Planting and training your grapevines

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Since posting my blogs on outdoor vine culture, I have had feedback from several members interested growing vines; recently, question have been about planting and growing in the first year. So,with the aid of some pictures and an illustration, I shall try to answer these questions.

It is easier than you may have thought: the aim in the first few years is to establish a good root system, and a framework that will produce your grapes for many years ahead.
Plant in late spring when all frosts have finished, in well prepared soil with a handful bonemeal mixed in, 5ft-6ft apart in a sunny position. Put in a 6ft cane and train ONE shoot (select the strongest shoot) and train it up the cane; any other shoots coming from the lower part of the vine can be cut off, leaving just one in reserve, cut back to two leaves, to use if the main shoot gets damaged, this is rare event, but I did have some of mine
eaten by a passing goat! Simply pinch-out any side-shoots (as we do with tomatoes) and train the shoot up the cane.

Methods of training:
There are many different ways of training vines; I find the easiest and most effective for garden growers in the UK is the “Double Guyot” replacement system.

Year one: train a single shoot up a cane, at leaf-fall in November, if the shoot in nut-brown, and about 7mm-8mm thick, this is a fruit-bearing rod, and should bent down horizontally, and tied to a wire.

Year two: in spring, the shoots from the horizontal rod, should be trained up supporting wires; in autumn after leaf-fall, prune-off most of the horizontal rod, leaving three strong rod near the main stem; bend down one each side, tie to wires, and cut the third one to three buds – the shoots from these will produce strong rods near the main stem for next seasons replacement training.

On my illustration below, you may find the text too small
to read, but drawing shows the shape you are aiming for.

• 14 Jul, 2015
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