Pruning grapes in the fall for beginners is not an easy task, but everything is much simpler than it seems. Having mastered the art of proper pruning, you can, starting in the fall, provide the grape bush with the necessary vitality, remove excess shoots that pull strength from the vine. A well-groomed vineyard pleases us not only with ripe liquid tassels with the advent of autumn, but is a real decoration of the garden, summer cottage. Beginner growers have many questions, but pruning is perhaps the most difficult technique for them to care for young and old bushes.
If the grapes are planted in order to obtain a crop, then the overgrown branches need to be pruned in a timely manner, otherwise the berries will be too small. But if you overdo it too much with this process, the bush may become ill or not survive the winter. It is important to maintain balance, let's look at all the nuances that will help a beginner grower. When is it best to prune grapes in autumn or spring? The answer will be this: in spring and autumn. But now our conversation on the topic: grape pruning rules in the fall.
Why cut grapes in autumn
Objectives:
- removal of excess shoots in the bush;
- determination of the number of flower buds;
- determination of the number of vines ordinary and fruit;
- normalization of the ratio of resources of the root system and the ground part of the bush;
- shaping the bush.
First you need to determine the age of the grape bush. Young (2-5 years old) specimens undergo formative pruning in the second year of life. Annual saplings can be neatly tied to a support without shortening the shoots. If the bush began to bear fruit, then it is pruned not only to give shape, but also in order to obtain high-quality clusters. When the bushes are already old, the main goal is to extend the fruiting period.
Scheme:
Good results are obtained by cutting the shoot by one third of its total length - the plant does not suffer, an accurate form is maintained, and proper development is ensured. Make sure that the thickness of the branches is approximately the same - this nuance sets the shape of the vine. Too curved, drying out, overly thin or very thick branches should be cut. Sometimes even the kidneys are subject to removal, this is done to ensure an even load on the branches in the future.
Pruning grapes for winter for dummies contains one tricky nuance - removing branches on one side of the main vine. This method will help you increase the number of clusters in the coming year. If you make the formation of a bush randomly, from different sides, the yield will decrease significantly.
If your bush is already 3 years old, then pruning should already be aimed at increasing fruiting. At this time, each developed vine has a replacement shoot - it forms in the spring, when the lower vine is cut into two buds.
This shoot is in close proximity to the roots, and the fruit branch, in turn, is at the end of the vine. To increase productivity, the fruiting branch should be removed until the replacement shoot itself - this will start the renewal process: the lower vine will be divided into two buds, a new replacement shoot, a new fruit branch will appear. With the onset of the next spring-summer season, an update will take place so that the process is harmonious, this autumn should be repeated this action.
The counting of the kidneys is from below, photo:
Autumn pruning of grapes, implying a standard formation, is simpler. If you live in a region where winters are cold enough, grape bushes should be well protected from frost.Thus, only dried branches are removed in the fall, the bush is provided with natural protection so that it can survive the cold season. In this case, the main pruning is done in the spring.
What to do with grapes in autumn
If you join this process for the first time, carry out it in stages, then you will be sure that you have saved the necessary vines for the next year. The first stage is done when the crop is already harvested, and the foliage has turned yellow. Inspect the fruiting links, remove the weak branches that did not have (or there were very few) brushes. After the foliage completely falls off, soak for a couple of weeks - make the main pruning (described above), while the air temperature should not be lower than -3 ° С. When pruning young bushes, leave from 3 to 8 vines - they will give the harvest next year.
Even the most neglected perennial bushes can be “reanimated”, made to bear fruit efficiently. Proper pruning helps to increase the number of clusters, makes the berries larger, tastier, reduces the ripening time of the crop, and facilitates access to brushes (optimizes the grape harvesting process).
If you are a beginner winegrower, a tense wire technique will make it easier for you to trim, it is done this way:
- Drive long pegs along the edges of the ridge with grape bushes or on the sides of a separately growing bush. Pull the first wire (or fishing line) 50 cm from the ground, and the second - 30 cm above the first.
- In early September, cut young branches on perennial vines - those that have already grown to the first wire.
- Those branches that have grown to the second wire or even outgrown it, need to be cut exactly to the 10th part of the total length, and also remove all unnecessary lateral processes (stepsons).
- When the entire foliage falls (around mid-October), visually identify the strongest shoots growing at the level of the upper and lower wires.
- Formation of a replacement knot - the lowest shoot growing from the outer part of the vine is cut so that two or three eyes remain. The peephole is a lot of kidneys; it seems to unite them in itself.
- The formation of the fruit arrow is on the same vine, but on the other hand, slightly higher than the lower shoot, select another shoot, cut it so that 7-12 eyes remain.
Eye of the vine, photo:
Pruning in the fall is a kind of “cleaning” of the rows, during which the most powerful, promising trunks, as well as vines with buds, remain. With the advent of summer, they will give new fruitful shoots, give sweet, large clusters of grapes. Next, carefully remove the branches from the supporting trellises, lay them in the direction of the vine, fix and cover with suitable covering material.
Young bush, photo:
Experienced gardeners and growers are advised to leave about 8-12 buds on the fruit shoot, three to four buds on the replacement knot. Thus, you will insure the bush if it is too cold winter (freezing), and also in the spring you can select the best branches with good inflorescences.
If you live in a cold region, the very first kidneys may not bear fruit, since their development time will fall in June, when it is still pretty cool.
The so-called middle inflorescences are tied between 1 and 6 buds, and the largest - between 7 and 15. Large ones form by mid-summer, when the weather is warm, sunny days come.
How to prune grapes
- it is better that the cut places are located on the inside of the branches - so they will heal faster;
- Use a sharp tool (knife, clippers, pruner) to work. A dull or rough cut interferes with normal sap flow - this affects the volume of the crop;
- when removing annual vines, hemp should not remain;
- to properly remove the top (roughly speaking - useless) shoot, you need to go deep into the ground by about 10-15 cm;
- if you leave a peephole on an annual vine, the length of the tip cut off above the peephole should be 1 cm.
All of the above actions may seem complicated if this is done for the first time. In fact, this process is simple, having passed it at least once, soon you will be able to tell nuances to beginners yourself. Skillful pruning will not only provide you with large bulk brushes of grapes, but also help to green the arbor, fence or wall of the house.
Grape pruning in the fall for beginners is an instructive, useful agrotechnical event aimed at obtaining a quality crop, prolonging the fruiting of bushes, and ensuring proper care for the appearance of the site.