The Art Of Grape Planting
Planting grapes isn’t difficult, but if your soil hasn’t been properly prepared, it can be quite time consuming.
Like most things in life, grape planting does rely on thorough preparation for its success. For instance if your soil isn’t sufficiently fertile, thoroughly dug over so that it’s aerated, and if it doesn’t drain well, then your chances of a good yield when your vines start fruiting will be reduced – sometimes drastically. Of course you also need to be sure that the grape plants you choose are suitable for your climatic region as well as the micro-climate of the site you choose to plant the grapes.
Prepare the soil for planting grapes
Like many plants, grapes are quite forgiving when it comes to soil, but on the whole they do prefer slightly acidic soil with a pH that is between 5.5 and 6.5. While some plants will grow in slightly alkaline soil (with a pH of 8, which is little above the neutral 7 measure on the pH scale) it can make a big difference in terms of yield. If it doesn’t really matter to you how many grapes you produce, then don’t worry too much. Just aerate, fertilize and hope for the best. It’s really up to you.
But if you want to do this thing properly, you can buy a test kit and see what the pH of the soil in your garden is. Alternatively you can take a soil sample to a laboratory for testing, or get someone to test it for you. A good soil analysis will reveal the levels of all the nutrients in the soil as well as pinpoint the pH levels. Remember that you will need to add agricultural lime to acidic soils and sulfur will help to correct alkaline soils.
You will also need to fertilize to ensure that there are sufficient nutrients in the soil for the vines to grow to maturity. A good basic fertilizer meant for fruit and vegetables will usually do the trick. The three main elements the soil needs for any fruit trees, bushes and vines to flourish are phosphorus (P), nitrogen (N) and potassium (K) and these are used in different ratios in different types of fertilizers. One commonly used for fruit growing, including grapes, is 2:3:2 (P:N:K) but remember that grapes do have a high potassium requirement if they are to produce good a good, high quality crop of grapes.
Unless you are going to try raising vines from your own cuttings (see Planting the Grapes), you can plant pretty well any time of the year, although it is always best to plant when they are dormant, preferably in winter, but even from late fall to very early spring. In the mid-summer after planting, dose the soil with a nitrogenous fertilizer (which is acid) that also contains limestone ammonium nitrate and urea. These tend to burn, so you will need to water immediately after application. Thereafter fertilize with both types of fertilizer annually, and in spring give each vine about a pound (or 500 g) of magnesium sulphate.
Before you plant you must aerate the soil, and it makes sense to do this while you are fertilizing. Aerating can be hard work depending on how compacted the soil has become. Basically what it does is to loosen clods of soil and in that way ensure a good flow of oxygen through the soil, so it really is a worthwhile exercise – and if you do it yourself, exercise is what you’ll get. Dig down to about a meter and break up all the lumps. This will usually be enough to ensure good drainage as well. This whole process is what people often refer to as amending the soil. Basically you are making the soil better than it was.
Unless you are farming grapes commercially, or decide to expand your vineyard at a later stage, you will probably buy the plants from a nursery and you can literally dig a hole and pop the plant into the ground. Most nurseries sell vines that have been grafted onto existing stock by people who have the proper training and experience.
Many keen gardeners grow plants from cuttings though, but a bit of technical know-how is definitely needed.
If you take cuttings from canes of the previous season’s growth, you can plant these straight into the ground, as long as you leave two buds above the ground. If you have already rooted your cuttings in soil in your own containers, then these should be planted when the plant is dormant, and not growing. Make sure that the cutting itself is below the level of the ground.
Once you have planted the vine, make sure the hole is filled fully, and compacted around the plant. It is always a good idea to add a bit of compost or some other mulch around the stem to keep the ground moist.
Watering your grape vines
Don’t allow the soil your grapes are planted in to dry out. Grapes are hardy plants, but for a good crop, you must keep the soil moist throughout the growing season. Just be carefully though not to over-water because they don’t like soil that is waterlogged.
