A Trellis for Grapevine Growth
Growing grapes successfully means learning all you can about the best practices in grape vine growing. One essential item to think about is what your vines will climb upon; one of the best structures is a trellis. You should know that left to their own devices grape vines will climb fences, walls and trees. Trellises are very useful in grape vine growth for many different reasons. These manufactured pieces can be made of metal, wood or bamboo and have interwoven pieces that offer support to growing vines and later their fruit.
A trellis is very versatile, you can purchase one readymade or build your own and they can be either practical or ornamental. Vines need something that will support them and hold them off the ground; a grape vine for example has no sturdy trunk to support it. Trellises offer this support to your grape vines. If you are handy with woodworking and only want a few vines you might choose to design and build your own trellis, but pre-made trellises are just as good.
Whether you are buying or building a trellis, you need to be aware of how to choose the right ones. You see if you live in a colder area with a shorter growing season your grape vines are not going to grow very tall, therefore, you will require a shorter trellis. Of course, if you live in a warmer clime with a long growing season the opposite will be true. You can figure on about eight foot high trellises in climates that are extremely warm and about three feet for colder areas. Other than height, trellises for both climates are installed very much the same, somewhat like building a fence.
The first thing you should know about trellis systems is they need to be in the ground before you start growing grapes. You can do it the other way around, but the process of weaving the vines around the trellis is time consuming and difficult. Set your posts about two inches into the ground and either drive them or set them in concrete. You will want about 20 feet between the posts. After your poles are in the ground, and incidentally they can be metal, stainless steel or wood construction, you want to run mesh wire from one post to the next. The bottom of your mesh should be about three inches above the soil. If you want to use the best wire, mesh choose a 12 gauge galvanized steel construction.
Trellis systems can be placed practically anywhere, your front yard or the acres of ground you have out back. The important thing to remember is placement; they need a lot of sunlight and air movement. When you place trellises incorrectly, say near a tree grove that blocks airflow, you will have to deal with common growing diseases.
As your grape vines begin to grow you should use a light string to tie them to the trellis. Grape vines are not exactly intelligent and will not instinctively follow your trellis system; you will need to guide them along the way.
About the Author
Nathan Jones is the owner of Grape Growing School and co-wrote this article with grape growing expert Patrick Beaufort. Please visit http://www.grapegrowingschool.com for more growing grapes trellis tips as well as free grape growing information.
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