Fruits & Nuts - Grape
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  (February) I moved into a new house last year, and it has grape vines along a back trellis. I saw a cluster or two of grapes last summer, but we spent our time getting moved in, so I basically ignored the yard. I would like to know how and when to prune the grape vines, and what other care they might need.

  Grapes should be pruned annually in February. Since you probably don't know how old the plants are, you will need to judge the severity of pruning by the vigor of the plants. With table grapes, we count buds when pruning. Count buds on the arms or branches that fan out from the main trunk. Older, well established and vigorous plants can have up to a total of 60 buds left on them, while young plants may have only ten total buds remaining after pruning. You may think you are killing the plants by how much you are taking off, but keep in mind that each bud can produce one or two clusters of grapes. If you leave too many buds, the plant may not be able to support them all, and the resulting grapes may ripen one grape at a time. Many grape vines also require a thorough spray program to combat insects and diseases.

  (May) I have some three year old grape vines. Last year, I had some nice grapes, not quite enough to make wine, but enough to enjoy them as a fruit. When I came to harvest the next day, they were all gone. How can I keep "uninvited guests" away. Will a net help?

  Invest in bird netting, which you can use to cover the plants to keep birds out, and then save and reuse it next year. However, birds aren't the only things that like grapes. Squirrels, raccoons and more can take a nibble, and bird netting is not very effective on those unless you can really secure it. Try to find out what is your main culprit.

  (October) I have scuppernong vines that my dad had for years. Last year there was so much dead vine on the trellis and they did not product hardly at all. Last January I cut them back to about 3 feet above the ground. This growing season they grew tremendously but there was no fruit. Does it take 2 years for them to produce after pruning or what did I do wrong?  I also purchased 3 seedless grave vines. They were planted this past spring. The plants grew very well. However there are no grapes at this time. Someone told me that it would be next year before they produce. When and how do I prune them?

  Scuppernong is often a generic term used for muscadine grapes. They are typically the bronze fruited muscadine grapes found in the wild. Muscadines and table grapes both need annual pruning, but in a different form. If you really cut the muscadine back past the spur growth, it may take a year to recover. Normally you do a shearing job on them, but above the main trunk, leaving basically an umbrella of small branches. You do need both male and female muscadines (scuppernong) to produce fruit. The seedless table grapes will need heavy pruning. Since they are young plants, I would count down to about 10-15 buds per plant. You should have the basic structure of the vine in place--with your "arms" going in both directions. Then you count buds from the trunk out. If you have two arms, leave 5 -7 buds per arm. It will look like nothing is left, but each bud should have the potential to produce one to two clusters of grapes. If you leave too many, they won't ripen well. All pruning should be done in February. You can get a copy of the pruning guide from your local extension office.

  (December) We bought our house in May and I have a question pertaining to some grape vines which were here. The type is "Catawba", and my question deals with pruning. What is the best time to prune, and how much should I prune them back. I also have a lot of blackberry vines -- does the same apply to them?

  Actually pruning of grapes differs tremendously from blackberries. For your grape vines, prune in late February. Hold old the vines are will determine how much to prune. You start by counting buds on the existing vines, starting where the vines begin to branch out -- (we call these the arms). Each bud on the vines that are on your trellis should be a cluster of grapes. On young vines, we only leave about 10 to 15 buds. You will be removing more than 50% of the vines, and think you are hurting the plant, but if you leave too many buds, the vines won't have enough energy to ripen that many grapes. A mature grape vine can handle up to 60 buds. Depending on your trellising system, you can leave 2 or 4 arms on the vines, and divide the buds between them.

For blackberries, the main pruning is to keep them in bounds for picking. After you harvest the berries in the summer, thin out the old canes, since they die after harvest, but slowly. Then head the new canes back to a height of 4 to 5 feet, so the canes will branch but keep the fruit within easy picking reach the next summer.

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