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Growing
Grapes |
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Grapes
are an excellent fruit for fresh use or processing into jam,
jelly, juice, pie, or wine. In addition, grapevines can be
ornamental and valuable as shade or screen plants in the home
landscape when trained on a trellis or arbor. Well-grown
grapevines of cultivars such as Concord can produce up to 20
pounds or more of the fruit per vine per year.
Once established,
well-tended grapevines can be productive for 40 years or more.
Home fruit gardeners can be successful if they select the right
cultivars, maintain a good fertility and pest management program,
and properly prune grapevines annually.
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Selecting
A wide
variety of grapes can be grown in zone 5 and above. Here are the
most commonly available ones for home garden use.
Variety |
Ripening
Season |
Color |
Principal
Use |
Winter
Hardiness |
Baco Noir |
middle |
blue |
wine |
fair |
Cabernet Sauvignon |
late |
black |
wine |
good |
Canadice |
early |
red |
table |
good |
Catawba |
late |
red |
wine |
good |
Cayuga White |
middle |
white |
wine |
good |
Challenger |
middle |
red |
table |
fair |
Chambourcin |
late |
blue |
wine |
poor |
Chancellor |
early middle |
red |
wine |
good |
Chardonnay |
middle |
white |
wine |
good |
Chenin Blanc |
late |
green |
wine |
fair |
Concord
Seedless |
late middle |
blue |
table, juice |
good |
Cynthiana |
very late |
blue |
wine |
good |
De Chaunac |
middle |
blue |
wine |
good |
Einset |
middle |
red |
table |
fair |
Marechal Foch |
very early |
blue |
wine |
very good |
Mars |
early |
blue |
table |
medium |
Niagara late |
middle |
white |
wine, juice |
good |
Riesling |
middle |
white |
wine |
fair |
Reliance |
early |
red |
table |
good |
Sauvignon Blanc |
middle |
green |
wine |
fair |
Saturn |
middle |
red |
table |
fair |
Vanessa |
middle |
red |
table |
good |
Venus |
very early |
blue |
table |
fair |
Villard Noir |
late middle |
blue |
wine |
fair |
Vidal Blanc |
late |
white |
wine |
good |
Vignoles |
late |
white |
wine |
good |
Carlos* |
middle |
bronze |
table, wine |
fair |
Cowart* |
late |
blue |
wine, table |
fair |
Dixie Red* |
middle |
red |
table, wine |
fair |
Scuppernong*(‡) |
late |
bronze |
table, wine |
fair |
*Muscadine
grapes. ‡ = has female flowers only. The other varieties
listed have both male and female flowers.
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Planting
Grapes
Grapes
need full sunlight and high temperatures to ripen, so plant on southern
slopes, the south side of windbreaks, or the south sides of buildings.
Avoid northern slopes and low ground since these will be cooler
throughout the growing season, delaying ripening of the fruit. Choose
deep, well-drained soils to avoid standing water in the spring and
encourage early growth.
Plant in the spring as soon
as the soil can be worked. Use healthy plants with well-developed root
systems. Space the plants six to eight feet apart. Before planting the
vine, remove all canes except the most vigorous one. Trim off any broken
or excessively long roots. If planting bare-root specimens, soak
the roots in water for at least 2 hours before planting.
Dig
a hole large enough so you can spread the root system out without
bending the roots. Plant vines at the same depth as in the nursery. Do
not plant too deeply. Spread the roots and cover them completely with
soil. After planting, shorten the remaining cane to two strong buds.
Each bud will develop into a cane.
During the first year, the
vines are normally tied to a stake to keep them off the ground, prevent
damage, and make spraying more effective. If the season of planting is
dry, supplemental watering is also necessary to keep the vines growing.
It is important to get as much first-year growth as possible.
Although vines often are allowed to grow
at random, sprawling over the ground during the first season, it's best
to train the stronger of the two canes that develop from the plant to a
strong stake, five to six feet tall. Remove any suckers growing from the
base of the canes. Remove the weaker cane in March. If neither cane is
three feet long, cut the plant back to two buds again the second year.
Apply nitrogen two weeks after planting
at a rate of 10 lb of 10-6-4/100 ft of row. Reapply the same rate
annually in early spring, right before growth starts. Fertilizer can be
applied to a single plant at a rate of 1 lb/plant. Have the soil tested
every three to five years. Do not apply fertilizers containing
herbicides (such as some lawn fertilizers) in or near the grapes. Four
to six inches of mulch may be applied
to help control weeds and conserve soil moistures.
Young grape vines should be
planted on well-drained sandy loam soil in February or March. If a heavy
clay is the only type available, a 6-inch elevated container can be
constructed and filled with commercial potting soil - see figure 1.
