Grape Trellis Use & Guide
If you are serious about growing grapes for wine making, or just in the game for fun you will likely need to know a bit about a trellis and how to set it up to make your grapes grow well. It does not matter if you are looking to setup a sizeable vineyard or just grow some grapes in your backyard, you will benefit if you implement the tips that follow.
As grape vines are not self supporting it is vital that some sort of support is provided to allow them to grow in such a way that they don't end up as a rotting mess on the ground. This is where a trellis comes in. A trellis will play a vital role in the development of your grape crops.
A trellis can be made out of a variety of materials ranging from iron, stainless steel, pre-treated wood, PVC pipe and aluminum. Using such a variety of materials lends itself to allowing a trellis to come in an assortment of shapes and sizes to suit the individual needs of the grower. Your trellis can be strictly functional as would be the case in a large scale vineyard, or decorative if in your yard at home, the choice is yours. You have the choice to purchase ready made trellises or a simple functional design can be constructed by hand if you are the handyman type or one to save money.
Before constructing a trellis you will need to give some thought to what your local weather conditions are like. If you are in a warmer climate you are able to select a taller trellis. On the other hand you need to go with a shorter trellis if in a cooler climate, the reason being that with a shorter trellis the vines will have a better chance of coping with winter weather and it will be easier to prepare the grapevine for the winter season. For larger trellises I suggest a post of about eight feet while shorter trellises could use posts that are around three feet high. Just remember to construct the trellis before you plant the vines, not the other way around.
Before you start going crazy and digging holes everywhere for your trellis you need to plan just where it will go and how deep the holes need to be. Once you have carefully considered the layout dig your first hole to a depth of about two feet. The taller eight foot poles will of course stick out six feet. To make sure the posts are in a steady footing I suggest cementing the post into the ground. You are in this for the long run. It will be several years before you will see that first crop. You want to make sure the trellis is going to be around for sometime. Another way to secure the posts is to use catch wires anchored to the ground or some other much shorter post set in the ground along side your main post. Space your posts at a distance of eight feet. Between the posts you will need to run two rows of galvanized steel. The first row runs along the bottom of the posts around three inches off the ground. With the second wire you should run it across the top of the posts. Get yourself a staple gun to staple the wires in place.
For large scale vineyards the self construction route is more cost effective. For smaller crops of grapes you could explore the option of purchasing the trellis. It will cost more than doing it yourself but will save you time and effort. If purchasing once again it takes careful planning so that you can measure correctly and only order what you need.
When you are putting in all the hard work setting up the trellis just imagine how it will look in a few years. You will have rows and rows of healthy grapes just waiting to be picked and turned into wine. Before that happens you have to plant the vines and then help them get established on the trellis. You need to tie the vines to the trellis using string. As mentioned in another article you are more likely to damage the young shoots if using wire.
Hope you found this useful. Happy trellis building. Go ahead and check out the other articles about grape growing for wine making.