Gartering grapes - methods, timing and other features

Why tie up grapes?

Grapes are a plant with a developed vine, which, as it grows, clings to natural or artificial supports, climbing upward. So, when growing grapes without support, the plant itself finds something to cling to and still begins to curl, but at the same time the yield decreases, and the bunches will be quite difficult to get (grapes can grow very high).

Knowing how to tie up grapes, you can form a beautiful, neat bush, set the vine in the right direction, and ensure the full development of shoots and buds. This procedure also has a positive effect on the development of the bunches, because by means of a garter you can arrange the bunches so that they receive a lot of sunlight.

Fan formation of a grape bush

Another significant benefit of gartering grapes is reducing the incidence of the bush, especially fungal diseases due to good ventilation of the above-ground part of the bush. And it becomes easier for insects to pollinate the plant, which significantly increases productivity.

Interesting!

Some varieties of grapes can grow and produce a harvest for about 100 years! And the older it is, the more harvest it brings.

Types of strengthening culture on supports

There are several types of garter vines. First, securing the woody sleeves. It is carried out as a fan or half-fan. Fastening begins on the first row of wire, then they try to maintain the angle at 45-60 degrees. Growing shoots are tied, depending on the size of the vineyard site, in one of the following ways:

1. vertically (not recommended)
2. vertically inclined
3. horizontally (best way)
4. arc, ring
5. figure eight

Let's figure out which method is the most effective.

A vertical garter is used to form a tall vine with long sleeves.

This method has several significant disadvantages:

1. It is difficult to secure the lashes without breaking the dry twigs.
2. The eyes located on the lower, bare part of the stem develop weaker, and often do not wake up at all. Only a few top buds grow well, the yield is significantly reduced.
3. Old branches are lengthening.
4. Covering a vineyard tied vertically becomes problematic.

The shoots tied vertically with an inclination at the base develop intensively, the upper part of the bush is somewhat retarded in growth. When the vines are secured with an arc or a ring, the quality of nutrition and lighting of parts of the grapevine decreases, the bunches ripen unevenly, and their quality is worse. The crop is tied in a figure eight shape to prevent grape bunches from beating during strong gusts of wind. In this case, the fastening material passes between the grapevine and the wire.

An excellent way to strengthen the vine is horizontal tying, in which all parts of the vine are fed evenly.

When is the garter performed?

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Gartering of the crop begins in early spring, after the winter shelter of the bush has opened. When the juices begin to flow, the vine becomes flexible, but does not lose strength - this is the best time for gartering. But by the time the buds open, all work must be completed, because the young sprouts are very fragile and can simply break off as they are tied up.

Despite the fact that in the spring the main work on tying is done, in the summer it will also be necessary to tie up the young vine that has just appeared, so that it does not interfere with the development of the bush and the ripening of the bunches.

Why and for what purpose do you need to attach the vine and when is the best time to do it?

Place of attachment of grapes to the trellis

After winter, grapes especially need care; they need support for development and growth. That is why gardeners tie up the crop. The first time the garter is done is in early spring, when the branches are still young and weak and need reliable support.

The final stage must be carried out when the kidneys appear. If the summer resident remembers about the crop too late, then the plant can ultimately be damaged, which will lead to a minimal grape harvest.

Proper care ensures the strength and health of the bush and the possibility of receiving a sufficient amount of sunlight. It is from the sun that grapes receive useful substances for their progressive development.

Methods for gartering grapes

Photo of dry horizontal grape garter

There are two main methods for tying grapes - dry and green. The garter is carried out on a trellis, trellis, or net for plants. The support can also be an arch, a gazebo, fences such as a fence, or a wall. In any case, each gardener is free to choose the type of support himself, the main thing is that the procedure itself is carried out correctly, then the type of support will not play a big role.

• Dry garter is called so for the reason that the work is carried out with dry, last year’s vine, which has not yet woken up after winter. Done in early spring. The shoots are arranged strictly vertically or in a fan method. The sleeves of the plant (woody branches) are bent and attached to the lower wire row of the support. All flexible shoots are fixed on the second tier of the support at an angle of 45-60 degrees.

Important!

Dry gartering of grapes is done only after sanitary, spring pruning of the crop.

