This is my first post here on this forums, and I see there's already an active thread about trellis design right now, but I have a few questions of my own if people don't mind answering them.
So a little bit of a background. My family has (what used to be) a farm consisting of 120 acres here in Texas, which falls under the Hill Country region / Region 5. We've made wine from the wild Mustang grapes that grow on the property since I was a child, but starting a commercial vineyard was never something that had ever crossed my mind. This year I had plans to fix all of the perimeter fences, and I began work on a basic business plan for a cattle operation, until my dad started picking wild grapes. Then the question hit me: just how hard is it to start an operate a commercial vineyard? And I've now taken tours of 2 vineyards in my area, but they haven't been so kind as to divulge any secrets. Both vineyards use VSP trellis systems. Other than that, no one really wanted to answer any questions pertaining to the profitability of the business, other than telling me what kind of grapes grew well in the area and tossing me a sales pitch for a local wine. (These were winery / vineyard operations.)
I've made some phone calls to wineries, visited my local department of agriculture, rummaged around online for as much information as I could get, and now I have a stack of about 300 pages sitting here on my desk that I've been going through. --- Okay!
The 10-acre plot that I am working with has an approximate 5 to 6-degree slope going from east to west, good drainage all around, and at the least, produces some extremely large Mustang grape vines around the perimeter fence. This plot is already sprayed yearly with 2-4D, and is the easiest portion of the property to work with. There is also a spring-fed pond and a well nearby, which I intend to tap both for means of irrigation (if the law allows. I haven't checked into my local water right laws yet).
I would like to do an experiment with trellis systems on approximately 1/4 of an acre with (10) 100' rows, with a 12' spacing between rows so that my tractor & shredder can fit between the rows. Maintaining this space with a riding lawn mower, especially with the possibility that I might go full-scale with this project in the future, seemed redundant. --- When I was looking at designs for the materials, I decided that high-tensile fencing was my best option, and decided to go with 12.5 gauge galvanized wire. I'm familiar with barbed wire fences, but high-tensile, much less high-tensile trellis systems, I am not. If this experiment goes well, then I am going to consider the costs of funding a full-size operation and determine if it's worth it or not to go beyond this stage. If I don't, well then I just set up one heck of a nice sized 'backyard' vineyard, and I'll plant some vines anyway.
For 1/4 an acre, I'm estimating that I can get away with an initial investment of $1500 for trellis & fencing materials, but I'm not quite sure on some of the numbers, so I have a few questions for you guys.
1. Can I use the standard studded T-Post to suspend my high-tensile wire?
I will still be using wooden posts on the ends, and for the brace posts.
2. How far apart would I need to space my suspension posts for 100 foot rows?
3. Do I need more than 1 brace post / tension point for 100 ft of trellis?
3. Can I use rotary tensioners (the circular ones used for hotwire fences) to keep my wire tight?
4. How many lines do I run? I've noticed that VSP systems vary. I plan on using 4 wires. Is 4 wires sufficient, or is this # dependent on the variety of grape(s) that I intend to grow?
5. Should my rows face East/West or North/South? And why?
So a little bit of a background. My family has (what used to be) a farm consisting of 120 acres here in Texas, which falls under the Hill Country region / Region 5. We've made wine from the wild Mustang grapes that grow on the property since I was a child, but starting a commercial vineyard was never something that had ever crossed my mind. This year I had plans to fix all of the perimeter fences, and I began work on a basic business plan for a cattle operation, until my dad started picking wild grapes. Then the question hit me: just how hard is it to start an operate a commercial vineyard? And I've now taken tours of 2 vineyards in my area, but they haven't been so kind as to divulge any secrets. Both vineyards use VSP trellis systems. Other than that, no one really wanted to answer any questions pertaining to the profitability of the business, other than telling me what kind of grapes grew well in the area and tossing me a sales pitch for a local wine. (These were winery / vineyard operations.)
I've made some phone calls to wineries, visited my local department of agriculture, rummaged around online for as much information as I could get, and now I have a stack of about 300 pages sitting here on my desk that I've been going through. --- Okay!
The 10-acre plot that I am working with has an approximate 5 to 6-degree slope going from east to west, good drainage all around, and at the least, produces some extremely large Mustang grape vines around the perimeter fence. This plot is already sprayed yearly with 2-4D, and is the easiest portion of the property to work with. There is also a spring-fed pond and a well nearby, which I intend to tap both for means of irrigation (if the law allows. I haven't checked into my local water right laws yet).
I would like to do an experiment with trellis systems on approximately 1/4 of an acre with (10) 100' rows, with a 12' spacing between rows so that my tractor & shredder can fit between the rows. Maintaining this space with a riding lawn mower, especially with the possibility that I might go full-scale with this project in the future, seemed redundant. --- When I was looking at designs for the materials, I decided that high-tensile fencing was my best option, and decided to go with 12.5 gauge galvanized wire. I'm familiar with barbed wire fences, but high-tensile, much less high-tensile trellis systems, I am not. If this experiment goes well, then I am going to consider the costs of funding a full-size operation and determine if it's worth it or not to go beyond this stage. If I don't, well then I just set up one heck of a nice sized 'backyard' vineyard, and I'll plant some vines anyway.
For 1/4 an acre, I'm estimating that I can get away with an initial investment of $1500 for trellis & fencing materials, but I'm not quite sure on some of the numbers, so I have a few questions for you guys.
1. Can I use the standard studded T-Post to suspend my high-tensile wire?
I will still be using wooden posts on the ends, and for the brace posts.
2. How far apart would I need to space my suspension posts for 100 foot rows?
3. Do I need more than 1 brace post / tension point for 100 ft of trellis?
3. Can I use rotary tensioners (the circular ones used for hotwire fences) to keep my wire tight?
4. How many lines do I run? I've noticed that VSP systems vary. I plan on using 4 wires. Is 4 wires sufficient, or is this # dependent on the variety of grape(s) that I intend to grow?
5. Should my rows face East/West or North/South? And why?
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