grown out of one plant, do you suggest to let all continue to grow with pruning or should I cut all but the thickest vine? Sorry for asking too many questions but I see you as an expert to help me with this. Thanks again

[@foodscapingutah5239]

@@shashimanthena2029 I think you could go ahead and do some pruning if you want to. Traditionally, major pruning of grape vines occurs in late winter. For us in Utah, that's usually late February or early March, but it might be early February for you. You wouldn't hurt the vine to do some pruning now and/or during the growing season though. It's really up do you, but I'd probably start working on it to get it back how you want it (to allow more air and sunlight onto the leaves, etc). That way you can spread the major pruning for revitalization over time (not all at once).

[@ibgib]

WOW! Great info and what is that bass groove at 1:01?!

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Bill Raiford Glad you liked it! The bass groove is from Arrested Development’s ‘Give A Man A Fish’

[@andrekuettel7402]

I heard Sublime's April 29, 1992

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Andre Kuettel Thats in there too, but later on in the video.

[@kevlarshanahan1087]

As a bass player, I dig it!

[@michaelagibbs9695]

I have a Flame grapevine which I will train to be spur pruned. Is it better to have the spurs pointing up or down or doesn't it matter? Thanks.

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Flame will be great! It shouldn’t matter which way the spurs are pointing. Grape shoots tend to go every which way no matter how you do it!

[@masumabegum1571]

Hi brother, I need help my garden they have lots of ant my grape all eating what can I do? What kind spray do I need please tell me I live into the Florida

[@morganrody67]

Great video, thanks!! Did I miss it or why did you trim at the node? Also, do u use the same soil as blueberries, rhododendron?

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Glad you enjoyed the video! There isn't a big reason to trim right at the node. It just helps keep the vine from slipping out of your tie while stoping the vine from growing at that node.

[@myview1875]

When growing a cordon vine is it best to have 2 cordons or can more be established ie 4. Also do the cordons themselves keep growing longer and do they need trimming to a set length and what length would you suggest. Thankyou from England. 😊.

[@foodscapingutah5239]

myview1875 The great thing about grape vines is they are fairly flexible. You can definitely have more cordons but you’d still want to find a nice balance between leaf and fruit production. Some cultivars are more vigorous than others and would be able to support more buds on more cordons. But, I do think even less vigorous vines could support more cordons if they were shorter or if the spurs were cut back to only one bud each, instead of two or three buds per spur. Does that make sense?

[@myview1875]

Foodscaping Utah. Thank you for a very good answer. Funny thing is that where I live in England it is not the warmest even in Summer. I am going to experiment with the two vines I have that are about 2 years old. I am going to grow one with two cordons and one with just one cordon ( basically the main trunk ) and go from there. If the one with just one cordon puts out more growth and fruit due to all the energy going to just the one cordon I will do this with my other vine with two cordons. This is all experimental to me as a novice gardener. Thank you for your response. 😊.

[@foodscapingutah5239]

@@myview1875 I feel like gardening is all just an ongoing experiment at all levels! That's why we love it. We try to do comparison trials with everything we wonder about! Sounds like your trial will be super interesting. We'd love to know how it turns out.

[@myview1875]

@Foodscaping Utah. Thanks for your reply. I will try and remember to put an update to this thread but because we are in summer now I have read that grape vines don't like to be pruned until winter so my 1 and 2 cordon experiment will be on hold until winter when I prune my two vines and then it will be a waiting game until next summer to see what happens. 😊. Until then stay safe in these unprecedented time we find ourselves in.

[@sonsofliberty3081]

Putting gravel in the bottom of the hole should be stressed. Stone allows the water to drain so you don't rot your post

[@Chase_Anderson]

What kind of pruners do you have/recommend?

[@foodscapingutah5239]

I have Felco hand pruners and love them. I use the F-8 that have the ergonomic design but all Felcos are really good. Corona also has some very nice pruners, but I'd recommend their up end ones to have something that will really last and are much nicer to prune with.

[@alexk6745]

I wonder how long these posts will lasts in the ground? I have a doubt that they would rotten over time. Am I right? Whta if they rotten in10 years and won't hold anymore?

[@Sam-tg4ii]

6:50 Could you pleae explain why cutting through the bud and not before it?

[@foodscapingutah5239]

It's not a big deal either way. In this case it helps keep it from slipping through.

[@gisealdunn8]

If I did not do it this winter, the first year after planting, and now have lots of lateral growth, what should I do?

[@foodscapingutah5239]

You can still take off and prune shoots when they are young without costing the vine too much energy. I would try to make it focus its growth on one or two more vigorous shoots to try to get it or them up onto the top wire or boards.

[@nicholasmiller733]

Any place you recommend to buy vines (in SLC)?

[@foodscapingutah5239]

We don’t know Salt Lake nurseries very well. We got our vines at Valley Nursery in Uintah/So Ogden and they were great.

[@jaymeez]

👍🏽

[@RungnaphaSt]

Quick question, I'm late to prune my 3rd year the grapevine I let them grow on small arbor (mid May). Can I still prune them? They have few leaves on the bus already and I'm not sure what to do. Please help answer 🙏, thanks.

