Growing Grapes ― Pruning Cold Hardy Top Wire Cordon Vines

This video shows how-to prune top wire cordon grapes. The only pruning difference between cold-hardy grapes and non cold-hardy grapes is that there is no need for the double trunks, but if I were in a warmer climate and growing, say pinot noir, I would still grow and prune the vines in this manor as and type of damage whether from cold or not would likely only effect half of the vine.
Remember, not all vines will grow on a top wire system. Most of the varieties of table grapes sold at big box stores should be trained to a modified Munson trellis, and all of them are pretty susceptible to disease so do your homework or risk being disappointed.
🍺 If you enjoyed the video, consider buying me a beer!: www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr...
Here are some playlists and other videos you may like:
2018 Playlist:
• Halloween Walkabout on...
2019 Playlist:
• Starting the Mower -- ...
2020 Playlist:
• Pruning the Vineyard W...
More vineyard related videos:
How-to Lay-Out and Plant a Vineyard Row - Part 1 -- • How-to Lay-Out and Pla...
How-to Lay-Out and Plant a Vineyard Row - Part 2 -- • How-to Lay-Out and Pla...
How-to Lay Out and Plant a Vineyard Row - Part 3 -- • How-to Lay Out and Pla...
How-to Lay Out and Plant a Vineyard Row - Part 4 -- • How-to Lay Out and Pla...
Spraying in the Vineyard -- • Spraying in the Vineyard
Pruning the Vineyard 2019 -- • Pruning the Vineyard 2019
Here are the tools I use in the vineyard:
Felco Pruning Shears (F 7) -- amzn.to/3nLKmrn
Corona Orchard Lopper: amzn.to/2VbunXu
Solo Sprayer: amzn.to/3jLh2iq
Weed Torch -- amzn.to/3r5EbRh
Husqvarna Brush Cutter: amzn.to/3lfhw0S
DeWalt Hedge Trimmer: amzn.to/3mXPFmU
DeWalt Chainsaw: amzn.to/2KyDhMh
DeWalt Reciprocating Saw: amzn.to/36aXvUW
Gripple Torq Tool Tensioner: amzn.to/38EzuFI
Goldenrod (415 Hired Hand Fence Stretcher-Splicer: amzn.to/3hl0WMz
... and here are some of the chemicals I use:
Mancozeb -- amzn.to/37CLuHs
Captan -- amzn.to/3cJRHDK
Immunox -- amzn.to/2JPQEaS
Gallon Dormant Oil -- amzn.to/35yEpY8
Quart Dormant Oil -- amzn.to/2MYiwuU
Quart Fruit Tree Spray -- amzn.to/3cva7Iq
Please Share, Like, Comment, and Subscribe!
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Our Oak Savanna Website ― mojoprairie.com
Thank you for watching Planet Mojo and have yourself a great day!
#Pruning
#TopWireCordon
#ColdHardy

[@PlanetMojo]

I hope I covered everything, but if you have any questions just put them in the comments below and I'll answer. You will find a lot more in the playlists (all links below in this post) as I comment on things while working in the vineyard in all of the videos. This year I plan to finish-up Row F, which includes finishing the end posts, pounding the line posts, pulling trellis wire with the spinning jenny, and planting/training vines. Here are all of the vineyard playlists so far. If you are looking for something you can go to the playlists and scroll through the titles and hopefully find what you need. Again, if you don't find it, just ask in the comments. Here they are: 2021 Playlist: kzbin.info/www/bejne/harRd6ednbN7iNE 2020 Playlist: kzbin.info/www/bejne/noq5d6GEjtCAbNU 2019 Playlist: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mpaaZZZni8idjrM 2018 Playlist: kzbin.info/www/bejne/o6qQnKmjg6yZbq8

[@HomeProHero]

I'm in year 2 and 3. Looking forward to some grapes this year! Your videos have help greatly. Thx! I'm pretty sure I have watched them all!

[@PlanetMojo]

@@HomeProHero Hi John, thanks for watching! What varieties are you growing? Not that it matters much - three year-old vines of any type should be producing, but some are just heavier producers than others. I would remove any fruit on the two year-olds though 😐

[@HomeProHero]

@@PlanetMojo I have 100 Catawba, 100 Chardnel both starting year 3. I also have 50 Noiret that are starting year 2 (these are really good and hardy!). I plan to plant 20 concord this spring from softwood cuttings I got last year so 2 rows of 10. Chardnel got hit pretty hard with the late frost last year lost maybe 15 but I have cuttings from last year to replace the dead ones.

[@PlanetMojo]

@@HomeProHero That's twice the size of my vineyard. It's going to be a lot of work, are you planning on doing all the work yourself? Are any of those varieties considered cold hardy?

[@HomeProHero]

@@PlanetMojo Yeah right now I plan to do it all. Its really a hobby for me I plan to make some wine and jam. I have 9 acres so its just part of the fun! I will give the rest of the harvest away :) Not sure if they are cold hardy or not. Bought them on Double A and they were selected based on my area although that Chardnel is difficult. Local winery removed all there Chardnel due to the poor performance over the years. I'm going to start phasing it out if it doesn't perform better this year. I'm in central Indiana so it doesn't get as cold/snowy like it does up there in WI. Used your spray plan last year with really good success - Thanks!

