FERTILIZING GRAPES

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NorthernWinos

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It's that time of the year....Spring has finally arrived in the Northland.

I have been outside fertilizing my flowers, raspberries, garlic, asparagus..Most get a top dressing of compost and some chemical fertilizers.....then I look over at the grapes and wonder what they need.

So far I have never fertilized the grapes with anything other than compost...when I plant them I dig a big hole and fill it with compost...then top dress.

I will soon have access to tons of fertilizer as Jim brings spreaders and truck loads home to plant his crops...He will have loads of Urea [46-0-0] Potash [0-0-60] Map [11-52-0] For corn it will be a blend of 17-10-30 with added Zinc Sulfate and Magnesium or Manganese as well he uses NH3 Anhydrous Ammonia on the corn...but I can't use any of that.

Is any of that stuff good to sprinkle around the grapes???? Like maybe the corn blend 17-10-30?
 
I think it may be a little rich as I've always read 10-10-10 is enough but the real grape growing guy will know for sure!
smiley4.gif
 
NW, you should sneak in a soil sample with Jim's field samples. That is the best way to know what fertilizer if any you grapes need - short of petiole samples later in the season. You pruned your vines back pretty good so you don't want to push growth with high nitrogen fertilizer. From what I have seen of your grapes, they are fairly lush all year and don't need extra fertility. The topdressing of compost should be enough for them.


A soil test will give you the pH of the soil, N,P, and K and any selected minor or micronutrients. If you just have to apply some fertilizer because you have it- don't use more than a half cup per vine or less. You could blend 2 cups of MAP(11-52-0) and one cup of Potash(0-0-60). That would give you some of all major nutrients, but give you more P than K and just a little N. The Phosphous is for the root system, so that helps your vines survive the winter and dry times.
 
Our pH in the fields run 7 to 7.2...kind of high. The area I chose for the garden was the side of a wheat field when we moved here in 1999....The soil is black clay/sand that turns into bricks when wet and baked in the sun....can't work the soil when it's wet or you get clods.

The compost we mix up has all the yard and kitchen waste plus loaders of rotted dairy manure/straw...as well he puts loaders of some nice black dirt/silt that came out of a livestock watering hole we had dredged out to reclaim it from run off...So...think the compost is pretty rich....maybe the compost is enough....Have a good supply of compost.....will continue with the compost and leave the chemicals for the field crops.

Thanks.

Edited by: Northern Winos
 
It's hard not doing something isn't it NW. You want to get out there and do the best for things, but sometimes that is just doing nothing more than you already are. Your grapes always look terrific. Are your buds swelling yet?
 
I also read where 10-10-10 is recommended for grapes.How does 13-13-13 compare to 10-10-10 ( never seen it around here, 13-13-13 is common)? I have no idea what the #s mean.


I haven't found anywhere where I can get the soil tested. Besides, I can take a 10x 10' area, dig holes every 2' & get different grades of clay, loam, clay/loam mix, etc.


When I was setting up wires for the grapes/muscadine I planted, I'd use -a- gas auger to put in the end posts. Sometimes it would go right down, - other spots- a few feet away- it would just spin. Have to start a hole with post hole diggers, fill with water & wait for it to soak in to go down another 1/2", and again, and again, until I got deep enough. Some holes took a couple of days.


What I'd give for real dirt!
 
BJ, the 10-10-10 or 13-13-13 stand for the pounds each in 100 pounds(or percent) of Nitrogen-Phosphorous- and Potash(basically Potassium). So the difference in the two is 3 pounds per 100 of N-P and K. The ratio is important between them for different crops. All crops have different requirements at differing times. The general recommendations of 10-10-10 is that you can't do too much damage using an all purpose fertilizer in relatively small amounts. Just don't overdo it when they are young.
 
appleman the vines are bleeding here now from the pruning. It will be another week or so before the buds start to swell I think. Just about everything has started here. I will get some pictures tomorrow.
 

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