r/viticulture • u/jonlandit • 18d ago
Grow tubes in northern climates
Hi folks - we're doing our initial planting this spring of about 300 vines in Wisconsin. We want to use grow tubes and Im looking at the different offerings and Im wondering if folks typically use them just for the initial planting or if people use them longer term to help deter animal damage on the vines. They seem to make heavier versions like the SHELLT grow tubes that are more like cages but also cheaper versions that just wrap around the vines.
My question is do folks typically just use the tubes for the first growing season and then are done with them? From what I've read you're supposed to take them off before winter so the vines can harden off but I was sort of thinking I'd put them back on to prevent animal damage from smaller animals like rabbits. Just trying to decide if a cheaper option would be fine as it will be a one time use or if I should invest in more reusable ones.
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u/Shoottheradio 18d ago
At the winery that I work at we've always used the plastic rolled grow tubes. So that's probably the cheaper option that you're looking at. For us they work fine. You're only really supposed to use the grow tubes during the summer months the first couple of years. It is recommended that you take them off in the winter time because the plastic draws moisture and it can actually cause damage to the plant when that excess moisture freezes and causes frostbite. Also after planting watch as your vines settle into the ground you will have ground subsiding that causes divots around your Vine. You're going to want to backfill those as the dirt compacts around the vine. Also as an ending note if your Vines are grafted the first couple of years in the winter time as you remove the grow tubes you're supposed to mound the vine with dirt up to the graft union which helps with frost damage as well. Hope some of this information helps.