Growing grapes for novice gardeners sometimes seems like a difficult task. This perennial vine loves when it receives maximum attention. Follow our tips to make sure you do everything right.
Grape bushes are often found on summer cottages, and all because growing a plant in the middle zone is not so difficult. Despite its whimsical nature, summer residents successfully plant bushes of various varieties and receive good harvests. If you decide to create a vineyard, late spring - early summer is the time to purchase seedlings and start planting.
Proper planting of grapes begins with choosing a location. The vine needs a lot of light and warmth, so choose an area protected from the wind, for example, near the south wall of a house or barn.
Water from the roof should not flow onto the grapes, otherwise they will die.
The soil is required to be as nutritious and loose as possible. Give preference to black soils with a high humus content. Also, grapes will successfully take root on rocky or sandy soil if you first add humus to the hole. The plant will like clay and peat soils less, so it is worth putting expanded clay, broken bricks, crushed stone or other drainage at the bottom of the hole.
On light sandy soils, grapes ripen 1-2 weeks earlier than on heavy clay soils.
Planting grape seedlings for beginners - preparation for the procedure
First of all, the young vine needs to be hardened off. Even if the seller convinced you that he carried out all the procedures himself, it is better to be safe. After all, seedlings that have not undergone hardening take root worse and get sick more. You can wait longer for the harvest from them, or they will die completely without even growing.
The procedure is carried out as follows: keep the seedlings in the fresh air every day for about 2 weeks. Start with a quarter of an hour on the first day, and then increase the time by 30 minutes every day. During the first week, protect the vine from the sun. For the last 3-4 days, the grapes should be constantly in the fresh air. Exception: predicted frosts, which can destroy seedlings.
It is worth planting grapes only after the end of return frosts. The most favorable time: May - early June, when the soil has already warmed up well. The ideal time for planting is morning or evening. It is better to choose a cloudy day so that the plant takes root faster.
Grapes - planting and care in open ground
While the seedlings are hardening off, dig good quality planting holes. The width, length and depth are on average 80 cm, but you can adjust the parameters according to the size of the site and the composition of the soil.
If the site has light fertile soil, planting holes for grapes can be dug very small, but if it is heavy clay soil, their size should be as large as possible.
Divide the earth dug out of the hole into three parts. The most fertile soil from the top layer, which is approximately 20-30 cm, will be placed a little later at the bottom of the hole, closer to the roots. Then the middle part of the soil will be used. And on top is the least nutritious soil from the lower layer, which after a while will again become fertile after exposure to soil bacteria.
When digging a hole, carefully inspect the clods, remove pest larvae and plant roots that may interfere with the development of the vine. Then pour into the hole:
- 2 buckets of rotted organic matter: manure, compost;
- 1.5 kg of wood ash;
- 300 g of complex fertilizer, for example, nitroammofoska.
Mix everything thoroughly with a long stick, after pouring the top layer of fertile soil, and pour in 2 buckets of water. When the moisture is absorbed, pour soil from the middle layer of the hole.
It is better not to use nitrogen fertilizing in its pure form, otherwise the vine will begin to fatten and its ripening and resistance to frost will decrease.
If the weather was unfavorable or you did not have time to prepare the holes, grape seedlings can be saved for autumn planting. Just transplant them into containers with drainage holes and dig them into the ground halfway, watering them regularly. This will give you more time to prepare for fall planting.
How to plant grapes correctly
When the hole is ready and the plant is hardened, start planting. Remove the grapes from the package along with the earthen lump. Place the seedling in the hole so that the zone of root formation (heel of the cutting) is located 35-40 cm below ground level. Conventionally, this place can be taken as the center of the container where the seedling was located. Also make sure that the “eye” from which the lowest green shoot develops is located 10 cm below ground level - this will make it easier to form a bush and cover the shoots for the winter.
If the seedling is too long and cannot be planted vertically at the correct depth, place it at an angle, first pouring soil on one side of the hole.
At the end of planting, fill the plant with soil 5 cm below the “eye”, compact it thoroughly with your hands so that there are no voids. Water the seedling with 1-2 buckets of warm water. Wait until it is absorbed and completely fill the hole with soil, but do not compact it. The soil must remain loose so that there is good air exchange, so there is no need to trample it. But mulching is worth doing, because... it will prevent the formation of an earthen crust and reduce the evaporation of moisture.
Many gardeners wonder at what distance to plant grapes in a row. We answer: it is best to maintain a distance of 1-1.5 m between plants. If there are a lot of seedlings, you can dig not holes, but a trench 40-80 cm deep. Support for the grapes is also necessary so that the vine develops correctly. Use pegs, pipes, etc. as a temporary solution. In the future, it is worth installing a trellis, which will allow the bush to form perfectly and make it easier to care for.
