Growing Grapes In The Leningrad Region: A Greenhouse Or Open Ground?

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

How I "got to know" grapes

The biggest misconception of gardeners, both experienced and beginner, is that grapes require complex care. But this is not so - you can get a decent result with minimal plant care.

First of all, I would like to start with the background of my acquaintance with grapes. It was at that moment that my approaches to growing this crop were formed. More than ten years ago, I got three grape seedlings through barter. Then I was skeptical about this, and in order not to take up precious space on the site, it was decided to plant seedlings on a new untreated site.

And what was my surprise when, three years later, while clearing the site for the foundation of the future house, I found in the grass two live bushes of grapes, and even with berries. Having tasted them, I was surprised, it was a new taste discovery for me: I have never met such shades of taste. After all, what I could taste before, having bought bunches of berries in the store, only remotely resembled the taste of my grapes, and I had not yet traveled to the south, where it grows en masse.

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As a person keen on plants, he began to study grapes and very soon found out that they have been growing it for a long time in our Leningrad Region, and even our friends are doing it. On their advice, I bought a few more seedlings and planted them in a greenhouse, so my friends grew grapes exclusively in greenhouses. There was enough space in the greenhouse only for new seedlings, and those bushes that already grew on the site, we left on the street. At first, much in the cultivation technology and in the culture itself was incomprehensible and difficult, it took a lot of time, especially when a spider mite appeared in the greenhouse.

Why I chose open ground for growing grapes

Liepsna grape variety

The new seedlings were already adults, so I received the first fruits in the greenhouse the next year after they were planted. I was surprised that the bushes growing in the open field yielded no worse than the vine in the greenhouse. At the same time, care for them was minimal: I only cut them off in the fall, even forgetting to cover them for the winter. Therefore, based on observations of grapes over the past years, I can note that in the open ground this culture is not affected by diseases and pests that periodically appear in the greenhouse, and plants placed in the garden require much less care.

I have already begun to select all the new varieties taking into account the fact that they are intended exclusively for growing in the open field. But since it is very difficult to find exhaustive information about the variety of interest to me, I had to go through a very large number of varieties through trial and error through personal experience. Most of the varieties overwintered normally, but only those remained in my collection that had time to pick up sugar even in a cold summer, and from several varieties with similar tastes, I chose one, in my opinion, the best in taste.

By no means do I want to say that there is no need to grow grapes in a greenhouse, but only in the open field. It all depends on what goals you set. If you are chasing a large fleshy berry, then only a greenhouse can give such a result. And if you, like me, want to eat a fragrant berry with an unusual rich taste, then it is easier to grow it on the street. The size of the fruits will be medium, those that weigh more than five grams may not pick up the right amount of sugar. If you want berries not only at the end of summer, then super-early varieties for open ground can be planted in a greenhouse, they will ripen in mid-summer, but care in the greenhouse will also require appropriate.

Let's compare the main difference between outdoor and greenhouse cultivation. In the spring in the greenhouse, grapes wake up early and every year they get frozen. As a result, it has to be sprayed with stimulants and insulated. In the open field, the vine wakes up much later - late May - early June, the vine and swollen buds are not afraid of recurrent frosts. Of course, there are frosts in mid-June, then young shoots need to be covered, but this happens extremely rarely.

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Grape variety Supaga

In the summer, watering is required in the greenhouse. The increased temperature and humidity of the air contributes to the appearance of pests and diseases. Spider mites, thrips, powdery mildew (powdery mildew), downy mildew (mildew), various rot and others - all this will sooner or later. In the open field, for all the years of my observations, grape plants do not get sick, and the affected seedlings, being planted on the street, recover within a month.

It turns out that in the open field we do without a single processing, which means that we get an environmentally friendly berry. Even if the roof is removed from the greenhouse for the winter, the snow cover in it is much less. This means that the ground freezes there more strongly, and the grapes require serious shelter. In the open ground, those varieties that overwinter require only a light dry shelter from the winter thaws, when + 5 ° C happens in January and it rains.

As a result, it turns out that the greenhouse gives the only benefit: the grapes ripen 2-3 weeks earlier, and varieties with very large berries can be grown there. But there are a lot of cons and work. In the open field, everything is much easier, however, a more limited number of varieties can be grown there.

My opinion: is it worth spending so much effort when you can grow sweet grapes much easier, moreover, environmentally friendly? And a large fleshy berry can be bought in the store.

In my collection, the varieties Zilga, Muscat Nina, Supaga, F 14 75, the Riddle of Sharova, Thumbelina, 545, Varduva, Liepsna, Moskovsky steady, Yubileyny Gailunesa, Palanga, Yadviga, Aglaya, Liepass Dzintars, Olita, Meda, Korinka grow in open ground Russian, Iza, Aleshenkin, Pink Pearl, Violet August, Stella, Monica, Lucille, Alpha, Krasa Severa (Olga), Shasla Gailunesa, Tsiravas agra, Guna, Svalya, Rilines pink seed foxes and other varieties that are being introduced (introduction to culture of foreign plant species). Varieties Arcadia, 342, Kishmish radiant and Laura grow only in a greenhouse.

Zilga grape variety

Having tested various varieties on my site, I am now more inclined to growing varieties of the Baltic selection. For gardeners who are starting to deal with grapes, I would first of all recommend choosing varieties: Zilga, Muscat Nina, Supaga, F 14 75 - has a female type of flower, but is well pollinated by another variety. These varieties have high growth vigor, good frost resistance and different flavors. Having tasted their berries, you will understand how different they are.

When pruning vines, I prefer fan pruning in four sleeves, combining knot and knot replacement techniques on one bush.

Given the unfavorable weather conditions and their consequences for grapes, I want to warn everyone who is involved in this crop: it is necessary to remove the shelter from the grapes as early as possible in spring.

Last year's early spring led to the fact that under cover the grapes woke up ahead of schedule and suffered from frosts in May, which were very strong in places. It's early spring again, so the shelter needs to be removed as soon as the snow melts. If the grapes still woke up earlier, and frost is promised, spray it with Epin + Extrasol + Cytovit, or Ekofus with Epin or succinic acid and cover it with a dense spunbond.

In case the grapes still suffer, then treatment with Zircon + Ekofus preparations is needed. Even if you do nothing, the grapes will still bear fruit, but it is better to help him in order to have a good harvest.

Read the next part. Planting and forming grapes →

Sergey Sadov, experienced gardener, Severnaya Loza nursery

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