Knots for gartering grapes

• Green garter is carried out in the summer, when young pagons, 30-40 cm long, are watered. The young vine is attached vertically at a slight slope so that good lighting is maintained. Such a garter is carried out every time the vine reaches the upper edge of the support. Over the summer, you may need 3-4 such garters or just one - it depends on the grape variety (growth strength).

The garter is made with flexible wire, wide tape or strong rope. It is important that in strong winds it does not tear or break! Since a vineyard that falls from its support in summer can suppress all the ripening berries!

Advantages and disadvantages of growing without tying

Growing grapes without a garter does not mean the plant grows freely, as in the wild. On the contrary, you need to take care of it more carefully and be sure to trim it.

Instead of trellises, you need to install a horizontal bar or cross and throw the shoots over it without tying them.

Standard and fan bushes with vines of different lengths are grown without supports. In the southern regions, spreading crops are grown in this way. On trunks up to 40 centimeters high, the branches are cut short. Annual shoots are tied in bunches to give the bushes a bowl shape. Grape arches are formed from neighboring bushes.

The advantages of this method are that the bushes are easy to form and there is no need to build complex structures.

Disadvantage of the method of growing grapes without garter:

• suitable only for low and medium-growing varieties;
• Harvesting on plantations cannot be done using machinery;
• the bushes are thickening;
• the risk of fungal development increases;
• The productivity of the bushes decreases.

Growing without garter is rarely practiced in industrial vineyards. Over a large area, bushes without supports are often located without a system. In a garden plot, with careful care, you can grow 3-4 bushes in this way.

Garter of grapes on a trellis

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The simplest method of growing grapes is to mount them on a trellis. The trellis has many advantages over other types of supports.

• Saves space on the site;
• Easy to use;
• Can be made from inexpensive, readily available materials;
• Simplifies care and harvesting;
• Provides good ventilation and illumination of bushes;
• The berries receive more sunlight and heat, so they ripen faster and have a more pleasant taste.

Garter of grapes on a trellis

The trellis has only one drawback - for the winter the vine must be removed from the trellis, bent to the ground and covered, otherwise it may freeze.

Interesting!

To better fix the vine and not rub against the wire in strong winds, it is advisable to use a figure-of-eight type garter - the material is passed between the shoot and the wire, so that the vine is securely fastened, but does not rub against the support itself.

To grow grapes, two types of trellises are used - single-plane and double-plane. The most popular option is a single-plane trellis. Its bottom row is at a height of 40-50 cm, and all subsequent rows are at 30-40 cm. It can be T-shaped, with a visor, an increase to accommodate more vines. A two-plane trellis consists of 2 simple trellises installed side by side or connected at an angle in the shape of the letter V. It can accommodate more vines or plant two bushes side by side. Such an inclined trellis is convenient because it provides better illumination of the plant and grapes, but removing the bush for the winter will be more difficult.

Well, now about how to tie grapes to a trellis.

Photo of a dry fan garter grape bush

1. After opening the shelter, the branches of the grapes are placed on the sunny side. It is advisable that all branches are located on one side, this will simplify the care and removal of the vine for the winter.
2. You should not twist or bend the shoots too much when gartering. The vine bends smoothly so that it does not break.
3. Green shoots are tied at the base or in the middle of the branch, but not at the upper internode!
4. The woody vine is attached horizontally, and the young one – vertically, at an angle of 45-60 degrees.
5. No more than 2 shoots are allowed in one bunch.
6. The vine must be secured firmly, but without over-tightening it. In a crushed vine, metabolic processes are disrupted, and this entails a decrease in the nutrition of the entire bush.

Important!

With a strictly vertical arrangement of shoots, the lower eyes develop poorly, and the fruiting links are exposed at the base.

Features of placement of young and adult plants

How to properly tie young grapes to a support in the spring? Young seedlings, one to two years old, are tied to small metal or wooden pegs using scraps of fabric or strips of film.

You can also use a trellis made of a special mesh. In this case, thin high supports are installed on which a mesh with large cells is attached. The vine will climb up this grid as it grows. But this option is not very good, since the vine can intertwine the mesh. As a result, when you install a permanent trellis, it may be difficult to remove it from the same mesh.

Adult bushes that have reached a large size are attached more carefully.