[@drue4574]

Pruning grape vines is quite involved! The better the pruning, the more productive the vine. Almost looks like a labor of love.

[@PlanetMojo]

It's actually quite relaxing if you're not in a rush and there's not a lot of people around. It's kind of like detective work. You decipher what went wrong (or right) last year, and figure out the best course of action to do better this year. All of the birds and other animals are busy setting up shop at the same time, and you get to see and hear them at the same time! 😊

[@drue4574]

That makes it sound very nice 😊

[@adenvet2830]

Hi Mojo, I imagine you had to do a fair amount of reading up and watched a lot of videos, and your progress shows up in the video how confident you've become, good job.

[@adenvet2830]

I meant to ask you if you investigated the guys cutting in the woods.

[@PlanetMojo]

Hi Larry. I've been reading about pruning grapes since before I had a vine. I've always been fascinated by them. Experience is the best teacher of all though. Make a few mistakes, correct them the next year, and sooner or later you are good at it. 😊

[@PlanetMojo]

@@adenvet2830 It was the neighbor up the hill and his brother-in-law collecting firewood. That land is owned by an association and held in conservancy (no taxes, but you can't cut the trees). The neighbor is not part of the association, but the brother-in-law is. I believe they can cut deadfall wood if they like. If they were felling trees it would be another story! Hopefully they did not see the stumps from the actual standing trees that the neighbor on the other side of us illegally cut last year. He went in there (trespassing) and cut down a massive oak (fell on our land) and a couple of other trees last year. We also caught him cutting trees in our woods and burning them - making room for his kid's trampoline of all things (which would have voided our insurance). We have caught him dumping construction waste on our land as well, so it's getting about time for a fence and some gates - stay tuned...

[@adenvet2830]

@@PlanetMojo that's pretty bad😮😮😮

[@PlanetMojo]

​@@adenvet2830 Yea, I know. The guy grew up not far from here, and I've heard him complain about the Amish trespassing, yet that's basically all he does. I guess it's projection 😉

[@coleyeomans5219]

Love the vineyard setup

[@PlanetMojo]

Thank you!

[@ericclaeyborn4673]

Thank you, for showing clearly, how to prune, and doing it with patience and with fine detail. Other teachers rush through their explanations, without showing exactly what they're doing with the camera, making the learning process very frustrating.

[@PlanetMojo]

You are welcome Eric! When I was learning, I found that very frustrating myself.😊

[@E-Sangiovanni]

THANK YOU - Now I finally understood. :)

[@PlanetMojo]

Glad it helped!

[@Artzenflowers]

Great video, I really appreciate you not wasting a bunch of time going on about Retando info. I’m excited to install my grape trellis! ❤

[@Artzenflowers]

Haha? Retando? No clue what that even means…the word I attempted to write : RANDOM.

[@Canabis_kid420]

I noticed you are using the same kind of metal post to hold up the wire as we are using on our petite pearl. I was curious about your method of tying the wire to those types of posts. The problem we are having is that the wire may come off the notches. It would be interesting to see your set up. I work as an assistant to the owner at a winery in central New York on Oneida lake.

[@PlanetMojo]

I'll be down there on Sunday pruning and I'll add it to the video. I'll be covering that a bit later in the spring when I do my new row, but it cant hurt to add it to a vlog video. Watch for the video early next week 😊

[@HoneybeePatriot]

Your attention to detail is absolutely amazing and really shines here in this video Mojo! What an amazing Vineyard you've grown in only 6yrs! I'm going to find the time to go back into your Channel and watch all of your Vineyard Videos! I started to ask for a recommendation for a few good books on starting a Vineyard but I believe I'll find everything I need right here on your amazing Channel! TY so much!! = ) -Suzie

[@PlanetMojo]

Thank you Suzie. The first year I ended up plucking the crop because of disease. We'll call that a 'learning year'. When you get closer to starting, ask me about row orientation and I'll do a video on it. The 'common knowledge' you will find on the internet is wrong. You can grow pretty much anything there I believe! 😁

[@hfricke2661]

10:30 I understand, that you like to prevent hidden basle buds growing. But I would be so afraid of damaging the cordon, by inwards drying into the cordon. So my fear would be that the water surply from roots to trunk in half way at cordons end, will be blocked/reduced, so that towards end growing spurs will not have enough liquids to let grapes or canes grow healthy. OBVIOUSLY I am wrong. woule you mind telling me, where I made the mistake in my thinking? Is it the time when cut is done? the age og wood where the injury is done? or that we dont need to fear codon damage, cause it will be replaced anyway every few years? THANK YOU very much for the so informative video and teachings done with it.Its great that you realy show each step so detailed with close up view.