Ultra large juice cans with both top and bottom removed will work well
for this. With the roots eventually growing into the existing clay soil,
the potting soil will give the vine a strong, early start.
When planting is finished,
uncork some wine and invite everyone for a toast to your future
vintages!
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Harvesting
The
first harvest of grapes is usually after two or three years of growth,
depending on the vigor of the vines. Pick fruit when they are fully ripe,
but not falling off the vine. Varieties vary in their color development at
ripeness. They may be green, pink, red, bronze, purple, or black when
ripe. Maturing grape berries enlarge, soften, and develop a sugar content
of 13 to 22 percent. If the grapes are to be used for wine, they should be
picked whenever they reach the sugar content you want. Table grapes are
usually picked when they taste sweet. In either case, a “taste test”
is the best indicator of when to pick.
Harvest fruit during the
cooler part of the day by cutting the bunches from the vine with pruners
or hand shears. Muscadine grapes are picked individually like other
berries. Plan to refrigerate the grapes soon after harvest. They will
usually remain in good condition for three to 10 days.
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Problems
Hoeing aids in weed and grass
control, which is very important in grape care. Chemical herbicides may be
used as an aid in weed management, but for most garden plantings their use
is not recommended because the grape plants are easily damaged. Mulching
with about four inches of straw, sawdust, or pine bark helps control weeds
and conserves water. However, mulch may become a home for mice and voles
in the winter. To help discourage the mice from feeding on the bark of the
vines, pull the mulch back about six inches from the vine trunks.
Grapes are susceptible to many
diseases and insects. The most notable animal pests are phylloxera, grape
leafroller, climbing cutworm, and nematodes. Borers, flea beetles, grape
berry moth, various caterpillars, gall-making insects, aphids, mealybugs,
and Japanese beetles may be occasional pests. Mites, thrips, leafhoppers,
and treehoppers may be important pests because they can transmit diseases,
especially viruses, from one vine to another.
Phylloxera, a root louse, is
managed by grafting susceptible varieties of grapes onto resistant
rootstocks, or by planting resistant varieties. There are many chemical
control options for other insect pests. However, homeowners may want to
use alternative methods of pest control, including the planting of
resistant varieties (where available), using soaps for aphid and spider
mite control, specific Bacillus thuringiensis preparations for
caterpillars, sticky traps for beetles, pheromone ties for grape berry
moth, and planting marigolds the year before grapes for nematode control.
For more information, see the Insect
Problems article.
There are several diseases of
importance to grape growers. Most of the diseases can be treated with
fungicides labelled for that purpose. Important fungal grapevine diseases
include powdery mildew, downy mildew, and black rot. These diseases
usually require several sprays to get adequate control. Grapevines can
acquire crown gall disease—a bacterial infection which causes an
enlarged area at a wound site or near the base of the trunk, sometimes
girdling the vine. This disease is sometimes treatable by pruning out the
infected area. Good sanitation practices during pruning help prevent its
spread, but will not stop it. Infected plants may need to be completely
removed. Diseases may be identified by your county extension agent or the
nursery from which you purchased the vines. For more information on fungi,
see the Fungus Problems article.
The most important
consideration is to obtain healthy and disease-free plants. Grapevines
often show very few visible symptoms of virus disease, but infected plants
do poorly and produce little fruit. Therefore, it is important to obtain
certified plants from virus-free stock. Choosing virus resistant varieties
also may help. Most nurseries have certified disease-free plants
available.
A very common disease of grape
plants is herbicide injury. Although weed control is important in grape
beds, herbicides must be used with care to prevent injury to the grape
plants. Hand weeding, where practical, is a good idea.
Relative
Disease Susceptibility of the Most Common Grape Cultivars
|
Principal
Cultivar
| Black
Rot
| Downy
Mildew
| Powdery
Mildew
| Botrytis
|
American
|
Canadice
| ***
| **
| *
| ** |
Steuben
| **
| *
| *
| * |
Delaware
| **
| ***(1)
| **
| * |
Concord
| ***
| *
| **
| * |
Reliance
| ***
| ***
| **
| * |
Niagara
| ***
| ***
| **
| * |
Cayuga White
| *
| **
| *
| * |
Catawba
| ***
| ***
| **
| * |
French-American
Hybrid
|
DeChaunac
| *
| **
| **
| * |
Seyval
Blanc
| **
| **
| ***
| *** |
Vidal Blanc
| *
| **
| ***
| * |
Key
to ratings: * = slightly susceptible or sensitive; ** =
moderately susceptible or sensitive; *** = highly susceptible or
sensitive; (1) = berries not susceptible. |
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