Plotting Holes to Plant Grapevines

I laid out planting holes for the vines last week. It's a real trick keeping a straight line on rows nearly 400 feet long. There's no magic formula(other than, I suppose, GPS surveying). Every farmer works it out his own way. I thought about it a long time, then went & got the longest tape measure I could find (300')and a 500' roll of yellow "Caution" tape (heavy reinforced, so it wouldn't fly around in wind). I stretched the Caution tape out, attached to a metal stake on each end of the row, then ran the tape measure down on top and spray painted the ground every six feet. That's where the vines will go.

I asked my farmer neighbor how the farmers got their rows straight. He laughed. "I don't know," he said. "I don't think it's possible."