One day I had such a question, how to properly tie grapes in spring and whether the garter affects yield. My father planted and looked after grapes on our site. For the winter he dug it, in the spring he dug it and tied it up. All the grapes were curling along the trellis and everything seemed to be fine. I did not delve into this process. I took part only in the "eating" of ripe grapes :)). And the story of the appearance of one of the grape varieties on my site is quite funny. She explains my interest in garter and grape care.
Rather, I had, rather, was at the cottage at the fence an abandoned, overgrown with grass piece of land. I decided to ennoble him once in the fall, in September. Imagine my surprise when in the tall grass I found a bunch of large grapes lying on the ground. Several berries on the brush that came into contact with the ground were damaged. It turned out that the vine is twisting on the ground, which I could not see because of the weeds. Harvested grass and ate ripe grapes. Tasty, dark pink, large, although the growth conditions of this bush of grapes could not be called comfortable.
I still don’t know how the grapes got there. I guess he was planted by his father. Not only this fact was safely forgotten, as well as the landing site. But there’s nobody to ask about it already ...
I decided to trim this vine so that next spring I could tie it to the trellis. I did so. Harvest next year was, of course, more.
In the photo below, next year's harvest on a vine randomly found in the grass after a garter.
Nevertheless, I began to look for information about the garter of grapes. I intuitively felt that there were certain rules, the knowledge of which could not be avoided.
So it turned out that I had made mistakes out of ignorance. Below you will find information on how to avoid them.
Grapes Garter Methods
What is a garter for? Firstly, it gives stability to bushes, branches (sleeves) and shoots to avoid breakage from the wind. Secondly, it keeps the crop in a certain tier above the soil, which keeps the clusters from contact with the soil.
The purpose of the garter is one - the correct location of the vines on the trellis.
Experienced growers note two types of garter:
- Garter of ripened (lignified) shoots or dry garter.
- Garter of this year’s vegetative (young) shoots or green garter.
Dry vertical garter
The photo you see above was taken to show signs of oidium grape disease. And I published it in this article, because it illustrates well the dry vertical garter.
With a dry garter, lignified overwintered shoots are strengthened in a certain position. This method of garter necessarily takes into account the polarity of the shoots. What does it mean? If you tie last year's shoots vertically, only the upper eyes will develop on them. This is because, in the vertical position of the shoot, nutrients will mainly come only to the upper kidneys (eyes). From the lower eyes, shoots either will not appear at all, or, if they do, they will be weak, there will be no fruit brushes on them. That is, in other words, with a vertical garter, the vine (sleeve) will lengthen, and the lower part of the bush will remain bare. The fertile zone of such shoots (tied up vertically) will be small.
But this does not mean at all that this is a method of garter that is flawed for the grape bush. This method is used in the formation of boles. In this case, you can’t do without a vertical garter. It is also effective for non-trimmed grapes.
Arc-shaped horizontal dry garter
With this garter, after bending the branches, the strongest young shoots will form, on which fruit brushes will be tied. This garter method is used for vigorous varieties. Fruit brushes with this method of garter are evenly distributed along the entire length of the vine.
Please note that for undersized grape varieties this method of garter is not used. For them, the shoots are tied up at an angle of 45º, that is, obliquely. A garter at an angle of 45 ° is good because not all eyes will wake up. That is, less work will be spent by the wine grower on the need to ration the bush with shoots and crops. In addition, it was noted that when garter perennial vines at an angle of 45 ° increases the sugar content of berries compared with bushes, vines which are tied up vertically.
Long lignified branches are tied horizontally in several places. Pay attention to the ends of the branches. Tie them especially firmly so that they do not slide along the wire at the garter and are not damaged under the weight of the grapes.
When placing vines on a trellis, the shoots horizontally develop evenly. If the vine is located vertically, then the upper shoots overtake the lower ones, and adjustment is required, for example, increasing the load, tweezing (pinching) the ends of the shoots, early chasing, etc.
Green Garter Grapes
Gartering of green shoots is a very important event, since you need not only to tie up the shoots, but also to perform the final normalization of the bush by shoots. But the question of the number of escapes on the trellis is another topic. While we will not affect her.