[@PlanetMojo]

Hello H Fricke, I have never been asked this before, and have never seen it addressed elsewhere in any detail, so I do believe I will create a video on the subject. Thanks for the idea! In short: Shaving off the nodes like that will scar over well before any growth occurs on the cordon this year. The vine repairs the winter damage this time of year right before the growing season, but I don't think it would have much (or any) effect even if done during the growing season. The wound will 'bleed' for a little bit, then coagulate to seal-off water loss (looks like clear jelly). The jelly will eventually harden, and the wood will heal-up underneath that 'scab'. Everything that was just pruned will be dripping water for a couple of days, but that will stop, and all will be well 😊. You will get less bleeding if you prune in fall, but far more winter damage. Cold is the real enemy, not water loss. Good luck, and watch for the video you inspired on this subject!

[@hfricke2661]

@@PlanetMojo Thank you verry much for the quick answer and dealing with my German English. My few plants are now just in 3rd year and been planted in traditional non vine area - so your video is realy verry helpful to get an idear, where I wish to have the plants - if I am lucky - in few years. Take care and best wishes for a good season/excellent harvest ! Danke Schön :)

[@PlanetMojo]

@@hfricke2661 You are quite welcome! Two more things about the sap flow (bleeding). Try to make cuts that don't allow the flow of sap over any buds that will be used in the growing year as it may "drown" the bud causing it to not grow. I've heard this can happen but have never seen it. The last thing is that some of the latest research shows that vines may do better with a bit of sap loss. Apparently "it it can push out air bubbles in the xylem (embolisms) that form during the winter. These air bubbles have the potential to disrupt water flow in the xylem up to the shoots." - that quote is directly from a university article on the subject. Everything in moderation and your vines will be fine 😁

[@MrSensibleHistoric]

Brilliant

[@LittleRapGuy]

nice

[@PlanetMojo]

Thank you 😊

[@HomeProHero]

Nice job! How old is the vineyard?

[@PlanetMojo]

Thanks John! This is it's sixth year.

[@XXXston3wallXXX]

Thank you

[@PlanetMojo]

You're welcome!

[@51ubetcha]

I like the use of the multi tool. I will have to try that. What did you use to tie the cordons to the support wire? It almost looks like a twist tie but I have tried that before and it doesn't work that good.

[@PlanetMojo]

Hi 51ubetcha, yet the multitool worked great! I will switch to a small blade next time though, the one I had on there was extra wide. I tie the vines with Agriflex 4MM Green Tube and/or Prothec Ties. I get both from Orchard Valley Supply: orchardvalleysupply.com The Prothec Ties come in Tan, Green, Brown, and Black. The tan lasts about a year and the black is nearly permanent. The green and brown are in-between. They fall off and biodegrade after their life cycle. You can buy a tying tool for them but I just hand tie. Vineyards use them because they don't have to go back and take them off before they girdle the vine. The green noodle ties are very strong (but still flexible) and need to be removed at some point.

[@michaelmacmurdo7018]

Hello, Mike here. I'm thinking about starting a small backyard vineyard. I'm looking at Marquette vine since I'm located in Weymouth Massachusetts. To maximize my productivity, I was thinking to use a GDC trellis. I plan on spacing the vines at 6' and putting separate plants on each side, so there will be one vine with two trunks on each side of the GDC trellis. Do you think this is a good plan to increase grape production and to reduce risk of over cropping the vines?

[@PlanetMojo]

I think a GDC trellis would become a mess pretty quick with the high vigor of Marquette vines. The recommended trellis for Marquette is top wire, and I would stick with that. Six foot spacing is fine, but you'll need to be on top of things because you will get 20' suckers real quick with Marquette. .

[@gregory3123]

Like it

[@PlanetMojo]

Thanks Gregory!

[@gregory3123]

I'm enjoying it all

[@gregory3123]

Hv u put a white grape graft on a red grape stock

[@PlanetMojo]

I believe you can, but I don't do any grafting.

[@pattyprice2644]

Wow I wouldn't even know where to start putting I need to watch your videos I do have a question do you still need to prune even the cheap five dollars one you get at walmart

[@PlanetMojo]

The grape vines you find at big box stores are actually very hard to grow. They require more spraying and a more intensive trellising. There are much better vines available, but most are not available this year due to the vineyards in New York being shut down last year. 😑 But in the end, all grapes need to be pruned, and all grapes need to be sprayed - some are just easier than others 🍇

[@PlanetMojo]

Here are all of the vineyard playlists so far: 2021 Playlist: kzbin.info/www/bejne/harRd6ednbN7iNE 2020 Playlist: kzbin.info/www/bejne/noq5d6GEjtCAbNU 2019 Playlist: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mpaaZZZni8idjrM 2018 Playlist: kzbin.info/www/bejne/o6qQnKmjg6yZbq8

[@reggiem1668]

Hi. Does this info apply to trellising/pruning Concord grapes?

[@PlanetMojo]

No. Concord grapes have a completely different training system. Sorry...

[@bkershaccount]

How high are the 2 wires. Thanks.

[@PlanetMojo]

6' for the top wire and 3' for the catch wire