How to prune grape vines?

If you pride yourself on your green fingers, attempting to grow grapes can be quite a rewarding experience. Many people refrain from grape growing activities because of the hassles that the pruning stages of the activity entails. However, with a bit of research and practice, pruning grape vines can be easily carried out and you can be rewarded with some of the best homemade wine imaginable! Read on.

The first steps

When to avoid pruning grape vines One of the first things to remember is that you should not prune growing vines of grape in the first year of their growth. This is the time of the formation of the juice and the gardener should make sure that the roots are not disturbed at this time. They should be allowed to grow deeper into the ground to ensure a sweet texture of the final wine. Pruning grape vines for the first time When you are pruning the vines for the first time, make sure that you leave out the branches and stems which are the strongest in the entire set of fruit bushes. Always take care to choose the months of winter for the first pruning session as the plants remain dormant during this period.

The next stages

Use solid strokes Once the initial period of caution has passed, you can now prune fruit vines with solid strokes. Make sure that the older vines are pruned in a stronger and more frequent manner. Remove excessive growth While pruning growing grape vines, remember to remove all forms of growth on the existing vines. This is because these are potential threats to the nutrients that the main vines should derive from the soil. The intake of these vital nutrients is imperative to enhance the sweetness that growing wine grapes require.

Some useful pointers

Tools There are a few points that you should keep in mind while pruning grapes, vines, and grape trees. Be careful in choosing the tools that you use. Make sure that the tools cause the least amount of damage to the buds on the plants by using specially designed pruning tools such as loppers and handsaws. Hand pruners can also be used to cut out the unwanted areas of growth on the stems. Final word After a few rounds of practice, you will be able to grasp the exact amounts of pruning required by your grapes. This when done accurately, can produce some of the best varieties of wine, made even sweeter by the fact that the entirety was completely your own handiwork!