I just planted 48 vines this spring. They are a mixture of 6 different cold hardy wine grapes, Frontenac, Chancellor, Triaminette, sabrevois... Anyway, I have 9 relatively short rows, about 32 feet in length. I am looking for advice on trellis construction. Some of these vines are trailing, some are semi-upright so I plan on establishing top wire cordons or a vertical shoot positioning system. What would you recommend for bracing the end posts? I plan on 10'X5" end posts cemented 3' in the ground. Will this be sufficient with just one on each end or should I use another post for end bracing? Basically, I don't want to have to rebuild the trellis every few years, I would favor over-engineering it to begin with. Your thoughts please??? Thanks, Darin
Grape Supporting Structure. http://xrl.us/m4yc Pictures of the grape supports. My posts are steel seven feet long. I wanted 8 feet but could not find them readily. The wire is 3/8 steel plastic covered clothline wire at 1000 lbs breaking point tested. I did not have a strong enough crimping tool for the fastenings, so I used my bolt cutters to get sufficient compression. The tensioners are a common item. This support should be more than sufficient for three grape vines. This is nothing like your requirements if you want a long span. But they would suffice if you make the spans shorter. I put the end posts in at an angle outwards, and they are still slightly tilted. My spans are 24 feet allowing 8 feet for each vine, four on either side. My limited experience with cemented post is sometime they move and then it is a hassle to straighten. I prefer gravel to fill the hole. Removing a clump of cement is a labourous task. Gravel packed in with a crowbar serves the same purpose without the hassle, and there is a bit of elasticity cushioning soil heave due to rain and cold..
Hi the trellis system should work well for you. The grapes you mention all have different growth characteristics so you may have to be creative with your training of the individual vines. This is a great website to help you get started with Colorado growing conditions. It also has some great links specific to your state. www.ristcanyonvineyards.com Cheers Kim
