I think I properly messed up with the vine pruning over winter and staking last year so I'm looking for advice to put things right.
I have about 20 vines in two rows. They were supported by canes and string last year but I completely underesitmated the weight of the growth and the winds. They ended up all over the place by the end of the season. I removed the canes and pruned them in January but I think it got it wrong. I now have vines on a shortish trunk, with two branches at right angles, basically making a sort of Y shape. I now have proper stakes to put in this weekend so how would you train the branches? Continiue with the Y type shape of try get one longer vertical stem and one off to the right for example? They are gowing very quickly and I need to get things under control and set up properly for the future - all advice welcome.
Cheers!
It sounds like you have cut the leader and now you have two laterals. I would now treat those two laterals as leaders and train them horizontally where more fruiting laterals will spur off of them. Pinch some out if you get too many. Next year just tip your new leaders and take all the laterals off.
You will be basically cordoning them. But they should make plenty of fruit if fed well.
Thanks, that sounds more or less right although there seemed to be two leaders and I should have just left one. I think I can see what to do now for next year.
It sounds like you are going along the Double Guyot method of training grape vines - perfectly sensible if they are far enough apart: https://www.rhs.org.uk/Advice/Profile?PID=285
If it should be a Single Guyot system, then cut one shoot off - but be consistent!
Grapes fruit on current year's growth, which you then prune back in November when the sap has fallen. Therefore, it's hard to make a permanent error over one year - you just prune back at the end of the year to where you were 12 months previously.
I have a vine that has for 20 years flourished on the back wall of my house. Unfortunately it's a wine variety that doesn't like growing on walls so gets mildew without fail. I'm always going to build out a frame for it, but never get there. I should have replaced it 15 years ago ... :tongue3:
Thanks. I don't have the space so have gone for a bit of a hybrid solution but after training the new growth over the weekend it's worked out quite well.
(http://www.ectdemostore.net/graphics/vine.jpg)