overgrown grapes

[countrycharmer]

I purchased a new home and the previous owner had a grape arbor of sorts. It is built in an arch form and doesn't appear to have ever been taken care of. There are 4 plants one at each corner and they have grown over the entire arch 3'w x 6'h x 8'l. How can I get these back under control? Would I be better off tearing them out and starting over since I would rather have a seedless brand anyway? I have a large vegetable garden and am starting a large strawberry patch so I am not afraid of hard work. I also would like to have some fruit trees but they will have to wait a few years. Too much property and to little time.

[opabinia51]

Each fall you should prune all the main branches that run off the base stem down to the third bud.

Mulch all the clippings and place in a compost pile with all your grass clippings. I mulch some of clippings (as in, I used my pruners to cut them up into small pieces) right in place and then just lay a layer of grass clippings right over top followed by a layer of mulched leaves (use your lawn mower) and then some manure. (Buy from local farmers, free or really cheap)

[countrycharmer]

So there is nothing to do in the spring to fix this problem? What will happen if I cut them to far back? These vines are several years old with no care it is quite a mess right now. It is hard to even tell what vine go to what main stem.

Thanks again

[opabinia51]

Not really, if it is still cold in your area and the grapes don't have their full foliage yet you could try pruning them.

The problem is that once it warms up, the sap will start running again and if you prune the grapes, they will bleed.