How to properly tie bushes to a trellis:

• The long sleeves of the vine are attached to the wire at an angle of approximately 45-60 degrees.
• Replacement shoots are tied to the lowest wire.
• The vine is wrapped around the wire and secured with soft twine.
• Branches that could not be secured at this angle are tied slightly tilted.

Old bushes are tied at right angles; grapes cannot be tied vertically. You need to act carefully, since the branches of old plants are quite brittle.

Features of grape garter

The garter of a young bush and an adult one has certain differences.

How to tie a grapevine

• Young bushes. Annual seedlings are usually tied simply to pegs. When they grow 30 cm, you can install a trellis or trellis net. The garter is done very carefully. A young vine can slip out of a weak garter, and the buds and bark are damaged. So the fastening is done tightly and for this it is recommended to use a wide cloth or similar material that will not dig into the young branches.
• Adult plants are tied to a reliable, high support. Usually a trellis or similar structure is taken, at least 2 meters high. Woody, perennial vines are tied to the bottom row, and young vines are attached to the top rows. To tie up woody shoots, you can use wire, and for young shoots, wide ribbons.

When to strengthen crop stems

The best time to start establishing the vine is in early spring. At this time, the lashes are flexible, plastic, since the growing season is just beginning. You can carefully, without damaging the integrity of the branch, and without fear of breaking off the buds that are beginning to develop, attach the stems to the support. After the buds have blossomed, the process is not recommended, since the buds are delicate and can be easily damaged.

When the buds have bloomed, work can be resumed again and carried out until harvest. Let's figure out how to properly tie grapes without worsening the living conditions of the bush.

Grapes without garter

Thanks to the garter in spring and summer, grape care and harvesting are simplified. And it is much easier for a plant to produce a crop if the pagons grow in a certain direction and do not interfere with each other. However, you can grow grapes without a garter. After opening the winter insulation, the vineyard can simply be placed on natural support, without garter, and it will continue to develop as it pleases. For the winter, it is again removed from its support and covered on the ground with agrofibre or other insulating material. The method of growing without staking is usually used when growing grapes on fences and similar supports.

Grape garter is an important part of plant care, although you can do without it if you wish. And yet, professional winegrowers grow grapes only with a garter to a trellis or other support. A correctly carried out procedure can improve the development of the plant, increase productivity, and also improve the health of the crop.

Is it possible to grow without support?

There are gardeners who claim that grapes can grow well and bear tasty and juicy fruits without garter. This is clearly a fallacy. In any case, the plant needs support, or the bush simply will not be able to grow, receive the necessary vitamins from the environment and bear fruit.

It is possible to grow grapes with minimal garter, although this method is less effective than the above-listed variations of garter with trellis. With this type of care, only one metal support is used, with the upper and lower corners attached, through which the bush is thrown. Gardeners throw a growing bush over the top corner in the spring, and in winter they lay the bush through the bottom corner on the ground.

Common Mistakes

Errors when tying up grape vines in the spring most often occur among winegrowers who do not have practical skills. Experienced gardeners perform all manipulations easily, almost with their eyes closed. Beginners make mistakes more often due to lack of practical skills and doubts. First of all, they attach the vine that has survived the cold winter to the trellis using fishing line or rigid wire, which provokes a slow movement of the sap, weakening and death of the vine.

The second common mistake is that gardeners attach grape shoots to a support or constructed trellis in a strictly vertical position. In this case, the yield and weight of the formed brushes are noticeably reduced.

The third common case is attaching branches to the upper tips. After a certain time, the growth of such a grape shoot is directed to the side, and the nearby internodes simply dry out.

Another common case of making mistakes is strong bending or bending of the vine. Gardeners, one might say, make arcs or rings out of it. As a result of such actions, the paths through which nutrients reach the plant are compressed, and the grape bush begins to starve.

All of the listed mistakes must be taken into account not only by beginners, but also by experienced winegrowers, in order to avoid them on their site during all manipulations. After all, it is on the correctness of the garter that not only the yield of the grape bush, but also its general condition largely depends.

If you want to harvest a plentiful, beautiful and tasty harvest of healthy berries, then you should take some time to study the theoretical material on gartering grapes and apply the acquired knowledge in practice. You must act carefully so as not to harm the plant or injure it during basic procedures. The grapes will definitely thank you for your care with a generous harvest.

