Our Maine Street's Aroostook Issue 26 : Fall 2015 | Page 11

including stem twining and by attaching
themselves to supports with tendrils. Vines
are trained and pruned upright onto a trellis
support structure. This enables the vine to
retain a similar shape year after year in order
to facilitate cultural operations including
harvesting. The vines are also pruned to
regulate the number and positions of shoots on
a vine which will dictate cluster number and
size. A mature, well-pruned and trellised vine
can produce 25-30 pounds of fruit in a season.
During pruning, one removes buds that would
otherwise become new shoots. By regulating
the total number of buds, one is concentrating
growth into the remaining shoots and cluster.
Fruit trees are pruned for the same reasons,
and a mature tree can produce 200+ pounds of
fruit per season depending on the variety.
Grape vines are susceptible to mold and
mildew, but the Armstrongs don’t use chemical
fungicides, they use water – ionized water. To
eradicate vine threatening fungi they use their
commercial ionizer to convert tap water which
typically has a ph of seven into a more acidic,
earth friendly version of H2O. If you happen
to pass by on a day they are spraying, you won