Pruning Concord Grapes

[jvs]

Since this is the time of year for it and I need to do it, I Googled how to prune my Concord Grapes and I thought I would share it with the forum.   Courtesy of   eHow.com

How to Prune Concord Grapevines
By Susan Landis-Steward, eHow Contributor

Prune Concord GrapevinesConcord grapes are a popular grape for the home grower as they can be used both as a table grape or pressed to make juice. It is the most widely planted grape east of the Rockies and is very hardy.
Knowing how to prune your grapes is the secret to getting lots of grapes. Vines must be pruned severely and methodically for the best yield. Without pruning, grapes can quickly become tangled messes with very little fruit.

Instructions:  [size=78%]You'll Need small Pruning Shears[/size]

1.  Prune in late winter when the vines are dormant. Do not prune during periods of severe frost or after the sap starts to rise. Only prune last year's growth as grapes grow on the current growth from last year's wood.

2.  Find the old wood. It is easily recognizable because it is coarse. From the tip of the new growth, follow the vine back until you reach the coarser bark.

3.  From the old growth, come forward four or five buds and cut the vine with the pruning shears.

4.  Prune again in the spring. After the new leaves are fully developed in the spring, you can prune again. Remove all the weak or thin shoots, leaving only the strongest.

5.  Prune again in summer. After the vines have fruited, prune shoots back to the third or fourth leaf. Leave the shoots that have grapes on them. Cut out new growth and remove leaves that are shading growing fruit clusters so that the fruit gets as much sun as possible while growing.


Sponsored Links

Read more: How to Prune Concord Grapevines | eHow.com   http://www.ehow.com/how_5081630_prune-concord-grapevines.html#ixzz1l3ruXmH7

[longwinters]

JVS, 
 
That is the most helpful info i've seen on pruning grapes.  I started mine 2 years ago and could never find info that made the pruning process as clear as what you've posted.  Course I've already pruned mine but didn't really understand the thing about the buds.....so I got the "prune severly" part down, not so sure about "methodically".
 
Long
 
 

[jvs]

Long,

Maybe you should run those directions through your printer for reference.  I like keeping that sort of stuff on floppy's or flash.

I am just about two or three years ahead of you so my vines really need pruning but I never looked it up until today.  I hit them lightly last spring, but all that did was promote alot of new growth.  They really took off during the growing season.  I bet I had over 150 clumps of grapes last year.  And the vines were only 3 1/2 yrs old at the time.


Seems like Concord Grapes can take a beatin' when it comes to pruning throughout the year.  I wonder if all grapes can take that sort of motion.

Now I wish I had put more thought into the supports I installed for the vines.  If I had to do it all over again now, I would have the grapes growing overhead, horizontally.   

It is recommended that grapes be supported so that they basically grow overhead.

[longwinters]

We had some 4" diameter clothes line posts (tee shaped) and concreted in.  I took 12 ga single coated wire, doubled it and twisted into one piece.  Then ran it between the posts.  The wire runs horizontal not verticle which probably isnt the way to go and I may change it this year.  It is about 5' high.  The biggest thing is that the neighbor has bushes along my fenceline that are about 10 ft tall.  The grapes are next to that monstrocity, so they get direct sunlight from day break til about 4pm.  If they don't produce well, I'll take them out.  But pole beans sure grew great there a few years ago so maybe it'll be ok.
 
Long 
 
 

[jvs]

I should have been more specific when I said 'horizontal'.


The suggested way to grow grapes is to have 2 supports on one side and 2 supports spaced away from the first two and a structure between them so the grapes grow across the top structure.  More like an upside down 'U', only straight across.  You'd know it if you saw it.  (4 )  4x4x8's for support on the corners, spaced at 8 ft.   And a Structure spanning the gap between supports on top so the vines crawl across the top and the grapes hang down.





      __GRAPES____
      I                      I  v          ^
      I                      I  i            |
      I                      I  n          6 ft
      I                      I  e           |
      I      < 8ft >     I  s           v
 

[keith44]

All the books I have read say that the grapes will not get enough sun if grown that way.  The fruit will be shaded on three sides unless you can keep it pruned enough to let alot of sun in

[reliquary]

 
Regardless of how you train the vines, you'll have to spend a lot of time pruning off new growth.  That opens up the vines so that sunlight gets in. 
 
I used some salvage T-shaped clothesline poles, and have three horizontal wires; one on each end and one in the middle of the T.  The main vine grows back and forth across them.  This is for a 10-year-old muscadine. 
 
Most of my grapes grow on a drill pipe/homemade crossbar/whatever wire I could scavenge rig.  By the end of the year, almost all that's left is cluster-bearing growth and that makes the pruning easier and simpler.  I've found that Concords are very forgiving and will give good fruit even to folks that don't go "by the book." 
 
I have two that run on a chainlink fence and are mostly vertically oriented as the books show for an ideal, and they don't do any better than the horizontal rigs.  I trim off unwanted clusters, anyway, and limit the output for at least 3-4 years until the vines get reaaly well established.
 
 

[jvs]

Whenever I'm driving around I got into the practice of looking in peoples backyards to check out the size of their gardens.  I also notice any grape vines.  I do see alot of the structures that I posted and I always wondered if I should have done it that way. 


I just have three 4x4 uprights with 5 wires strung between them horizontally  and the vines planted between the uprights. 


I guess I should be happy I got what I have and take care of it the way it is.  Hearing from you guys helps too.  I do see the necessity of pruning enough to let the sun in and that having a structure like I posted as not being the best way to get at the vines for the deed.

[jvs]

It was a pretty nice day today so I got the small pruning shears out and tackled those concord vines.  If anything else, they look nicer with the haircut.

[keith44]

and with a little luck they will thank you with lots of berries later in the season

[reliquary]

 
jvs:  Relax.  What you've got is great.  I've toured several professional vineyards and even they don't all do it the same. 
 
As I said, Concords are very forgiving.  The piece of land I own and live on, I maintain fairly well, with relatively well organized vines, trees, and bushes.   
 
But the original homestead is still in the family and about 25 acres are open enough for planting things.  Several of us have brought in rootings and cuttings, from flowers to fruits, from all over the country, and just set them out to live or die. 
 
About every five or six years, someone will get energetic and go trim & prune, but mostly we've just let nature take its course, and use it as a communal "go see what you can pick if you want it" place.  I found where a blue muscadine vine had run on the ground and from shrub to shrub, taking root wherever it wanted to, covering probably 1000 sq ft, and bearing faithfully. 
 
The thing we call the Mustang grape here in Texas will also grow almost anywhere and bears a usable grape; tough skin, not very sweet, but prolific. 
 
If it ain't fun, and takes too much work, it ain't real gardening.

[jvs]

I'm not hot wired about it, I wanted to be right or I wouldn't have looked up the correct way of pruning those vines and shared it with  those who didn't know either.

[keith44]

just a man tending his garden 

[reliquary]

 
I grew up on a red-dirt farm in the 50s, where we grew lots of things in order to have enough to eat.  It never was fun back then. 
 
Now, I garden for relaxation and fun, and just to have a head start when/if TSHTF.  The fact that I get a few extras out of it...just makes it more fun.