[@foodscapingutah5239]

You can definitely prune the grape after it has leaves on it and I would, but I’m not sure if you should still take off so much growth. I’d probably thin it now and maybe again in a few weeks and then try to get back to pruning off 90% next March or so.

[@RungnaphaSt]

Will do, thank you for your time. I appreciate.

[@evcoolgene]

What is this ‘less than 12 inches’ (when cutting shoots) rule? What if its more than 12 inches?

[@jenniferpoultergrizzell9778]

Have you found your posts rotting without using concrete?

[@foodscapingutah5239]

No problems yet!

[@earthling94]

Is May 7th too late to prune a mature- out of control vine? Thanks

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Hi! Generally we try to prune before the vine has leafed out. Our vines have already leafed out in our climate here, but maybe not where you are? Some pruning would still be fine either way, but the major pruning-where you take 90% off-should probably be done when the wine is dormant.

[@earthling94]

Foodscaping Utah hey thank you very much. I’m in New Jersey and the vine has just now started to show some buds. I’m new to the property and it hasn’t been maintained. I am excited to begin this endeavor and thank you for the advice!

[@vulk86]

Why do you cut throug a node?

[@foodscapingutah5239]

It just prevents that node from producing shoots, but still gives you a few extra inches of cane to tie onto your structure. Plus, the larger size of the node itself helps prevent it from slipping out of the tie. Not cutting through the node probably wouldn't be a big deal though.

[@susanswafford5903]

Dude nice video but why dont you just use wire vises instead of all those tirn buckles and screws?

[@Michelle-oz1jc]

I just bought a plant that is very small. Can I go without trellising it the first year?

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Yes, you could forego the trellis for the first year. You'd definitely need it next year. In fact, I sort of show how we did that the vine that was already planted where we are building the trellis.

[@Michelle-oz1jc]

@@foodscapingutah5239 thank you - I thought maybe that's what was happening. That takes a little stress off of getting my new plant in the ground. Thank you, I plan to trellis mine that way.

[@foodscapingutah5239]

@@Michelle-oz1jc Excellent. Definitely a good idea to get it planted as soon as you can.

[@Michelle-oz1jc]

Yes, I will tomorrow. Thank you again!

[@Michelle-oz1jc]

@@foodscapingutah5239 I planted it today in the perfect spot. I'll work on establishing the trellis soon. This is such a great video. Thanks for posting it.

[@bobdean9875]

Nice job. But for reference you are checking your post for plumb not level. Plumb is up and down and level is side to side

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Good call

[@transeeyou885]

hi id like to know if vines attract birds or bees or other insects what can annoy us?

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Hi! Good question. Yes, sometimes they do, but not until the grapes are ripe and we haven't found it to be annoying. Birds are attracted to the bright colors of the ripe grapes and will try to eat them, so sometimes we use bird netting to protect the harvest. As for insects, it really depends on what you have in your area. In our case, we have seen a few paper wasps on the grapes if we don't get them harvested on time.

[@kevlarshanahan1087]

We have trouble with Japanese Beetles in the summer in W PA, voracious leaf eaters.

[@iriscalderon4756]

What month should we prune?

[@foodscapingutah5239]

In Utah, typically February or March, but it could be earlier depending on climate.

[@zafar55555]

Bro what typs of wire? I mean material used

[@foodscapingutah5239]

9 gauge steel galvanized wire on the top wire. The stuff is super strong but hard to bend. We used 12 gauge on the bottom wire which is a little more manageable.

[@cqammaz53]

Why cut through a node instead of above or below the node?

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Hi! Cutting through the node basically just gives you a few extra inches of cane to tie onto your structure. Plus, the larger size of the node itself helps prevent it from slipping out of the tie. Not cutting through the node probably wouldn't be a big deal though.

[@coranyavreck6346]

Pruning tips are great, but .... I had also hoped to have a better view of you actually securing the cable to the posts. Didn't you need a special tool to clamp the wire cables when you looped them through the adjustable turnbuckle? That is the part of building the trellis I most wanted to see!! Thanks anyways. Lots of other good stuff in there (and boy, do I have some work to do regarding an old vine, already totally going along on its own .... )

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Hello! Here's our video showing how to build a trellis for espalier fruit trees. It should be helpful to see a few different ways to secure the wires. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gabIc2OteJqagKs

[@larryconover3925]

why did you cut THROUGH the top bud?? instead of moving it all together???

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Either way would work fine but through the bud is handy for keeping the vine from slipping down.

[@jimwalsh6500]

What variety of grapes?

[@foodscapingutah5239]

We have Himrod, Red Reliance (on the arbor), Canadice and Jupiter for seedless. Frontenac is our seeded one.

[@foodscapingutah5239]

If you are in Utah, check out this publication for more on varieties: digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2661&context=extension_curall

[@ashamccracken8082]

I wish they didn't take so long to get established, I'm impatient. :)

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Hang in there! Before you know it you'll be swimming in grapes.

[@r.15bike.lovers83]

Vallarasu

[@Chase_Anderson]

Do you use coated or uncoated wire?

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Hi Chase, it's uncoated. A standard galvanized steel wire. 9 gauge is probably best but it is so thick, I find it pretty hard to work with 😆.