Grapes -- Varieties -- United States; Viticulture -- United States
The vines having been pruned and staked at planting, these operations
need no attention in the first summer. Many varieties send up several
shoots as growth starts, and, except in the case of grafted plants
and in the event of the suckers coming from the stock, these should be
left to feed the vine and help to establish a good root system. Vines
making a strong growth should be tied to the stake, at least the
strongest shoot, to keep the wind from whipping it about and to keep
the plants out of the way of the cultivator. The only knack in tying
is to keep the vine on the windward side of the stake, thus saving the
breaking of tying material.
The first year's pruning, though severe, is easily done. All but the
strongest cane are cut out and this is pruned back to two buds, nearly
to the ground, so that the vines are much as when set in the vineyard.
This pruning, and that of the next two years, has as the object the
establishment of a good root system and the production of a sturdy
trunk at the height at which the vine is to be headed. It is important
that the cane from which the trunk is to come be healthy and the wood
well ripened. Pruning may be done at any time after the leaves fall,
though most growers give preference to late winter. In cold climates
it is a good practice to plow up to the young vines for winter
protection, in which case the pruning should be done before plowing.
Every detail of vineyard management should be performed with care and
at the accepted time in this critical first year. Cultivation must be
intensive, insects and fungi must be warded off, mechanical injuries
avoided, vines that have refused to grow must be marked for discard,
and the vineyard be put down to a cover-crop in early August if it was
not earlier planted to some hoed catch-crop.
_The second year._
Work begins in the spring of the second year with the setting of
trellis posts on which one wire is put up. The vine is not yet ready
to train but the slender lath of the first season is not sufficient
support, and the one wire on the future trellis saves the expense of
staking. Tying requires some care and is usually done with string or
bast. As the summer proceeds, suckers from the roots are removed and
some growers thin the shoots on the young vine; some think it
necessary also to top the growth if it becomes too luxuriant and so
keep the cane within bounds. Suckers must be cut or broken off at the
points where they originate, otherwise several new ones may start from
the base of the old. If the vines are topped, it must be kept in mind
that summer pruning is weakening, and the tips of shoots should,
therefore, be taken when small, the object being to direct the growth
into those parts of the vine which are to become permanent.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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