Last year I used a Tapener to tie the canes to the wires.  Imagine doing this 10,000 times and using brown tape.  This year my friend, John Mason at EMTU Estates, and I decided to purchase a Pellanc Tie tool and share the expense.  Why share?  You only have to tie once per year and the tool is expensive.  The advantages of this tool are that it is at least 3x faster than by hand and you can use biodegradable twist ties.  In addition you save yourself the exposure to carpal tunnel syndrome, which is prevalent due to performing the same task over and over in the  vineyard.  Just for me…I have 3130 vines…so you do the same thing many times.

As you can see the tool’s energy is supplied by a battery pack that you belt on…and all you do is load a very long tie that is cut when you pull the trigger.  The battery is supposed to last 10,000 pulls…or almost enough to do my entire vineyard.  However, given the monotonous nature of tying, I will probably only do a few hours at a time until I finish in about 10 hours.