3 Reasons Why Metal Vineyard Trellis Stakes Are a Wise Choice
March 12th, 2012
Whether for commercial purposes or just a personal hobby, tending vineyards by trellising or vineyard trellising requires a lot of work. While the processes are tedious, the results are guaranteed worthy of every grower’s troubles. Aside from improving and ensuring that energy – in the form of sunlight and wind – is absorbed needed for photosynthesis, trellising or vineyard trellising creates a microclimate for proper grape ageing.
Grapevines are fragile in nature so the trellises act as its support system as the leaves and the fruits mature. When building the trellises for your vineyard, you have to get your hands on the important materials that will literally and figuratively stand by your growing grapevines. One of these important materials is a metal vineyard trellis stake or a rail line stake.
Vineyard trellis stakes or rail line stakes are manufactured using bamboo, fiberglass, concrete or even native timber. These are sturdy for a trellising system but opting for the steel or metal-based trellis stakes is wiser for 3 reasons:
1. Metal vineyard trellis stakes are easy to install than wood. Wooden vineyard trellises are installed by digging at least 2 feet into the ground then it has to be filled with concrete to keep it together. Metal trellis stakes are just driven into the ground and its secured enough to be instantly fitted with trellis wires. Most metal vineyard trellises come with wire holes or slots so it’s a plus for fast and easy use.
2. Metal vineyard trellis stakes or rail line stakes are more durable than wood. With a sturdy and more rigid composition, metal trellis stakes are better at resisting huge wind and rain currents during wet seasons. These do not easily fall off in times of typhoons and other natural calamities that may enter or exit in a given year. Metal trellis stakes also do not easily rot making it a sturdy framework for your grapevines all year round.
3. Metal or steel trellis stakes are better at absorbing lightning. Vineyards are ideally set out in an open space so that the grapevines along with its leaves and fruits are able to absorb vast amounts of sunlight and wind needed for photosynthesis. While wide space areas are ideal for its growth, it is also very susceptible to lightning. If you have wooden trellis stakes, chances are these will easily get struck by lightning as opposed to metal stakes that are made to repel it.