Useful tips

Beginner winegrowers may find the following tips useful:

1. Do not use fishing line or thin rope when gartering. The best options are scraps of fabric, polyethylene, nylon tights or natural materials: soaked kenaf, willow shoots. In exceptional cases, wire may be used to secure the main vine.
2. To ensure that the vine is fixed more firmly and does not rub against the trellis, it is recommended to use a figure eight garter, passing material between the shoot and the wire.
3. The use of a garter rope and special tools for viticulture will significantly simplify the work of a novice gardener and turn it into an exciting activity.

Video: How and how to tie a grapevine

Tying up shoots is the main activity in caring for grapes. This procedure allows you to regulate the growth and direction of the vine, maintain it in a healthy condition and obtain good yields. In addition, a trellis braided with emerald greenery creates a pleasant shadow and decorates the area.

Other types of design

Depending on the design, trellises can be of various types. Before you start building a support, you need to study all these types.

Columnar

This is the simplest type of support structure for grapes. It consists of several posts, between which a wire or metal cable is stretched horizontally.

It is easy to make such a trellis for grapes with your own hands, even without special diagrams. It is necessary to dig holes at least 60 cm deep. Install support pillars in them, fill the holes with clay and compact them thoroughly. You can fill it with concrete to make the resulting structure even more durable.

Then the wire is stretched between the pillars. It is stretched horizontally in several rows with intervals between them of about 50 cm.

A columnar trellis can be single-plane or double-plane. In the first case, the columns are installed in one row, and in the second - in two, with intervals of 60-120 cm between them.

Half-arch

The made support for grapes has a curved top, reminiscent of a canopy. A shadow is created under it, so a bench or even a small table can be placed under this structure. However, in this case, the shadow is obtained only on one side, which is why you will have to either use portable outdoor furniture or select a different type of trellis.

Semi-arched support structures are suitable for cases where the area for planting grapes is small. In this case, the grape bushes are planted in one row. Moreover, a summer resident can grow several varieties of grapes at once, with different ripening times. But they need to be planted in groups, not mixed together.

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Arch

This is a fairly common do-it-yourself trellis for grapes. The advantage of this design is that with its help you can get a fairly large shaded area. And under it you can place not only country furniture, but even a car.

Arched trellises require quite a lot of space. Many people prefer to build a structure right at the entrance to the yard, thereby creating an impromptu garage for the summer.

In this case, the grapes are planted in two rows. You can plant different varieties on each side without fear that the variety will be spoiled during self-pollination.

Arched structures look quite beautiful, but making them yourself can be problematic. Moreover, this requires quite a lot of materials. In addition, in the future the process of pruning old grape shoots may become difficult.

Pergola

This is a type of arched trellis. Suitable for vigorous hybrids that do not have enough space on single-plane or double-plane trellises.

This design has the following advantages:

• Each leaf is well illuminated by the sun, which ensures normal photosynthesis.
• The clusters sag freely and do not come into contact with the vine. This not only prevents the development of fungal infections, but also facilitates the process of harvesting grapes.
• Bushes are easy to treat with special compounds. Usually it is enough to cover only the lower part of the bushes with antifungal drugs.

Pergolas are made from metal or wood. But the classic option is a metal structure. It consists of several arches connected to each other by a lattice ceiling.

Pergola supports are made from metal pipes with a diameter of 50-80 mm. Their height above ground level should be 2-2.2 m. And the crossbars are made from pipes with a diameter of up to 30 mm. To create the grating, reinforcement with a diameter of 12-18 mm is used.

Pergola for grapes

It is necessary to dig holes 50-60 cm deep into which support pillars will be installed. They can be fixed with concrete, due to which the resulting structure will be more reliable. Then the crossbars are welded and the sheathing is made.

Grape bushes are planted in rows - on two or all four sides. This design looks beautiful and will fit into any summer cottage.

