Building my own Vineyard... umm?

[gfish]

I just started working on an area in my yard to start growing grapes, black berries and other vine fruit for making my wines. Any words from the wise that has been there and done that? thanks FISH

 

[jamesngalveston]

i would grow muscadines...lot easier to take care of then grapes..and very hearty to your area...i find some wild ones, take cuttings and plant. pretty much decease resistant also.

 

[gfish]

Muscadine

i would grow muscadines...lot easier to take care of then grapes..and very hearty to your area...i find some wild ones, take cuttings and plant. pretty much decease resistant also.

I do have muscadine vines but looking to go a step farther with grapes and a must blackberry,

Now on the cutting will take if I cut the vine and can start regrowth? does it take well?

thanks

 

[spaniel]

- Plant varieties that are comfortable for your zone, regardless of what you like to drink. Vines take 4-5 years to get to full production, don't waste time trying to get marginal vines to take or get them near maturity only to lose them to a winter cold snap.
- Spray underneath them once they are up far enough to strip all foliage on the bottom 3 feet. Really cuts down on the work.
- Don't skimp on the trellis.
- Make sure you understand how to prune/train them before they are big enough to need to do it. Get it wrong and it can cost you a year or two.

 

[Johntodd]

I'm an experienced gardner (I grow most of our food supply), and I recently started a vineyard. I can tell you this:

The pickier you are about your wine requirements, the bigger a PITA the vineyard will be. Concentrate instead on growing great, healthy vines and fruits. Let each vine produce what Nature wants it to produce, and you'll make your life so much easier:

1. After you scope out the site, hit it hard with RoundUp or Gramaxone. Burn the weeds and grass straight to heck. If you don't, it'll haunt you for years.

2. When you dig the hole for the plant, double-dig it. IOW, dig to double the depth required. In the bottom half put 1 shovel of BioChar* that has been soaked in Bokashi* liquid. Backfill with the dirt to the required height, then plant the vine at the right depth. Backfill, water, etc.

3. Use a mulch with a weed blocking layer under it (that black stuff that comes in rolls). Secure it well down your rows.

4. On the high side of each plant, about 1 foot away, dig a "water cup" about 1 foot deep, 1 shovel wide, and 2 foot long. Pour water there to irrigate each vine. Makes it easier, and also holds rain water. (High side? Almost all ground has some slope to it. Use your judgement).

What is BioChar and Bokashi?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biochar

http://www.bokashicomposting.com/

I know those two things may seem very strange, but I can attest that they work wonderfully! Our kitchen scraps for a family of 4 for an entire year breaks down to less than 50 gallons of "stuff". All of those nutrients are now causing my 10 fruit trees to shoot up like rocket.

You needn't buy any special buckets or supplies to make bokashi. Simply toss kitchen scraps in a sealable bucket and let them rot. Do not open the bucket when conscious beings are around, or they may pass out!

 

[gfish]

Thanks

- Plant varieties that are comfortable for your zone, regardless of what you like to drink. Vines take 4-5 years to get to full production, don't waste time trying to get marginal vines to take or get them near maturity only to lose them to a winter cold snap.
- Spray underneath them once they are up far enough to strip all foliage on the bottom 3 feet. Really cuts down on the work.
- Don't skimp on the trellis.
- Make sure you understand how to prune/train them before they are big enough to need to do it. Get it wrong and it can cost you a year or two.

Thanks for the input, very helpful

 

[gfish]

Great info

I'm an experienced gardner (I grow most of our food supply), and I recently started a vineyard. I can tell you this:

The pickier you are about your wine requirements, the bigger a PITA the vineyard will be. Concentrate instead on growing great, healthy vines and fruits. Let each vine produce what Nature wants it to produce, and you'll make your life so much easier:

1. After you scope out the site, hit it hard with RoundUp or Gramaxone. Burn the weeds and grass straight to heck. If you don't, it'll haunt you for years.

2. When you dig the hole for the plant, double-dig it. IOW, dig to double the depth required. In the bottom half put 1 shovel of BioChar* that has been soaked in Bokashi* liquid. Backfill with the dirt to the required height, then plant the vine at the right depth. Backfill, water, etc.

3. Use a mulch with a weed blocking layer under it (that black stuff that comes in rolls). Secure it well down your rows.

4. On the high side of each plant, about 1 foot away, dig a "water cup" about 1 foot deep, 1 shovel wide, and 2 foot long. Pour water there to irrigate each vine. Makes it easier, and also holds rain water. (High side? Almost all ground has some slope to it. Use your judgement).

What is BioChar and Bokashi?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biochar

http://www.bokashicomposting.com/

I know those two things may seem very strange, but I can attest that they work wonderfully! Our kitchen scraps for a family of 4 for an entire year breaks down to less than 50 gallons of "stuff". All of those nutrients are now causing my 10 fruit trees to shoot up like rocket.

You needn't buy any special buckets or supplies to make bokashi. Simply toss kitchen scraps in a sealable bucket and let them rot. Do not open the bucket when conscious beings are around, or they may pass out!

Thanks a lot for your input, really good help!