A green garter is applied to the shoots of the current year, when they reach a length of 30-40 cm, that is, they grow above the next (second, third) trellis wire. This is an important operation that prevents the debris of juicy shoots. At this time, they are very fragile. And ahead is pouring grape brushes. Without garter shoots will not be able to hold heavy hands.
Spread the shoots evenly on the trellis, but not closer than 3-5 cm to each other. Follow the rule - do not connect the shoots with each other, do not cross them. This can lead to shedding of ovaries, shredding of berries.
The first green garter is usually carried out when ovaries (future brushes) have already appeared on young shoots. A young shoot is fixed on the trellis under the ovary.
Simultaneously with the first garter, inspect the shoot and adjust the number of brushes, leaving, as a rule, 2 of the best. Weak brushes break out.
A green garter is carried out 2-3 times per season.
The second garter of green shoots is carried out 20-30 days after the first, when their length will increase 2 times and reach a length of 70-80 cm.
If your trellis has several rows of stretched wire, then the long shoots can not be tied, but stretched, wrapping the wire around the green branches. This method will save you a lot of time.
Why garter if grapes have a mustache
Yes, I had such a question when searching for information about the garter. After all, a mustache helps the grapes to gain a foothold on the trellis. I remembered one episode.
Not far from the place where I live now, in Soviet times there was a Vinsovkhoz (and maybe this farm is functioning now, I don’t know). Huge fields of vineyards were at this state farm. Once I went to a fair where this farm sold grape seedlings. A ripe bunch hung next to each seedling so that customers could see firsthand what to expect from a particular variety. I literally walked around the fair with my mouth open. It was possible not only to try the variety you liked, but also to get expert advice on care and cultivation in the conditions of the Kuban. That year I just arrived in the Kuban. She didn’t really know what and how to do in the garden and vegetable garden, and didn’t even think about what to do with grapes in the country - this was what my father was doing.
So, having listened to the specialist’s answers to the questions of growing grapes, I heard that one of the visitors to the fair asked why a garter is needed if grape shoots throw out a mustache, which attaches to the trellis.
He replied that when growing technical grape varieties (from which wine is made), the mustache is not removed, they serve as an attachment of the shoot to the wire. And in berry varieties, shoots must be tied up, therefore, mustaches are not needed. For such grapes, the mustache has more harm than good:
- Very often, the mustache of one shoot intertwines with the mustache of the neighboring shoot (this is not dangerous, but this is unnecessary work, since the shoots in this case are not self-fixed as necessary).
- The mustache wraps itself around the shoot, crushes it and the nutrition of such a vine deteriorates.
- The mustache clings to its own escape and does not allow it to grow normally.
- Weaves with a neighboring shoot and does not allow it to grow normally.
In general, I want to say that it is easier to remove the antennae than to solve these minor problems later. But sometimes I don’t remove the mustache, if they do not interfere with the growth of the shoot.
Garter Timing
Garter of non-covering grape varieties is carried out in early spring before the sap flow begins. Try to complete this operation before the kidneys swell. If you are late with a garter, it is difficult to avoid damage to the kidneys, that is, part of the crop will be lost.
Covering grape varieties are tied up immediately after removing the bushes from the shelter.
Rules for the formation of grapes by type of fan
With this method of forming a bush of grapes, the lignified parts are tied evenly to the first and second trellis wires from below. The branches try to arrange obliquely and horizontally, trying to avoid the vertical direction of the shoots.
Remember, above, I noted that I made mistakes due to ignorance in the garter. In spring I chose a fan arrangement of branches of a grape bush. But out of ignorance, I tied some branches vertically. It seemed to me that it would be better for grapes. It is not right. Harvest could be bigger ...
Some more garter rules:
- Grape branches when garter should not intersect.
- Do not tie together several vines, that is, there should not be bundles of branches when they are garter. This rule will avoid the shade of green shoots, crowding and thickening.
- Tie the shoots with a figure eight. The twine is first wrapped around the wire, then twisted, and then the vine is wrapped with twine. This method is reliable, while on the vine does not form constrictions that impede sap flow.
It seems that I briefly highlighted the basic rules for the garter of grapes. I think that for beginner growers it is important to know how to properly tie grapes in spring.