Pruning the old vine

So.....today we decided to have a go at the vine that grows all through the shrubs and trees at the back of the garden. We do get lots of tiny grapes off it each Autumn, but would like some bigger ones. So we have cut off yards and yards of old wood and cut back the fruiting spurs to two buds. The resulting long vine that we kept is draped all along the fence for about 8 feet. This might be too much to have left to grow but we were scared to chop off any more. Hopefully the vine will be able to cope with swelling the grapes produced this coming year to a decent size.

I spent an age afterwards cutting the vines into 8 inch lengths. This was following Bob Flowerdew's advice that vine prunings make good kindling. The pieces are now stored in the shed ready for fires. We'll leave them to dry out a bit before using them.

I also started clearing shrubs away from the spot where we want to plant the two new vines. Then I got carried away and started on the brambles (thankfully thornless!) which are beginning to take over behind the polytunnel.

Then I walked the dogs before my back finally snapped!