DVD Reviews

All reviews of the new DVD will eventually be posted here as time permits.

"The disks arrived yesterday and I viewed them as soon as I was able. I enjoyed learning from them and they are an excellent companion to your book  "The Grape Grower", which I had received for Christmas. I'm sure my friends in New York, will be just as pleased as I when I send them the extra disks I ordered.

Thank you for your time and expertise.
Scott"

Review from HORTIDEAS, November-December 2008, 25(6)
http://users.mikrotec.com/~gwill/

Proper Methods for Pruning Grapevines (2-DVD Set), by Lon J. Rombough,

P.O.Box 365, Aurora, OR 97002, 2008, $28.50 postpaid in the U.S., order here.

This DVD set is a companion to The Grape Grower: A Guide to Organic Viticulture by Lon (a long-time HortIdeas subscriber who has been quite active in the North American Fruit Explorers), which we reviewed quite favorably in the December 2002 HortIdeas. We wrote in 2002 that The Grape Grower does a superb job of achieving its author's aim of demystifying grapes.

These new DVDs further demystify an aspect of grape culture that is rather difficult to cover in print: training and pruning for high yields and healthy vines. The video format enables Lon, using plants in his own vineyard, to demonstrate appropriate techniques (not just for his own area and cultivars, but for any and all situations).

We recommend that you first view the last chapter (around four minutes long) on the second DVD, titled The Results of Proper Pruning, to (literally) see the importance of good pruning annually - desirable positioning and densities of fruit clusters later in the year, as well as proper preparation of the vines for subsequent years. The images of luscious grapes will provide ample motivation for putting into practice the recommendations of the first DVD (around 52 minutes long), including spur and cane pruning, cordon training, and a brief introduction to layering to establish new vines. A lot of material is covered here, and you'll probably want to repeat some parts of the video to make sure you understand completely. The high technical quality of the video allows details to be discerned easily.

On the second DVD are two additional "bonus" chapters. The first chapter (around 11 minutes long) should be quite valuable for growers in locales subject to late frosts (like us). It shows how to delay the growth of some buds in the spring by delaying pruning. Lon says that bud growth can be set back by up to about a week using this method - enough to allow an escape from frost damage in some situations. The second chapter on the second DVD (also around 11 minutes long) goes into detail on both simple and more sophisticated (approach-grafting) ways to propagate grape vines by layering.

In the past, we have praised instructional videos on fruit grafting; these DVDs show how helpful the video format can befor teaching fruit pruning. Good work, Lon!