Baco Noir and Seyval Blanc in Utah

Just planted 26 Baco's and 24 Seyval Blancs here in Utah. No life yet, and now I'm worrying about water. I drowned the he$l out of them when I planted last week. I flood irrigate. They look good. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Any buds that look like they are starting to swell? What are your night time lows like? Soil temp?

I see snow in the back ground!

baco noir

Night time lows on average are 50 degrees. There are a lot of buds that look like there swelling, but did when i planted them. My Pinot Gris in the same vineyard are leafing out. I do not know how tonget a soil temp, but would love to learn how.

I drowned them again tonight. Soil is very dry. We do live in a dessert state!

They should begin to swell and open any time now. It can take 2-3 weeks for them to wake up and begin to grow. Remember they are dormant when you get them. Good luck and before you know it they will be nice and green.

Easiest way to do soil temp is with a digital probe of sorts. Something like this:



If your having nighttime lows of 50 and daytime highs in the 70-80 it won't be long. Keeping them a little wet is not a bad idea when they are tender and just getting going. I am guessing your soil is well drained sandy soil much like mine.

Your site looks well prepared!

I have something like that I could use to get a soil temp. How deep?
Actually my soil is heavy clay. One of the reasons I went with Baco Noir. Time will tell if that was a good choice.

I'm anxious to see how you do - looks great - I'll be following your progress!

Life!

Ok, the Baco's are really coming to life. The Seyvals seem a little less enthusiastic. But its nice to see some growth!
I bought my vines from double a and have not pruned them back. My question is should i do it now, cut them back to two nodes? Or just let them grow the first year? I have not given them any nitrogen, should i do it now? I really think i need to cut back on the water. I dont think Im past frost danger yet.
Im anxious to get some wire strung and training vines to the wire!

Grapeman is the real vine expert here but I will add my $0.02. I would not fertilize until all danger of frost is over. Keep them watered but not overly so. Usually you let them go the first year and see where the dominant drunk is then trim everything back after you have selected it the next year. Pinch off any clusters form this year.

The Seyvals have very red buds.



The Bacos grow like weeds.

Thanks ibglowin. I think that is what I will do. I might pick one or two and start training for the wire though. Just not cut anything back. Roger on the cluster thinning. That one I knew. None next year either I believe.
BTW, I'm the dominant drunk in the vineyard, and I'm not going to be trimmed back. LOL

That soil looks as described! I would try and add some organic if you have not already started. Get some bags of potting soil and start working it in to each vine. They will thank you down the road for sure!

I would prune back to one main shoot and leave 3 or 4 buds on that. Your vine has limited roots (although adequate). By only keeping a few buds, you get all the vine vigor in those few shoots and they grow large and healthy. If you leave all the vine to grow, you will get 40-50 less than vigorous shoots. The vines will grow either way, but you get a healthier start by just growing the few shoots. Total dry matter will be the same produced so the few shoots give you better choices at pruning next year. Some of the vines we planted last year grew 8 feet and are nice and large. That gave us great choices in which shoots to keep this year to form the trunks.

Ok. Its done. I cut them back as you said. They are really growing! There are buds everywhere, so I cut them back, and pinched off all the suckers. Theres just three or four buds on them.
I guess now its time to get some bambo shoots.
Thanks for your help.

A couple of thoughts (Grapeman is the expert, but I have grown both Baco and Seyval) As soon as you see positive growth, cut back to one or two buds. On the fertilizer, I would not add Nitrogen unless a soil test indicates it. Over fertilizing a variety like Baco which is a prolific grower will lead to all tops and weak grapes for years. I simple soil test will tell you. Clay can be pretty deficient, but I pays to know for sure. Any garden center or university can do it for you.

That is what I thought, and why I asked the question. They grow like crazy and I plan to hold them back with good irrigation and very little fertilizer. They currently sure don't look like they need anything.
Are Seyval as prolific? They currently don't seem to be, but it's early.

Oh, and yes, soil test will be done. Probably a little late on that.

Had some afternoon thunder storms. Nothing got wet. Sure was an electrical show!