Easy Ideas for Growing Grapes on a Wire

Build a Wire Trellis

• Build the wire trellis before you start growing the grapes. Sink two 8-foot tall wooden posts at least 2 feet deep and about 12 feet apart. Drive in a steel fence post halfway between the wooden ones. String three layers of 11 gauge or 13 gauge wire tightly from end to end -- at 40 inches, 50 inches and 60 inches above the ground. These wires will support the grapes as they grow and mature.

First Year Wire Training

• When a grape plant's strongest shoot reaches about 10 inches tall, tie a string to its tip, then tie the string to the highest wire. Repeat with each plant. The grape plants will continue to grow up the string until they reach the wires. In the first year, prune away any other shoots but let the tied shoot and any offshoots from it grow.

Later Wire Training

• In the second season, pick the two strongest side shoots from each tied shoot, one on each side. Prune away the rest of the side shoots. Tie the side-growing shoots horizontally onto the lowest wire, one going in each direction from the main shoot. Prune everything but the main shoot and the two side shoots the next year to ensure that most of the plant's resources will go into growing big, juicy grapes on vigorous vines rather than spreading nutrients out to lots of little, weak shoots.

Grape Growing Tips

• Expand on the number of grape plants you grow by extending the length of the wire trellis. Alternate wooden posts and steel fence posts every 6 feet. Plant grapes about 5 to 6 feet apart to ensure that there will be plenty of nutrients in the soil to sustain each plant and the shoots won't overgrow one another when the plants reach maturity. When pruning grape vines, cut them back so there are only three to four buds on each shoot.