Ricky2Guns
Member
- Joined
- Aug 14, 2018
- Messages
- 66
- Reaction score
- 32
In Brief the military sent me to FT Bliss TX from Long Island NY. Now I’m a Cowboy in training, name is Ricky2Guns ( or just Rick). Decided to buy a house (just closed on it 7 JUL 2018) and become a Texan. My goal as it relates to the forum is growing successful grape vines. Not ready ( for the moment) in making wine, just full bodies clusters for the table. I’ve made just about all the mistakes a newbie can make in getting started.
To my credit, I did do some things right. I’ve put up my stakes 6 feet apart, I ran my wires 1’ and 4’ off the ground. I have rocky/sandy native soil which I mixed 50/50 compost. The ball of the trunk sits above ground, and the hole I dug was twice the size of the bucket the vines were purchased in. I’m not running irrigation yet as my goal is to run vines along my rock walls for the ambiance. The irrigation system will be installed when the sod is put in ( spaced away from the vines with a 2’ brick wall divider.
Now the things I did wrong. I started planting my vines too early (not the winter/spring as I found out later). I may have over watered them during the initial transplant. Seven out of nine seem to be in shock as they’ve dropped all their leaves, Paid to much for very small vines then learned the local nursery had better selections at competitive pricing to the smaller ones I got from Lowes.
As for soil testing I got a $10 tester at Lowes home improvement. I measured moisture with varying results from dry to over watered. PH levels measured at a 7 and the location gets over 8hrs of sun. I tend to join forums for hobbies I start as I get better results by sharing information with people who share the same passions. Looking forward to getting on the right track as I continue to read more of the what the GRAPEMAN posts, and input from others.
Wow, I never write this much!
To my credit, I did do some things right. I’ve put up my stakes 6 feet apart, I ran my wires 1’ and 4’ off the ground. I have rocky/sandy native soil which I mixed 50/50 compost. The ball of the trunk sits above ground, and the hole I dug was twice the size of the bucket the vines were purchased in. I’m not running irrigation yet as my goal is to run vines along my rock walls for the ambiance. The irrigation system will be installed when the sod is put in ( spaced away from the vines with a 2’ brick wall divider.
Now the things I did wrong. I started planting my vines too early (not the winter/spring as I found out later). I may have over watered them during the initial transplant. Seven out of nine seem to be in shock as they’ve dropped all their leaves, Paid to much for very small vines then learned the local nursery had better selections at competitive pricing to the smaller ones I got from Lowes.
As for soil testing I got a $10 tester at Lowes home improvement. I measured moisture with varying results from dry to over watered. PH levels measured at a 7 and the location gets over 8hrs of sun. I tend to join forums for hobbies I start as I get better results by sharing information with people who share the same passions. Looking forward to getting on the right track as I continue to read more of the what the GRAPEMAN posts, and input from others.
Wow, I never write this much!
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