during the first year, you want to allow as much foliage to grow as possible. they have no roots and the best way for them to produce food to build a good root system is foliage. you could try to fertilize them, but that would encourage vegetative growth at the EXPENSE of root growth. during the establishment year it's not gonna hurt to string 5 or 6 vines up one string as they aren't gonna produce that many sidearms to create a mess when it comes time to pick. once established, you'll be able to make a call as to how many you want to run up each string depending on how vigorous they grow. real vigorous, maybe 2 or 3. little runty sidearms with only 10 or 20 cones, 5,6 or 7 vines. it all depends on how much time you have to pick. also, i'd suggest against allowing them to grow along the ground, most especially if you get a lot of humidity where you live, as you're just asking for a mildew problem. stagnant air is not good. string 'em up and let 'm rip!