Starting a Vineyard Part 15 - Summer Prunning

Pruning vines during the summer is essential to keep the vine is good health, ensuring that the developing grapes have the best chance to give you great wine.
I have split this video into 3 parts
1. Keeping the vine neat and tidy - by maintaining a hedge like appearance.
2. Thinning the bunches of grapes and the lower leaves to expose them to the air and sunshine
3. Spraying the vines using an Air sprayer to keep the mildew to a minimum.
2022 has been an exceptionally hot and dry summer, so we are hoping that the roots are deep enough to extract water deeper down. Some vines are showing some distress but grapes are developing nicely and rain is now in the forecast for the next few days.
If you want to see my other channel that is completely unrelated to this one then you can do so on this link:
/ @talkingmoney5990
Music by : www.bensound.com

[@tachikomagrooves]

Super useful video series - I'm about to plant a 1 hectare vineyard in Serbia, and your videos are some of the best I found in order to help me knowing what I need to do. Please continue updating us!

[@TopRealtor333]

Hello again from America! Enjoying your videos throughly. Learning a ton, thanks for sharing

[@jon9]

Great video Tim - Nice to see an update on your vineyard! A few months back I was Georgia it is such an amazing place to learn just about anything about wine. I was told by turning over the soil along the vines or down the centre helps the vines get what they need. Its hard work but I did this on my few rows and you can you really see the difference.

[@mycountrylife810]

Hi Jonny Nice suggestion, thank you. We are looking at doing something to help them through these long dry hot summers.

[@trishmillson6410]

Clear lifesaving tips! More, please!.

[@alexanderdunlavey]

Super video. I was wondering the other week when you were going to post another video. Did I spy that you have planted up the other half of the vineyard? Keep up the good work and hope harvest goes well.

[@mycountrylife810]

You are quite right. We thought we should fill the rest of the field up with some more vines. We need some rain though...

[@alexanderdunlavey]

@@mycountrylife810 I bet conditions are seriously tough for all those in agriculture. Fingers crossed it happens this week.

[@eliaswarg6818]

Really good info. I have 6 Rondo vines in the middle of Sweden, that i want as much quality fruit from as possible :)

[@DJ-uk5mm]

I was waiting for this I’ve followed the whole series as I’m thinking of planting a small ‘vineyard patch’:-) interesting that you have a problem with mildew and fungus. I have one grapevine that I planted and it rambles in an eccentric fashion over my potting shed and garden wall. Every it provides me with hundreds of bunches of delightfully sweet grapes and I’ve never had a problem with fungus on them mildew however it is growing amongst large number of other plants in a mixed border. I wonder if the mildew and fungus occurs when you grow grapevines as a monocrop rather than under planting the vines with guilds of supporting perennials which may work symbiotically in the soil to prevent stress on the grapes and their flowers might attract beneficial insects too. Just a thought I know it’s not the traditional way but it might be worth experimenting on a small area

[@Nellyontheland]

Hey. I have just asked a question above that you might find interesting if its answered. How big?

[@mycountrylife810]

Hi there. You may well have a good point regarding monoculture. That said, certain vines especially the pure vitis vinifera cultivars like the Pinot Noir, Chadonnay and Bacchus varieties are much more susceptible to mildew infection than others. Even the growers in Germany suggest spraying these 6-8 times a year. The mildew itself initially comes from the ground and it could be that being in the relatively damp/humid UK climate, we may be a little more prone to fungal infections compared to drier climates.

[@stephenquirke9466]

Thank you. Excellent work.

[@jfelshaw]

That tying tool is pretty cool

[@michaellowry1888]

Hi there: thank you for the fantastic and amazing videos of your vineyard! I have learned a monumental amount and am planting my first three vines in containers hence why I was researching your journey starting a vineyard I had a question about how you manage your irrigation or watering systems as this was one area I know is very important and I am curious how you control the right watering Thank you so much and keep it going

[@JoaoCastro-qd9fm]

Great videos, I’ve started follow your channel just a few weeks ago, I already have a small ‘vineyard patch’ but I'm planning to get 1 more hectare, sharing your experience is really a good way to help and inspire more people, and at the same time learn from others. Keep sharing your experience and your good work.

