Spur Pruning Part 2.

So once you have developed spurs how do you prune them once they are established?

Letting spurs produce only two shoots has the advantages of making regulating fruit easier, preventing overcrowding of growth, producing stronger canes and making pruning easier.

In this way the pruning couldn't be easier you simply cut away the cane furthest away from the cordon (branch or arm if you prefer) then prune the lowest cane to two or three buds to produce the fruit and two canes for next year.

Cane Pruning.

The Regent vine has made a lot of growth this year. With such a large  number of canes to choose from only two or three well placed canes are needed to produce next years crop.

Here most of last years growth has been pruned away leaving these three canes (there is one cane behind the trellis).

A huge difference I think you'll agree. Since the shoots can't be trained in opposite directions because of space limitations they are trained in the same direction making tying in and growth positioning even more important during the next growing season.

Spur Pruning Part 1.

Although there are many grape training methods practised world wide the actual pruning under each method involves just two tecniques, cane or spur pruning.

The first thing to understand when pruning any vine under whatever system is that you are going to prune most of this years growth away, 90%-95% so don't be too timid with pruning.

Let's start with spur pruning. Here is an unpruned vine that I want to train as a four armed cordon. Last year canes were placed in position and fruit was produced on the upright shoots.

Now the same vine after pruning with shooots retained at around 9 inch (22cm) spacings and pruned down to two buds to make well spaced spurs. (The two longer shoots at one end are so the arms (cordons) can be extended at that end while being reduced at the other end where the Merzling grape vine will need more space.)

Next year each spur will produce two new shoots and a potential four grape clusters, two on each shoot. At pruning this time next year one shoot will be cut away with the remaining shoot pruned to two buds. Repeat this indefinately.

Wood Ripening.

Once the grapes are harvested that doesn't mean the season is over. Far from it, proper post harvest ripening of the following years wood is important for next seasons fruit.

Here is a Phoenix branch, or cordon, showing well spaced canes that are ripening their wood nicely. Although these canes will be reduced to spurs in the coming winter pruning the vine is locking down for winter in good condition.

Winemaking Day.

Yesterday was winemaking day. The grapes are bought together for this year's white wine blend.

The grapes are whizzed in the food processor to break the skins then placed in the press.

The press is a good stainless steel one that does a pretty good job extracting the grape juice. The container you see holds ten litres so I estimate we have got around six liters of wine. enough for about eight bottles.

Sugar was added to bring the potential alcohol to about 12% by volume. A wine yeast was added also. Fermentation should be complete within ten days or so and the wine will be bottled, stored and begin being drunk around the time of next year's harvest.

Dornfelder Not.

I bought two vines labled as Dornfelder two years ago with the intention of replacing the Brant vine with Dornfelder.

But this plainly is not a Dornfelder - it's a white grape!

Of course it's a huge disappointment and one that has left a problem. Do I keep the unknown grape variety or replace it with true Dornfelder loosing the last two years and waiting another two or three years for fruiting to begin.

What a decision!

Brant - The End Of The Line

Because a blackbird found a way under the net that was protecting the Brant grapes I'm left with no grapes as it has eaten them all.

So now is the point when the vine has to be chopped down.

All that is left now is a stump. The stump will try to push shoots in the spring so they will still have to be dealt with.