Sanity check my new vineyard

[BigH]

Howdy all. First post, although I have been lurking for a while. Lots of great information on here, btw.

I have put together the following plan for a small 50' by 150' vineyard that I can hopefully expand in the future. I would like to know your thoughts, criticisms, and suggestions.

5 rows running N/S on a hill facing North to Northeast in south/central Iowa. N/S direction is the longer dimension. Hill has about a 9% grade

Growing Zone : 5A
GDD per year : about 3250
Frost free growing season : 162'ish
Typical minimum winter temp: -17 F

Soil qualities : Sandy loam, former pasture
PH : 6.15-6.40
Organic matter : 4.4% at 3", 2.5% at 9"
Phosphorus : ~ 7ppm : amended with 45 pounds of 0-46-0
Potassium : 257 at 3", 167 at 9"
Mg : 424 at 3", 522 at 9"

Rows : # vines, variety , spacing, trellis/training
Row 1 (aka the girly row): 9 Edelwiess, 8', GDC : 9 Brianna, 8' GDC
Row 2: 9 Marechal Foch, 8' TWC : 9 Marquette, 8' TWC
Row 3: 9 St Croix, 8' GDC : 9 Frontenac, GDC
Row 4: 9 LaCrescent, 8', undecided : 9 LaCrosse, 8' VSP
Row 5: 9 Petite Pearl, 8', GDC : 9 Frontenac Blanc, 8' GDC

Current plan is to space the rows 10' apart. A university extension horticulturist has recommended increasing to 11' to account for the GDC width. I should have room for that. He has also advised that I increase the spacing on rows 2 and 4 to 9' between vines (I think to deal with vigor). I am still tinkering with that idea to see how it fits.

Prepared soil by plowing, discing, and finally rototilling after applying recommended phosphorus in a highly scientific manner.

Ok. Let me have it. Does any of this sound like terrible?

H^2

 

[grapeman]

Welcome to the forum and thanks for sharing.
The wider space between rows is a good idea since you are using GDC. I'm not sure about the extra space for the two rows. That will mess with your line post spacing a bit and those two rows will end up longer than the others.

Everything else looks good. Good luck with the planting and future vineyard.

 

[BigH]

Welcome to the forum and thanks for sharing.
The wider space between rows is a good idea since you are using GDC. I'm not sure about the extra space for the two rows. That will mess with your line post spacing a bit and those two rows will end up longer than the others.

Everything else looks good. Good luck with the planting and future vineyard.

Thanks for the advice. I was hoping see a response from you. I spent a good chunk of the weekend reading your past posts and your study of trellis vs yield. Great stuff.

With respect to switching from 8' to 9' vine spacing on those two rows, I should have clarified. If I increase spacing, I will drop the vine count from 9 to 8 so I don't have to lengthen the row. I wouldn't shorten it either, I guess, for aesthetic reasons (but then the line posts won't be on a neat grid either).

I still need to hammer out exactly how much room I need to plan for on the ends, and how the GDC will terminate compared with the simpler rows. Lots to learn yet.

H^2