[@JustinBellingerTV]

If you were to build a sturdy trolley, with big (but not too heavy) wheels, you could just walk it down the rows, and save your arms. If you could attach it to your tractor, it would be even easier - like the commercial tractor-based pruning devices you can buy if you have several hundred hectares of vines. I am positive your engineering skills could manage it! 🙂

[@paulchristianson8714]

most helpful and thanks for your videos... this year i started 50 vines here at my farmstead in western Montana. if they do well, then i may plant my 4 acre pasture. looking forward to seeing your harvest and winemaking!

[@mycountrylife810]

Hi Paul. That's great, hoping the 50 vines are doing well. 4 acres of vines will be amazing.

[@madslabviticulturescience9572]

Hi Tim. from all 15 videos, I hadn't find how you applying fertilizer and watering system. Please make a video with these topic. excuse me for my English

[@mycountrylife810]

Hi Tim. Yup, good point. Videos will follow....

[@andyhammond566]

Morning Tim. So, six weeks ago I had never really thought of creating a vineyard. However a holiday near Siena, when I watched all of your videos whilst sitting around the swimming pool, led me to consider starting such a project. Visits to vineyards in the local area prompted more research and a business plan, and as of this morning I'm waiting for quotes to plough and harrow a proportion of our south facing land. The difficult thing for me to assess is how much labour it actually takes to look after the vines. All of the big stuff like preparing the land, planting the vines, putting in trellises are relatively easy. So, for your 300 vines, how much of your time does it take up? I've really enjoyed following your journey and have fingers crossed for a great harvest this year!

[@paulphuong8351]

Great teaching Sir! May I ask where have you bought vines and how much have you paid for such qty? TKZ

[@time_and_tide]

Hi, I hope you are well and the rest of the year and harvest went well. I see you have planted some more vines, have you planted more Bacchus or did you choose other varieties this time? Looking forward to the next video All the best 🥂

[@charliecampbell2482]

Great video as always. I have been enjoying and watching all the series. I was just wondering if you would recommend any books or reading material on starting and managing a vineyard?

[@tomprice4533]

Hi Tim, I've really enjoyed stumbling across this series while researching material that might one day leading to me establishing my own vineyard. As luck would have it, i recognised the name of the contractor in your first video and i have managed to work out that i am just down the hill from you in Carey. Would it be cheeky of me to come up to yours one day to look around your operation and pick your brains about some of the challenges you've had?

[@npul69]

Hi Tim! Great video as always... I´m planning on planting a 3 Hectar wine and just planning it now. Videos are supper helpful. I just feel in love with your airsprayer! The ones I´ve seen seem to be monstruous compared to yours, could you let us know which one is it? Thanks and keep up the good work and great videos! Hi from Portugal

[@Shilly-Mcshillface]

Really good info in these videos, thanks. Would you ever have to irritagate the vineyard? Was wondering if that was ever a requirement with such a long dry summer as this

[@mycountrylife810]

Hi Bill You have read my mind and the answer is yes yes yes.....we need to irrigate. Can you believe that we have been doing this by hand for the vines that we planted this year as their roots are simply not deep enough to get the moisture. The older more established vines that you see in this video really need water even though they look ok (ie. green) and with hindsight we should have irrigated these too. Hopefully rain will come in the next few days, but if summers are going to be this hot and dry then we will have to have a rethink regarding irrigation.

[@Shilly-Mcshillface]

@@mycountrylife810 thanks for the reply, so I think I'll be irrigating my vineyard (goes in next march) for the first few years if the summers are like this..... better start planning for that, didn't really occur to me about the younger plants and the route depth, thanks.

[@monicamago384]

When do the grape wine start giving fruits.

[@jonathanholland9888]

Are you going to make a video for the harvest!?

[@Nellyontheland]

Might I ask you what you think is 'too small' a vineyard? My wife is hankering after one (for a long tome now) so do you think that 100 is an OK size? Thank you for your latest video it's helped us a lot.

