Starting my backyard vineyard

[Michael Antle]

So I've got my 5 marquette bare roots ready to plant, but Im wondering about posts. Heres what soil reports for my community says:

"Olive gray, cemented, very stony sandy loam till, derived mostly grom gray slate. Well to moderately well drained, class 5-7."

Will pressure treated 6x6x10ft end posts, buried 3ft down be sufficient for 5 vines? I was also considering 36" mobile home anchors as well outside the posts for added tension.

 

[crushday]

IMHO, more than adequate. Maybe overkill...

 

[salcoco]

I would also add one rod to each plant. something like a tomato stake. I believe Home Depot had bamboo ones about 5- ft tall which would work best. use these poles to train trunk of grape plus assist in weight control

 

[BigH]

"... cemented, very stony sandy loam till"

Will pressure treated 6x6x10ft end posts, buried 3ft down be sufficient for 5 vines?

What kind of trellis are you growing these on? I think they will be more than adequate for 2 or 3 wires with no additional anchoring needed. Be sure to lean them outward.

H

 

[Michael Antle]

Going with a four arm kniffen system. Thanks for the tips so far, maybe I can do without the anchors?

 

[Masbustelo]

If space is not a problem, do the anchors. You only have two, correct? If it was me, I'd set them in Sacrete. Do it right once and you're good for years.

 

[Dennis Griffith]

Here's what I do. And I use the plastic coated rods for trunk training. I'll be setting some today for this years planting.



And I set the anchors in concrete.

 

[BigH]

Here's what I do.

Are those 4x4s? Hard to tell for sure from the pic

H

 

[BigH]

maybe I can do without the anchors?

For only 5 vines and with 6" round end posts, my opinion is that you could skip them, but it depends a lot on your soil. You can certainly get by without for 2 seasons since you won't have any crop load on the wire. You can always add them later if needed. It would be wise to leave room for them if you do need them.

You haven't talked about line posts. 5 vines spaced 8 ft apart would benefit from a vertical line post in the middle. This will further reduce the strain on the end posts. The line post does not need to be 6". 3-4" will do.

Trellis wires are typically tensioned to 200 lbs or so. That is 400 lbs pulling on your end post. 50 lbs of fruit will add to that. There is a geometric amplification of that 50 lb vertical load along the wire (which is why the line post is important). So maybe 500-1000 lbs of force pulling on your end post with a 6' lever arm. The 6" timber itself can bear that load no problem. The question is whether your dirt can keep the post in place when it only has a 3-4 foot lever fighting back.

PS 5 vines is a weird number. Consider 6.

H

 

[Dennis Griffith]

Are those 4x4s? Hard to tell for sure from the pic

H

Yes, 4x4s.

 

[Dennis Griffith]

The row pictured has 8 vines. I add 8' T posts as needed, but these 8 vine rows currently have one T post in the middle. I anchor the ends well so the T posts only need to support the weight. This is their 3rd year and I may let them fruit some, and some I'll not let fruit at all. It's all about trunk and roots at this point. And I keep the weeds away to eliminate competition.

 

[Michael Antle]

Thanks all. Great info! I have the vines and will be planting soon. They are sitting in a bucket with some water until I can get them in the ground, theyve already started growing new "green" (shoots?)

 

[Dennis Griffith]

Good luck. This has not been a banner year for grapes so far.

 

[dyueh]

You can't. The ground must be very light and shallow. On the other hand, you can't skip that soil. If it only has a very small layer of gravel or pebbles (which it probably does), you will need to higher the posts. I would suggest putting 8 posts 5 feet high each. After that, you can add a few more on top. One report has a link to a "Suitable Material" table for each soil type.

 

[Dennis Griffith]

Post height may be dependent on arbor type. Many of my vines are TWC and I have the fruiting wire at 66 inches.

 

[meridaen]

So I've got my 5 marquette bare roots ready to plant, but Im wondering about posts. Heres what soil reports for my community says:

"Olive gray, cemented, very stony sandy loam till, derived mostly grom gray slate. Well to moderately well drained, class 5-7."

Will pressure treated 6x6x10ft end posts, buried 3ft down be sufficient for 5 vines? I was also considering 36" mobile home anchors as well outside the posts for added tension.

For the love of all things holy I hope so, or I'm in some Barney Rubble with my vines!