Our Organic Garden In The Middle Of The City

It rained, and enough to wet the ground, yet a friend ten miles away didn't get a drop. The weather is cold but very wintery for us in So Cal. And there was time to trim the grapes this last weekend.

Grape pruning for an arbor that produces table grapes is different than wine grapes and for grapes trained in a vineyard for table grapes. The first thing is to train the base grape vine to reach the top of the arbor. The vines need to grow above on the trellis support. Once this accomplished, two years at least, you can train them to grow above with the bunches of grapes hanging down, giving a stunning visual effect for the summer when they begin to ripen.

An arbor for grapes that allows people to sit under is a real delight. To reach up and taste the sweet abundant treat from where you stand is a wonderful experience at our backyard barbecues. Because of our arbor, two friends decided on the same thing. And why not? Grapes are very easy to grow here and pretty much anywhere save for the extreme north.


 This is our sitting area beneath part of the arbor. It's winter and still a comfortable place to sit. On the edge beneath the arbor are assorted guavas. The grape vines shade the guavas from damaging sun of summer yet gives plenty of light when the weather cools and the sun's rays aren't as strong, perfect for guavas.

Pruning can be done at anytime even after the vines begin to leaf out, but I wouldn't wait much longer once you see the buds begin to turn green. I prefer to do it before that happens and yet keep the vines on through most of the winter. For us, February is a good time to prune.

First look at the vine's growth from last year and choose the best candidate for this year's crop. A vine that is sturdy and going in the right direction. You want a vine going right and another going left. Count ten to nine nodes from where the new vine comes out from the original old vine. That will give you double the new growth or twenty to eighteen new vines. Cut everything else off and tie it near the center of your trellis so that it can grow in both directions.

Before

After

  Notice in the after photo where last year's vine comes off the original older vine. All others are cut off and next year, we'll choose one vine from this last year's vine to continue. Grapes will only fruit from new growth. So every year you need to severely prune in this manner.

Finished product

Once you have completed the pruning it should look like the photo above. With one vine going right and one left for each grape plant. We have four different varieties.

At each node along the saved vine will sprout new growth and with it, the grapes you'll harvest in summer. Once you see growth begin at the nodes spray with a mineral oil solution. We use, All Seasons, Horticultural & Dormant Spray Oil. It comes with an adapter for your hose to dilute the mineral oil. This will keep the tender leaves safe from pests and you'll want to spray about once a month at least. When the new growth is about six inches long, spray with an organic liquid copper fungicide to keep leaf mold from hitting your grapes. It only needs to be done once when the growth is new and tender, unless you live an a wet climate.

Now take all the vines you cut off and cut them up to save for your summer barbecues to smoke meats and fish. It is wonderful to use and you won't go back to hickory chips or any other wood for smoking once you tried grape cuttings.