Lydia’s Vineyard (CT)

[Snafflebit]

Grow tubes are useful to protect young vines from a cold snap and protect the scion from foraging animals. If you had hundreds of vines to manage the labor would be exhausting so the vines need to take care of themselves. In that regard the tubes also help a little with training.
After one year’s growth the vine can be pruned back in the spring to two buds. It depend on if you had a lot of spindly growth, pruning that off is advisable. Those two buds will grow like lightning into proper thickness canes. I would put the grow tube back on to keep rabbits away from this new growth.
That’s my opinion.

 

[Wineisgud]

Our daughter Lydia was born 4/16 at 2:30am!!!

Over the moon this past week/freaking out being a new dad. I know it will be trying to find the time this season to focus on the vines and hops but my wife is supportive and it’s my therapy out here and I hope my little girl will love being out here tending on them over the years. I will check back with a new update and photos of the progress in a few weeks. It’s cold tonight so I’m hoping they don’t get too damaged. Planning my first mancozeb treatment tomorrow morning. I also purchased captan. Still need insecticide and sulfur. Anyways thank you all for the helpful info I really appreciate it!

 

[Wineisgud]

Off to a nice start here. Each vine has reached the first 30” fruiting wire. Some are further along so I installed the second fruiting wire at 38”. I used 12g wire with wire strainers. I’m working out the kinks on installing the catch wires. I’ll be using some chain, 14g wire, jakes wire tighteners, and some hook nails. Not sure if I want to put one fixed wire at the top for this season just to be able to tie them up. Well hope everyone has a great summer! Cheers

 

[Obbnw]

Off to a nice start here. Each vine has reached the first 30” fruiting wire. Some are further along so I installed the second fruiting wire at 38”. I used 12g wire with wire strainers. I’m working out the kinks on installing the catch wires. I’ll be using some chain, 14g wire, jakes wire tighteners, and some hook nails. Not sure if I want to put one fixed wire at the top for this season just to be able to tie them up. Well hope everyone has a great summer! Cheers
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They will grow fast. I was shocked at how fast mine filled in. Nothing better than sitting out back and watching the vines grow. Good luck with the vines and congratulations on the baby.

 

[Wineisgud]

@Obbnw thank you! I can’t wait to see these fill in! When I see how fast the hops grow it makes everything else look in slow motion. Hahaha

 

[Wineisgud]

So here I drew a little image of a couple options I have been tossing around in my brain as to what’s next for this first year of the vines.

Figure 1: running a temporary fixed wire at the top of the trellis to continue upward growth using twine.
Figure 2: pinching/topping the vine around the fruiting wires to push laterals
Figure 3: allow the existing growth to reach a length above the fruiting wires then tie them down


I could just get on with the catch wires installation. I can’t decide what to do here.

 

[Wineisgud]

Ok guys I’m back with an update on Lyd’s vineyard. After my last post I continued to keep up a spray regimen. I let everything grow, either tying up to a stake to reach high or with vigorous growth tying to down the fruiting wires in both directions.

idk how to make the photo straight! This was taken august 4 2021 so we had some more growth put on after this. I’m gearing up to do my pruning before spring. I’ll take some new pictures of them before and after their first pruning. I’m doing VSP flat cane pruning. I’m excited to see the vines take shape this year. If anyone has any pruning advice before I get started I’m all ears!

 

[sour_grapes]

Here ya go:

 

[Wineisgud]

@sour_grapes Haha thanks! sometimes they upload sideways sometimes they don’t and I don’t know why

 

[mbrssmd]

Welcome. I found the attached, available on the website of a Virginia-based consultant, to be helpful when my now 6 year old vines were young. They've grown fast, but nowhere near as quickly as my kids did. Enjoy your days.

 

[Wineisgud]

Nervous about my first pruning lol here’s some of the different levels of growth

 

[Ct Winemaker]

Welcome. I found the attached, available on the website of a Virginia-based consultant, to be helpful when my now 6 year old vines were young. They've grown fast, but nowhere near as quickly as my kids did. Enjoy your days.

Just took a look at this “manual” I would have found this very useful during the first couple of years with our vineyard. It’s the simplest and most straight forward explanation I have seen yet.

 

[Wineisgud]

I pruned last weekend and I did the catch wires yesterday. My hands are pretty sore but it’s looking great!

 

[ChuckD]

I pruned last weekend and I did the catch wires yesterday. My hands are pretty sore but it’s looking great!
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Looks great. So it looks like you are doing three pairs of wires about 6” apart? What is the vertical spacing?

 

[Wineisgud]

@ChuckD i ended up doing 2 fruiting wires at 30”/38” and eventually have 2 trunks to have 4 fruiting canes in double guyot. Then two sets of catch wires about 14”/15” spacing.

 

[Wineisgud]

A few photos from last summer and this winter pruning. Looking forward to the 3rd growing season!