[@mycountrylife810]

Hi there. 100 is perfect. Not too big but not too small. After a few years once the vines have become established, you will get a useful quantity of grapes. And with that quantity you can easily make the wine yourself with relatively little investment. Remember that each vine should produce upto about 2-3 bottles of wine.

[@Nellyontheland]

@@mycountrylife810 thank you. I shall pass this on. 👍

[@pedrofontes8494]

Hi what is the name and model of that sprayer

[@mycountrylife810]

Hi there. We use a variety of sprayers in the vineyard now. From hand sprayers to a petrol driven backpack sprayer (from ebay) and the tractor driven airspayer that is made by Berthoud.

[@r.j.phereough4864]

If I may ask, a bit off topic, how did the wine turn out last year? Okay, completely off topic. 😉

[@mycountrylife810]

Hi there. Volume was quite low given that the voices were still only 2 years old, bit the wine was quite a crisp dry wine with alcohol of 11%. Very palatable (it didn't last long!!). I'm not a very good wine taster but to me it was comparable to other Bacchus whites. Hoping for better volumes this year...

[@devenirpyro]

How did the harvest turn out this year?

[@mycountrylife810]

Hi there. Thank you for asking. Not bad at all. Wine is fermenting as I write. We did have a mildew problem that reduced our overall yield, but we'll hit it hard next year and hopefully reap the benefits. Video coming soon on it.....

[@devenirpyro]

@@mycountrylife810 sounds good! Can't wait and hope the wine will be tasty

[@hingamp]

any thing that you want to spray but wouldn't want to receive yourself cannot be a good thing.

[@francismarcelvos5831]

This way of growing grapes is outdated. Now the grapes grow in the shade of the leaves. During the year you top the leaves and the grapes still grow under the leaves. Because the grapevine is fed by the leaves, which you cut, the grapevine can only support a small amount of grapes. Because you cut most of the old branches that could grow leaves, the only leaves that are left are on the grape producing branches. If you use the old branches and lead them to grow UNDER the grapes and you take away most leaves from the grape producing branches, the grapes are in full sun, ripen fine and the area under the grapes have the leaves growing. The old branches also will produce grapes, but these you can cut. In essence, the grapevine wants to produce a lot of leaves and a lot of grapes. The amount of ripe grapes depends on YOUR policy. Everybody keeps to outdated pruning that keeps the grapevine small, the yield of grapes small and the rootsystem small. I get 30 kilo's ripe grapes from just one grapevine. You are glad if you get 5 kilo's of grapes per grapevine. Listen to the grapevine, don't listen to old fashioned wine makers. They repeat the mistakes of their fathers and grandfathers.

[@mycountrylife810]

Hi there. Very interesting. Does that method of pruning have a name and who uses it commerically. Although 30kg of grapes per vine sounds great, would this translate into 30kg of quality grapes? I suspect that this method may work better if the spacing between vines and rows is increased so that the leaves dangling down don't fall into shadow. But as I say very interesting and thank you for sharing.

[@francismarcelvos5831]

@@mycountrylife810 Tier pruning is invented by me. I am a biological gardener and I collected grapes from old vineyards in Israel of the Sauvignon type. Tierpruning is pruning is utilized by me by necessity as I have a shady garden. SPALIER pruning can be done like with fruit trees like peach. You keep the leaves on the old branches and lead them such that they don't shade the grapes. Three levels instead of just one. You only have to add two levels to existing vineyards. Now you bend over to harvest grapes at knee height but you add grapes on belly height and head height. There is so much space that is under utilized in a vineyard. Behind the rows of grapes, on the ground or above it. Just let the sun reach the grapes. One grapevine, if growth is unimpended, can cover a walnut tree. Just stop with the madness of keeping the vines small with just a few fruitbearing branches and growing grapes UINDER the canopy of leaves. The sky is the limit. I harvest my grapes up to the height of four meters. This year I harvested already in August. Ripe, sweet and everything. No spraying, letting birds eat the fruits that I cannot reach. No netting. Next year I hope to harvest 50 kilo of grapes. Your vines want to produce! LET THEM DO SO.