Growing Grapes on a Fence You Own

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1The fence that works

A horizontal-wire fence — or a run of heavy galvanized wire you add to existing posts — lets you find and cut canes cleanly every winter. Chain-link is the one to skip: the canes weave through the mesh and become genuinely difficult to remove at pruning time, which is a fight you'll have every year the vine lives.

2The first year is mostly patience

Strip off any fruit and side shoots the first season and stake the main shoot to grow straight up the wire — it can reach the top wire (5 to 5½ feet) in one summer if you let it focus. Only once it tops out do you pinch it, so it branches sideways into the two arms that become permanent.

3When you actually eat one

Fruit is possible the year after planting, with a real harvest by September or October once the vine's established — water it well through that first year so the root system can support the growth on top.

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