Pruning Grapes

Making wine using grapes that have been grown has been an enjoyed tradition for a very long time and all through the years of our history. With a large amount of dedication and hard work, numerous vineyards and backyard gardens alike have proved to be excellent places for planting, growing, pruning grapes, harvesting, fermenting, bottling and aging them. These vines will continuously need to be weeded, treated for pests, and pruned to ensure that you are able to benefit from a great harvest, which can ultimately take as long as three years for the production of the grapes that you will need. This is a time that you will need to pay special attention and devote time to the proper maintenance of pruning grapes. This simply involves cutting the necessary amount of growth that will help encourage more growth of the vine. It is possible to train the vines to maintain a specific size, productivity level and shape but it can take several years for this to be achieved.

As the vines begin to grow, you will want to allow the growth to form out of one strong shoot that will need to be tied to the trellis vertically, and the rest that begin to grow out of the roots will need to be cut away in the process that is called pruning grapes. As the next dormant time begins you will want to begin developing the arms of the grapevine. Taking two shoots on each end that are to be tied horizontally onto the trellis can achieve this and it will then serve as the arms or a base where the fruit can grow.

Once you have achieved the basic shape you will want to continue the process of pruning. This is the important process that can be done during the dormant period. Making sure to continue doing this important task during the dormant periods and all throughout the entire life of the grapevine is a very critical aspect to achieving successful grape production. 

Pruning grapes will greatly depend on the specific type of grapes that are growing on the vine. Many of the hybrid varieties are much hardier plants and they are much more capable of resisting disease. They also with generally produce a lot less foliage than the European varieties in grapevines. Pruning annually will help a great deal in removing the spurs or fruiting canes from the previous years growing. New canes that are healthy will have to be produced each year because the fruit will only produce on the shoots that grow from the one year old canes. You will find that you can easily manipulate the crop production by varying with the specific amounts you prune back. Creating too much foliage can end up disastrous, as it will provide a canopy like shade area for the fruits and this is not a very good environment for them to ripen in. Your main goal during the pruning process is to make sure that you do not damage the plant with the tools that you will be using such as hand pruners, loppers, or handsaws. These types of equipment can cause damage very easily.

The extra amount of time that you spend in becoming educated on the proper process of pruning grapes can end up resulting in a plentiful and healthy crop that you will be able to enjoy for a long time to come.