Am I on track?

[Ricky2Guns]

This is one of my Thompson vines that seems to be out pacing the others ( not that the others are doing bad, they’re fine). I just want to stay a step ahead. My Thompsons are going into their second year in my backyard, I bought them about a foot tall. My PH is 7, my drip system is a 2gal per hr system set at 4am and 7am for 20 min each. My VSP is set at 36” and 60” high. I see a lot of suckers below and was wondering if its ok to prune them out now? Any advise on any of the above is appreciated as I am nowhere near knowledgeable in this area. I have been watching a ton of videos and going over reading materials.

 

[salcoco]

remove all the suckers up to the cordon split

 

[BigH]

Are you planning to take a crop this year?

 

[Ricky2Guns]

I’m not sure, from what I’ve read I should train it for the first 3yrs then look to have a crop. This is only my second year, so I doubt it. Wonder if I’m preparing correctly for a good crop.

 

[BigH]

Since you already have cordons, your goal is to produce good spurs for next year, while also supporting root growth with adequate vegetation. In addition to removing suckers, some shoot thinning is probably in order. Remove some of the weak shoots that emerged from base buds in among stronger shoots. Consider snipping the tip of your 2 strongest shoots in an effort to force energy to some of the weaker ones. An experienced grower on another forum is a big fan of that. Can't say that I have ever had much luck with it.

H

 

[Ricky2Guns]

Here is my before and after on suckers/shoot thining. You may notice that I left support shoots next to the ones I’m training. That’s because with the heavy El Paso winds I’m not sure the chosen ones will not get snapped by the 40mph+ winds.

 

[Ricky2Guns]

Here's an updated photo. It seems to be doing fine and a local Vineyard manager told me just let it grow wild and it will build the trunks/cordons for next year. Then I could let it fruit.