Sensational Seedless Grapes

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By encouraging these natural methods, we seldom have a threatening population of bad bugs. Any marauding bugs escaping the birds and beneficials can be controlled with horticultural oil or insecticidal soap.

PRODUCTIVE PRUNING

For high-quality fruit, regularly prune the vines. Unpruned grapevines initially can produce more fruit than the vine can support; eventually they will grow into a tightly tangled maze of leaves and wood, producing little good-quality fruit.

When pruning, remember these basics:

• Grapes are produced on buds that originate from the previous season's wood growth.
• Prune vines in late winter or early spring, when they are dormant and after the danger of severe weather has passed.
• The first year of planting, remove all but the most vigorous stem with two to three good buds. Select the strongest and most upright shoot from these buds to become the main trunk.
• The farther the fruiting canes are from the main stein, the less likely they are to bear fruit.

Before you prune, decide what purpose you want the vines to serve. If you're more interested in covering an arbor or trellis, and fruit production is secondary, then prune the vines just to control growth. We leave five arms (branches/canes) of old wood to form a fan shape. Leave one or two short stems of last year's new wood on each arm; each stern should have two to three buds. Prune off everything else.

To prune for production, leave the main trunk with four arms of old wood so you have two sets of arms growing opposite each other and at right angles to the main trunk. Your trellis system should have a post placed 4 to 5 feet on each side of your vine, with wires strung horizontally between the posts.

Train the first set of lateral arms on a wire 30 inches above the ground; train the second set on a second wire placed 50 inches above the ground. Leave one or two short stems of last year's new wood on each arm. Each stem should have three buds, for a total of 12 to 24 buds per plant. Prune off everything else.

TAKE YOUR OWN CUTTINGS

As you prune your grapevines, you also can propagate new plants to expand your orchard or share with friends. Select healthy, pencil-thick hardwood stems about 12 to 18 inches long with three to four buds on each stem. Make a flat cut on the end of the stem that grew closest to a branch, and an angled cut on the end farthest from the branch. That way you know which end is up (the angled cut) and which end you should plant in the soil (the flat cut).

Plant several cuttings, flat-end down, with one bud remaining above the soil, into a 1-gallon container filled with potting mix. Place the container in a sunny window or greenhouse, and water so the soil stays slightly moist at all times. Roots will begin to form as the leaves develop, usually in about three to six weeks.

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