Here’s a thread to the GW post where I describe making the trellis/arbor. It has only been a bit over 1 growing season since I made it, but I’m pretty happy with it so far and am convinced that it will do far better than how I setup the first planting.
Here’s a pic of the vines which were planted in August 2013. They reached the top last summer and I’ve tied the new vigorous shoots to where I want them to go.
Here’s a pic of what happens if they aren’t spaced far enough apart. They are a mass of vines and reaching out for neighboring plantings. I’ve actually left a couple of the tendrils, as they are covered in flower buds. I just need to keep on top of them to prevent further spread.
If you look on the upper left, you can see the kiwi spreading over a pine tree. I need to check a bit further into it, as I think that some of the upper vine is female, while I only want the male to use the tree as a trellis (dump the pollen from above, not the fruit).
When time to harvest, do you have to comb thru all those vines and looking for the fruits? If all the dormant woods that you sent to me ever rooted I will try to train them like the Hardy Kiwis video that I posted a while ago. Those Kiwi vines were trained like grape vines with a large trunks.
It hasn’t been too bad, but I do need to make several passes to make sure I get everything. Here’s a pic of the Issai from last October, part-way through a picking- I forgot to take it when I first started, as it would have been more impressive.
But more space would definitely be helpful- I feel bad continually pinching the older vines back to stay within the area I have.
The younger vines on the big arbor may fill it pretty quick, judging by how fast they grow- at least several inches per day. during the early summer I think they can fill practically any area (as evidenced by the tree). But, given the productivity I’ve seen in a tight space from Issai, I’ll have more than enough kiwi from my current plantings.