Common mistakes when tying grapes

1. The most common mistake beginners make is tying the vine in a vertical position.
2. Often fishing line or wire is used as garter material. This is incorrect, since both materials cut the bark on the stem and are therefore unacceptable for the procedure.
3. It is also considered a mistake to place the main vine in one direction if there are many stems (four or more). In order for the plant to develop well, you need to divide the branches in half and turn them in different directions.
4. Attaching the wire to the pole is a very important point. If it is not held firmly, the entire structure will wobble in the wind or even fall apart. To prevent this from happening and to ensure that the wire is placed under the required tension, it is secured with lanyards.

Types of trellises

Gardeners install different types of trellis devices on their plots. The choice depends on the varietal characteristics of the grape bushes, the number of plants grown, and financial capabilities. The type of planting is taken into account: in rows or individually in bushes.

Single-plane trellis

Due to its cheapness and simplicity, this design is used on sites more often than others. The green mass of the bush is evenly attached to a single plane.

The height of the outer pillars is 200-230 cm, intermediate distances are 3-4 meters. Horizontal rows of wire are stretched between the pillars (supports). The thickness of the crossbars should be at least 3-4 mm.

On a note!

It is recommended to provide devices for tensioning the wire if suddenly the tier begins to sag under the weight of the shoots

The distance between each row of wire is from 40 to 50 cm.

Advantages of a single-plane design:

• simplifies the care of grape bushes;
• low cost of materials for trellises;
• ensuring better ventilation, good illumination of plantings;
• Other crops are grown between the vines.

Such designs are suitable for those who are just mastering the art of cultivating grapes and have not yet delved into all the intricacies of agricultural technology.

Flaws:

• not suitable for cultivating vigorous grape varieties;
• a large area on the site is required.

If there are no grape varieties with a complex bush shape, then this type of trellis is perfect for growing.

Two-plane trellis

In small areas where every square meter of space is saved, it is rational to grow grape bushes on trellises with two planes.

The structures are supports, the upper part of which is raised at a certain angle. The lower part is combined.

The distance between the upper parts of the supports is one and a half meters. When using such structures, the distance between rows in plantings is increased, making it at least 4-5 meters.

On a note!

In addition to the V-shaped rack, trellises with two parallel supports are equipped.

Advantages of a two-plane trellis support:

• allows you to cultivate bushes with a large number of sleeves;
• high crop productivity is achieved;
• the bunches on such supports are reliably protected from burns from UV rays.

Flaws:

• high costs of materials, which leads to higher construction costs;
• It is difficult to care for bushes from inside the trellis.

A two-plane trellis is suitable for small vineyards.

Which material to choose?

The garter material for grapes is selected competently and responsibly, otherwise there is a risk of damaging the plant. To tie a branch to a support, use strips of soft fabric; twine or thick wire will also work. In no case should you use fishing line or thin steel wire, which can injure the plant, as a result of which the sap flow processes are disrupted and the branches may die.

The fixation of the shoots is done loosely so that during their growth there is no squeezing. Rigid fastening is used only during green gartering, since new shoots develop more slowly and easily break under the influence of a gust of wind.

Vertical poles for supports are made of wood or metal. Tiers of horizontal bars for gartering grapes are made of galvanized metal wire, the thickness of which ranges from 1.8 to 2.4 mm. Wooden supports are preferably made of oak, poplar, alder or mulberry. These rocks are less susceptible to rotting than others and last much longer.

What is a trellis and how to install it correctly

What is a trellis? This is a structure of two pillars dug in at a distance of 3 m from one another and a wire stretched between them. The wire is stretched in several tiers. The first one should be located above the ground at a height of 40 cm. The others are located at the same distance from one another. There can be 4-5 tiers in total, forming a kind of lattice.

First, the stems are trimmed and those damaged by frost are removed. Next are perennial branches on the first tier. They are placed in a fan or semi-fan pattern. On the second tier shoots are fixed. They can be placed horizontally, tilted at an angle, but in no case should a vertical tie be used.

Tip #2. If you place the stems vertically, the yield of the bush will deteriorate, since due to this position only the upper buds on the shoots wake up, and the rest, if they wake up, will be very weak.

The emerging green shoots are tied to the third and fourth tiers of the trellis. Moreover, young shoots are tied up so that they are in a horizontal position or arranged in an arc. Thanks to this, even a strong wind will not break them. Very rarely the stems are tied with a ring or arc. Because of this, they develop unevenly, which significantly reduces the amount of harvest.