Row spacing for Marquette vines

[Bobhissar]

Hi folks, I am new to the forum. I will be putting Marquette vines next spring on side of the house. The rows will be north to South. It gets atleast 8 hours of sun plus there is slope from west to east so one row shading next wont be an issue as each row will be at least 1.25 ft higher than the other. To maximize the vines, i am thinking 4.5 ft between the rows and about 7 ft spacing between plants in the row. This way i can do 3 rows of 70 ft each. If I go 6 ft spacing, i can only do 2 rows. Is 4.5 feet row spacing ok? I dont have tractor. Can mow grass with small lawnmower in the rows. How wide do the vines get! I will do TWC. Will the vines be touching each other (from one row to another)? When the vines are about 4-5 years old, can a person walk between rows to do sprays and leaf pulling? Any advice will be very much appreciated. If anyone has mature Marquette vines, can they post a picture. Thanks , Bob

 

[ChuckD]

Welcome Bob. I’m putting in some Marquette next week. I’m going with 10 feet between the rows and 7 foot vine spacing, but I’m not space limited. I’m guessing 4 feet between the rows with TWC will have the vines nearly touching.

 

[sour_grapes]

Welcome to WMT!

 

[Rice_Guy]

I have rows at eight feet and started with plants at eight. I sometimes wish I had spaced rows so that I could pass up then down with the lawn mower so today might try a seven foot row, like Chuck any replanting I do is ten or twelve foot plant to plant.

There is some reaching from row to row with the concord/ any vigorous growing vine. You could survive this by pruning a few times a summer to manage growth. You should expect to do some pruning to expose clusters for veraison. ,,, Spraying without spraying yourself will be harder at 4.5 feet. A tighter pattern will have less air flow and more disease pressure/ need for spraying. ,, Basically the commercial folks/ university test plots haven’t found it cost effective with tighter planting, it means serious work.

Welcome to Wine Making Talk

 

[VinesnBines]

Actually, the top consultants in Virginia recommend four foot between the rows and three feet between the plants for vinifera. The yield is better with the tight spacing. I have 90 vinifera in a five row block with the 3/4 spacing.

For the large vineyard of hybrids, I have 10 feet between the rows so the tractor can pass. I have the vines at six feet apart.

With good hedging, I think you will be fine with your plans. It is your vineyard and only you will know what is best for your site.

 

[montanarick]

If you plan on going TWC, vines will definitely overlap each other. I had 9' row spacing and it was like walking through a tunnel late in the summer. You may want to consider VSP so you can control spread of shoot growth upward as opposed to out to each side of vine. Good luck

 

[Bobhissar]

If you plan on going TWC, vines will definitely overlap each other. I had 9' row spacing and it was like walking through a tunnel late in the summer. You may want to consider VSP so you can control spread of shoot growth upward as opposed to out to each side of vine. Good luck

Thanks for your advice.

 

[Bobhissar]

If you plan on going TWC, vines will definitely overlap each other. I had 9' row spacing and it was like walking through a tunnel late in the summer. You may want to consider VSP so you can control spread of shoot growth upward as opposed to out to each side of vine. Good luck

Thanks

 

[Bobhissar]

Actually, the top consultants in Virginia recommend four foot between the rows and three feet between the plants for vinifera. The yield is better with the tight spacing. I have 90 vinifera in a five row block with the 3/4 spacing.

For the large vineyard of hybrids, I have 10 feet between the rows so the tractor can pass. I have the vines at six feet apart.

With good hedging, I think you will be fine with your plans. It is your vineyard and only you will know what is best for your site.

Thank you!

 

[Bobhissar]

I have rows at eight feet and started with plants at eight. I sometimes wish I had spaced rows so that I could pass up then down with the lawn mower so today might try a seven foot row, like Chuck any replanting I do is ten or twelve foot plant to plant.

There is some reaching from row to row with the concord/ any vigorous growing vine. You could survive this by pruning a few times a summer to manage growth. You should expect to do some pruning to expose clusters for veraison. ,,, Spraying without spraying yourself will be harder at 4.5 feet. A tighter pattern will have less air flow and more disease pressure/ need for spraying. ,, Basically the commercial folks/ university test plots haven’t found it cost effective with tighter planting, it means serious work.

Welcome to Wine Making Talk

Thanks you!

 

[Bobhissar]

Welcome Bob. I’m putting in some Marquette next week. I’m going with 10 feet between the rows and 7 foot vine spacing, but I’m not space limited. I’m guessing 4 feet between the rows with TWC will have the vines nearly touching.

Thanks Chuck!

 

[wood1954]

I agree with a wider spacing. it's easier to mow and easier to spray. Also with such tight spacing you might have greater fungal and mildew problems as the vines will have a hard time drying out, moisture is your enemy. I did 8x8 spacing and it works pretty good. Marquette can be very vegetative, good luck.

 

[Bobhissar]

I agree with a wider spacing. it's easier to mow and easier to spray. Also with such tight spacing you might have greater fungal and mildew problems as the vines will have a hard time drying out, moisture is your enemy. I did 8x8 spacing and it works pretty good. Marquette can be very vegetative, good luck.

Thanks for your advice. I am going to go 7 ft. Thats the max i can go for row spacing.

 

[Cynewulf]

Is 4.5 feet row spacing ok? I dont have tractor. Can mow grass with small lawnmower in the rows. How wide do the vines get! I will do TWC. Will the vines be touching each other (from one row to another)? When the vines are about 4-5 years old, can a person walk between rows to do sprays and leaf pulling? Any advice will be very much appreciated. If anyone has mature Marquette vines, can they post a picture. Thanks , Bob

Sounds like you’ve decided what you want to do, but since you asked for photos I figured I’d share a couple to give you a visual reference. I originally planted all Cabernet Franc at 4 ft between vines and 5 ft between rows, but after struggling with disease and pests, I replaced about 2/3 of the Cab Franc vines with Marquette. I’m not sure it was the right move but it’s what I did. I went out of town for a week and this is what I came back to:

The Marquette are VSP on the same spacing as the original Cab Franc and you can see them reaching out to touch each other across the rows. Meanwhile, in the second photo all the way to the right you can see one of my remaining Cab Franc vines standing up neatly like a model vineyard citizen.

 

[wood1954]

Here’s my Marquette on 8’ rows

 

[Bobhissar]

Sounds like you’ve decided what you want to do, but since you asked for photos I figured I’d share a couple to give you a visual reference. I originally planted all Cabernet Franc at 4 ft between vines and 5 ft between rows, but after struggling with disease and pests, I replaced about 2/3 of the Cab Franc vines with Marquette. I’m not sure it was the right move but it’s what I did. I went out of town for a week and this is what I came back to: View attachment 89140 View attachment 89141 The Marquette are VSP on the same spacing as the original Cab Franc and you can see them reaching out to touch each other across the rows. Meanwhile, in the second photo all the way to the right you can see one of my remaining Cab Franc vines standing up neatly like a model vineyard citizen.

 

[Bobhissar]

Thanks very much for posting pictures. Based on your pictures and feedback others provided, i will do 6 ft spacing. Thats the most I can do.

 

[Bobhissar]

Here’s my Marquette on 8’ rowsView attachment 89147
Thanks very much for posting picture.