Soil amendment

[WineYooper]

This spring I am quitting my job, selling my first house and moving to my second home in the UP of Michigan which is going to give me more time to work with my vines. The bulk of them were planted 3 & 4 years ago, 36 plants dry rooted. Last year I was not able to water the vines as much as was needed so they suffered, growth was way down. The first year I planted them I found the soil had quite a bit of clay in it and am thinking about trying to help out. I may be too late to amend the soil with the vines in and may be getting advice here to replant, after amending the soil. If I can avoid I will but am willing to do what needs to be done for better output. The first trial vine (Marquette) was planted in a test hole I dug to see what I was planting in, dug a trench 30" wide & ten feet long, beautiful soil. Was only able to get down 44" on one end and 41" on the other before I hit bedrock below. That vine is going crazy now, with good soil all the way down. Anyhow, my question, is it possible to amend the soil part way down from the top without killing the vine? How deep are the roots? I know I'm doing this *** backword but that is how it worked out, vines were ordered and arrived and then found the soil is not the best. Never had a soil test done either. The first two years the 36 vines did well but have not done as well since. I need to do further homework!

 

[TonyR]

If you are in the UP i would imagine you soil is on the acid side, low ph. That calls for adding lime. The only way i can think of to loosen the soil would be adding compost and working it in, carefully. YOU NEED to have your soil tested or test it yourself, that way you will know what you need to feed it. Good luck

 

[grapeman]

How much did those vines grow the first year?
Did you prune back the following spring?
If so how much?
How much rainfall did you get if you didn't water?
How much did they grow the second year?

First step I would take is answering the questions and deciphering what it means. Then do a soil test ASAP to see what the content of the clay is, find out the pH and see what the nutrient level is.
It would be very hard to incorporate soil ammendments at this time.

 

[WineYooper]

When I planted I mixed in store bought potting soil and they grew from 1' tall to about 4' high. Trimmed back the next spring to one or two shoots with a few buds on each and by the end of the summer they were about 6' high. Rainfall was good thru the first two years, last year it was very dry with little rainfall and I was not able to get there to water so they suffered. The vines barely made it to 6', I will be examining this weekend and pruning what I can. One other big problem I have is the deer pruning for me in the early growth of spring. There is still some snow on the ground. I did fertilize some with 10-10-10 late last spring. I will learn more this weekend. Thanks for the comments so far. Its a start and I will be able to monitor & water more this year.

 

[TonyR]

For deer what i have learned and done with my Petite Pearl is to train the vines to a high cordon. I have a normal 4 wire trellis, first wire about 36" then every 14". I let my vine grow to the 3rd wire and made cordons there, then let the 4 th wire become my fruiting wire. Works real good for deer in my area i just keep the vine clean up to the cordons. And as the vines fruit and grow i just let it go over the 4th wire and drape down, keeping my grapes clear with good air flow, and when the vines get low I dont care if the deer eat them , saves me trimming.

 

[grapeman]

The deer slowed the vigor down on you. Every time they trim the vines back they are eating up some of the vines stored energy. That coupled with the dry weather slowed the vine down. Hope for fewer deer and a bit more rain and you will be fine.

 

[Johnd]

For deer what i have learned and done with my Petite Pearl is to train the vines to a high cordon. I have a normal 4 wire trellis, first wire about 36" then every 14". I let my vine grow to the 3rd wire and made cordons there, then let the 4 th wire become my fruiting wire. Works real good for deer in my area i just keep the vine clean up to the cordons. And as the vines fruit and grow i just let it go over the 4th wire and drape down, keeping my grapes clear with good air flow, and when the vines get low I dont care if the deer eat them , saves me trimming.

Hmmmmm, a mathematical equation to solve your deer problem:

deer eating vines + JohnD with bow = venison with wine

I'm sure that in spring you can't really take deer, but there are some states that allow removal when they are crop depredators.