Several years ago I planted grapes on my site. I have been harvesting for three seasons, I even managed to make three liters of wine. The main secrets of growing grapes lie in proper pruning. I'll tell you how I cut it on my site in the middle climatic zone.
Why you need to prune grapes
Pruning is needed for all fruit plants. But for grapes, it is especially important. If everything is left to chance, then the bush will grow exponentially. You will forget about the harvest for the third season.
In addition, in our region, without rationing and shelter, it is unlikely that grapes will survive the winter. Therefore, I responsibly approach the formation of my bush.
The choice of the method of forming grapes
In the year of planting, I did not do any trimming. The lashes that had grown over the summer were simply laid on the ground for wintering and covered with spunbond.
In the next season, it was necessary to decide which approach to formation should be applied. The standard version was rejected right away, it is only suitable for warm regions. Stopped at the fan.
The fan pattern works best for growing in my area. The plant branches almost from the ground itself, it is easier to cover it for the winter. The main principle is to breed fruit shoots in different directions, directing them upward at an angle.
Trimming time
I only prune the grapes in the fall. In the spring, he has a strong sap flow. If you postpone the process until the spring, then the grapes may run out of juice. This directly affects the health of the bush and the harvest. In addition, cut molasses can cause disease or attract pests.
In the fall, I wait for the leaves to fall. The vine must be ripe before pruning. I check by simply bending the branches. If it crunches, then you can start.
The branches left behind must be the strongest and most ripe to survive our winter. It is more important to let the vine ripen than to be late with the pruning. Before the snow, I have time to do everything and bend the bush to the ground.
How to prune grapes
Bunches of grapes are formed on the shoots of the current year. If you leave a lot of last year's vines, then all the forces will go to the green mass. I leave for the next season four branches with a dozen buds-eyes on each.
In addition to four sleeves, from which fruiting shoots will grow next year, I leave four replacement knots. These are branches cut into two buds. Two shoots will grow out of them, which I will cut on the same principle for the next year.
That is, I cut in pairs - a sleeve and a replacement knot. The next year, a new pair of shoots is formed on the replacement knot, and so on. So I make sure that the bush does not grow, and the branches do not rise too high above the ground.
As a safety net, you can leave more branches when pruning. If one or two vines freeze, then there will be something to replace them. If everything is well winterized, then you will have to cut off the excess in the spring. But this must be done after sap flow. I have never had a case of grapes wintering poorly, so I gave up on spare sleeves.
I have followed my approach to pruning from the very beginning of growing grapes. And every year he thanks me with a bountiful harvest. The opposite example was the grapes from the neighbors. For the second planting season, they took off an excellent harvest and regretted cutting it. The bush is completely frozen.
Read also: Let's figure out whether it is worth leaving the polycarbonate greenhouse open in winter or not.
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