Planting The Vine

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

How to plant grapes correctly

The first grape bushes appeared in the greenhouse of our garden, which is located in the Gatchinsky district of the Leningrad region, in 2000. They were presented to us by Natalya Vyacheslavovna Ivanova - not just an amateur gardener, but also a great lover of sharing her achievements.

She and her daughter Ekaterina Pavlovna began growing grapes back in 1985. They bought different varieties of grapes in different regions of the Soviet Union and left the most winter-hardy, tasty and fruitful ones in their garden.

This is how varieties such as Aleshenkin, Kishmish, Korinka, Muromets and others appeared in their greenhouse. The Ivanovs annually harvest 60 or more kilograms of black and green tasty, aromatic grapes. And this is in the North-West, near St. Petersburg.

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My wife and I saw this miracle and "got sick" with it. The Ivanovs generously shared with us their experience of growing vines. We also read a lot of literature on this topic. We already have our own experience, which we want to share with novice gardeners.

In our opinion, the most important operation in the cultivation of grapes is the planting of the vine, which, in turn, begins with the choice of the place. The grapes should be planted in the sunniest place, where there are no drafts. We planted our vine in a greenhouse located south to north along its length. The grapes are well lit, ventilated and warmed by the sun.

It is known that the vine can live 400 years or more. Its roots go so deep that it is difficult to imagine. Therefore, the vine must be planted once and for all.

The planting hole is best prepared in the fall, and in the spring, start planting a seedling. The pit arrangement is of great importance. We chose the following pit dimensions for our grapes: the width is 70x70 cm, and its depth is 80 cm. If the soil in the pit is sandy or peaty, then a "pillow" of clay 10 cm thick is made at the bottom, it compresses well.

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Fig. 1. Planting pit for planting grapes

We pour sand to a depth of 5 cm, compact it. We place on the sand: solid ABA fertilizer (50 g), superphosphate (100 g), potassium salt (100 g). Place a layer of gravel 10 cm thick or cobblestone (5-6 cm in diameter) on the sand.

The next stage in the planting pit device is to install a polyethylene pipe. It is designed for watering and supplying liquid fertilizer to the roots of the seedling. Its main purpose is to prevent the formation of superficial roots that the seedling does not need, since they can suffer from frost, injuring the plant. When liquid is supplied through the pipe, the main roots, receiving more moisture and nutrition, will tend to grow below the surface ones, develop to the drainage volume and deeper.

We install the pipe vertically with metal brackets. It is necessary to lower it into the depths of the cobblestone by about 5-7 cm.

The pipe is perforated in the lower part to a height of 5 cm, the diameter of the holes is 5-6 mm, they are staggered. A perforation device is necessary for a uniform supply of fluid to the drain. Cover the top of the pipe with a lid to prevent debris.

On cobblestones or gravel, we lay the flooring tightly in the form of dry slats or sticks with a diameter of 1.5-2 cm to prevent the cobblestones from clogging up with soil (Fig. 1). We place the main soil on the deck, consisting of the following parts: 1 - turf soil (1/3 of the volume), 2 - river sand (1/3 of the volume), 3 - humus, rotted manure for 2-3 years (1/3 of the volume) …

Figure: 2. Planting a vine

We add to this soil: 1 bucket of wood ash and burnt bones in crushed form, 240 g of superphosphate, 150 g of potassium salt. We prepare this mixture on the surface, even before entering the pit.

We thoroughly mix all the components, and if the soil mixture is dry, then we moisten it until it is crumbly. The soil pH should be between 5.5-7. Then we fill the soil into the hole with a layer of 20-25 cm, slightly compact it and proceed to planting the seedling. To do this, in the center of the hole we pour a mound of soil, put a seedling with a lump of earth on it, straighten the roots.

After that, we fill the seedling with soil so that the plant has two buds on the surface of the earth. Then two lashes will go from them: one - to the left, the other - to the right. The first bud (lower) should be located no higher than 5-10 cm above the ground (Fig. 2). This is due to the convenience of sheltering the vine for the winter period (it must be pressed to the ground).

Continuing to fill in the roots, shake and compact the layer a little. When the roots of the seedling are covered with earth, we will begin to water the seedling with warm water through the pipe. You need 20-40 liters of water.

After the soil has settled, level the surface, mulch it with peat or humus, cover it with a black film measuring 90x90 cm and press it with clods of earth (Fig. 2). This ends the planting of grapes. After one or two weeks, we check the soil level, if necessary, add the required amount, mulch, cover with black film.

The first year, the seedling does not need to be fertilized, you only need to water it with warm water every week (10-15 liters) until the end of July. Watering is reduced during flowering and completely stopped during ripening.

The calculation of water for irrigation is carried out taking into account the fact that during the growing season the grape bush consumes 5 liters of water daily. In addition, the water consumption for irrigation depends on the air temperature, the intensity of ventilation in the greenhouse and the mobility of the air outside.

Pipe irrigation is the most efficient and economical method.

Read the next part. Phased formation of a grape bush →