So….since our vines are small still, this year we will only be tying the trunks to the 3’ tall rebar at the start of the season. This is to ensure that the trunks grow straight and tall. I asked everyone I know and they all said the best thing to tie them with is “green” plant tape. The reasoning is that the trunk will continue to grow and the tape will last a few years and stretch with it. Next year we might be able to tie the canes to the fruiting wire assuming that the canes are big enough. I hope I can use a more automated system to save time…..again, just multiply the seconds for each plant to get the hours it will take me to complete the task…..15 seconds equals almost 15 hours of vineyard time!!!

Oh….since we are a small boutique vineyard I found brown colored “green” tape. It is the same color as the vines so it blends in to the vineyard.

Below I put pictures of the process…..1) The tool is open, 2) When you lightly close the Tapener it grabs the “brown” tape, 3) Then you push it around the vine and rebar, 4) Finally you staple the tape and it cuts it to length.

Pretty easy, except I have to do this around 9,000 times!