From what I have seen in the UK, most commercial vineyards will spray along the rows of vines to give them the best possible chance in life without competition from weeds, but I want to do whatever I can to avoid using pesticides.
I plan on using some sort of mulch material which could be natural such as compost or wood chipping, or one of the commercially available weed suppressing cloths. I have also read that stones can be used, with the added advantage that they retain heat from the sun and help keep the vines warmer in the cooler evenings. Not sure if this really makes any difference, but I think I’ll try it and use 20mm gravel. It should look good too.
Things are shaping up. Posts in, gravel down – I just need the vines to arrive now.