Not all netting is made the same, and netting for your Vineyard needs to be specially designed. This is essential because you'll be spending a lot of money, so make sure you know what you're buying.
There are many factors to consider when choosing the suitable netting for your vineyard.
Knowing which netting is best for your vineyard will ensure a healthy harvest!
Below are valuable questions to ask yourself when choosing the right netting for your Vineyard.
Let's discuss how to choose the right netting for your vineyard.
1. Determine Your Netting Goals
Determine your netting goals. The first step to choosing the right netting for your vineyard is to consider what you want to achieve.
Some common goals include:
- Protecting young vines from physical damage by wildlife and pests.
- Keeping birds and other animals away from ripening fruit.
- Preventing weather damage such as spring frosts, heavy rain, hail, or high winds.
- Protecting workers from insects and animal bites.
Depending on your changing needs over time, you can choose multiple types of netting throughout the season. Others prefer a single type to ensure it stays in place for as long as possible.
Consider your growing and harvesting conditions (e.g., wind, rain, sunlight, and temperature). The weather conditions in your area will influence what type of netting works best for you. For example, if you experience a lot of rainfall, you may need a heavier-duty net that won’t suffer any damage when wet.
2. Your Climate and Soil Type
Next, it's important to know the climate of your vineyard when choosing a type of netting.
- Is it humid?
- Does it rain frequently?
- Does it snow?
- Is it scorching during the summer?
For example, if you live in a windy area, you will want stronger netting that can withstand any damage go for vineyard drape netting drape. If you live in an area with lots of snow and moisture, you will want stronger netting to keep it from falling during the winter months. You may also want to consider a netting that has been treated or coated to withstand damage from the elements.
Once you know your climate, you can move on to soil type.
Are there any pests in your soil that can damage your vines or infect them with disease?
If so, you’ll want to choose a type of netting that protects against insects, such as vineyard insect netting.
If you are looking for hail protection, your main concern will be how much energy the netting can absorb before tearing and breaking strength. Vineyard hail netting has to hold up under a lot of stress from high winds
3. Size and Features of Your Vineyard
Next, look at the options available to you and how they compare. Those options can be broken down into four main categories:
- Material (monofilament vs multifilament),
- Mesh size (large or small),
- Color (black or white),
- Denier (thickness).
The first is whether you should use monofilament or multifilament netting. Monofilament is usually made from nylon, one solid piece of material. Multifilament is woven from multiple fibers, making it stronger and more expensive.
The second decision is what size mesh to use.
This depends mainly on the type of crop you’re growing and the pests you want to avoid.
If your primary concern is birds, you can use a larger mesh (1/2” or 3/4”) to deter them.
But if you’re trying to keep out more minor pests like insects and rodents, a smaller mesh (1/8” or 1/4") is better suited for your needs.
The third decision you have to make is color.
At Netting Experts, we offer White, black, and green colored netting for monofilament and multifilament.
If your vineyard receives lots of direct sunlight, we recommend going with black netting because it doesn’t heat up as much as green netting does when exposed to the sun (which can damage the grapes).
However, if the shade is abundant in your vineyard, then using green netting will help.
Depending on the size of your vineyard, use the vineyard netting calculator.
Our netting calculator will give you a custom agricultural netting quantity based on the length and width of your orchard of the vineyard project.
4. Kind of Pests or Birds You Would Like to Keep Out
If you are looking for commercial bird netting, your main concern will be how long it will last and how well it will deter birds.
There are many types of bird netting on the market, but the best choice is usually lightweight polyethylene mesh, such as vineyard side netting.
This type of netting is lightweight and easy to put up while still being durable and reusable year after year.
When selecting bird netting, make sure that the mesh size will keep out all of the birds you want to deter while still letting in enough light to keep your vines healthy. A good rule of thumb is that if you can see through the netting with your eyes closed, then your grapes will get enough sunlight through it as well.
5. How Long You Would Like Your Netting To Last
Choosing the right netting for your vineyard will depend on how long you want to keep it.
If you want your netting to last longer, choose our high-density polyethylene (HDPE) nets.
These net types have a UV inhibitor built into them to help prevent sun-induced UV degradation. As a bonus, HDPE nets are also bird-friendly.
You can use the cheaper extruded knitted option for shorter-term projects without worrying about UV degradation of your netting. Extruded knitted netting is made with a single strand and no UV inhibitor, so it will degrade quicker than HDPE and still provide some protection from birds and other pests.
6. Landscape Offer of Additional Support
The landscape of your vineyard will have a significant impact on which netting you choose. If there is no additional support, such as a fence or other structure, you will want to select a heavy-duty net that can stand independently without sagging.
You will also want to install it at an ideal height so that it does not contact the ground when installed horizontally or vertically across a trellis system.
If you have additional support, such as a fence or other structure, you can choose from several nets that do not need to be held up by anything else!
For instance, polyethylene knotted nets - these knots hold their shape well and are very strong. They also tend to last longer than other types of nets (upwards of 15 years) due to their resistance to UV rays, chemicals, and abrasion/wear.
Conclusion
Ultimately, it all comes down to what is essential to you personally. If a vineyard is in your future, do your research to choose a netting that will provide the kind of results you are looking for. There are plenty out there. Remember that no size fits all when selecting the perfect grape netting for your vineyard.
Eyouagro is the leading vineyard netting manufacturer in the world. We keep your fruits protected from pests and harsh weather.
If you have any questions about our netting products, please contact us at info@eyouagro.com.
We have lots of experience and would happily answer them for you.