Caring for first-year grapes in spring, summer and autumn
Spring grape care consists of fighting diseases, pests and unfavorable external factors. For protection, spray the plant with 1% Bordeaux mixture, which will prevent the development of fungal diseases. Regular laundry soap (1 piece per 10 liters of water) will help against grape moths, fleas and spider mites. In addition, immediately after planting, young plants need to be shaded from direct sunlight for a couple of weeks, for example, using spunbond, plywood, shading mesh or other available materials.
Caring for grapes in summer consists of regular watering and fertilizing, loosening the soil and weeding.
Watering and fertilizing grapes
After planting, the vine needs regular and abundant watering. Of course, how often to water the grapes depends primarily on the weather. But usually the plant is watered 10-15 days after planting and the procedure is repeated every 2 weeks. If it is hot and the soil dries out quickly, watering should be increased more often.
To water the grapes, use warm, settled water in a volume of 5-10 liters per bush.
The fertilizers that were applied during planting will provide the vine with nutrients for 2-3 years, so there is no urgent need for additional feeding. If desired, at the end of summer you can strengthen the plant with the following mixture: 10 g of potassium sulfate and 20 g of superphosphate per 1 sq.m. Then the grapes will be better prepared for winter.
Grape pruning
The main goal of pruning in the first year after planting is to give the bush the correct “direction” of growth so that it has two new strong shoots. To do this, immediately after planting, cut it to 2 eyes, removing everything else.
This article tells you how to properly plant grapes in the spring.
In order for the planting of grapes to be done correctly and the seedling to take root and produce good yields in the future, it is necessary to dig a hole 70x70x70cm, this is done to ensure that the roots are planted to a depth of 50cm. It is also important to choose the right place to plant grapes. This should be a well-lit place, preferably near the southern or eastern part of the house. To plant grapes you need 4 buckets of humus, 2 buckets of sand, ash and water
We take two buckets of humus and pour it into the bottom of the hole, also pour out a bucket of sand, if the ground is not sandy, sand provides water drainage and is also a loosening agent for the soil, then pour out a liter of wood ash. 
Ash is a rich source of microelements. The best ash in its composition is from the remains of grapevines, wood ash, and also from sunflower stems.
Pour two buckets of fertile soil on top of the humus of sand and ash and mix it all thoroughly with a shovel in the hole.
The hole is filled almost to half, which will ensure planting of grapes to a depth of 40-45 cm.
Deep planting is necessary so that the roots of the grapes do not freeze out in winter during severe frosts. Next, pour two buckets of water into the hole, preferably heated in the sun. We wait until the water is absorbed, and then we proceed directly to planting the grapes.
For planting, you need to choose first-class grape seedlings, this means that they must have a well-branched root system, good growth up to 25 cm in length.
The grape seedling must have large, well-developed buds, there should be no signs of disease, the stem must be clean without rot or damage. Before planting, the root tips need to be freshened by cutting them down to one centimeter. By cutting off the root tips, we remove the infection that has accumulated on the seedling if it was dug up a long time ago and was stored in a special place.
Then you need to put the grape seedling in a bucket of water, preferably for a day; you can add sodium humate or one teaspoon of natural May bee honey to the water, which will ensure better survival of the seedling.
And so, when the water in the hole has been absorbed, now you need to determine the depth of planting of the grape seedling; it should be directed towards the future trellis at an angle of 45 degrees to the ground. The planting depth also depends on the length of the grape stem. 
It is necessary to ensure such a planting depth that the top cut of the grapes is 10-15 cm below ground level. To do this, we make a small mound inside the hole if the seedling is small.
It is better to make a mound from the top layer of fertile soil; it is rich in nutrients that will ensure the development of the root system, while at the same time the soil prevents the roots from coming into contact with the highly fertilized soil.
When planting, the roots of the grapes need to be directed down the mound; if the root is directed upward, it will not develop and will die. The seedling is installed in the center of the hole.
When grapes grow near a house, near paths or in places where it is impossible to provide watering, you can use simple drainage. It is performed as follows: a plastic pipe is installed at the bottom of the hole, so that when watering it does not go deep into the ground, a solid base in the form of a piece of plastic or a piece of slate can be placed under it.
To prevent the soil softened by water from going inside the tube, you need to sprinkle it with a small layer of fine gravel. Such drainage ensures that nutrients, along with water, are supplied directly to the roots of the grapes.
You can plant beautiful grass or even flowers around the hole, and constant watering with warm water and nutrients will be provided inside.
We give the correct direction and location of the grape seedling and fill the roots with fertile soil. There should be at least 10 cm of clean soil on top of the roots. Then we also sprinkle clean earth around the perimeter of the pit, leveling the ground level in the pit, and sprinkle a layer of crushed stone.
The drainage pipe extends ten centimeters above ground level. When planting grapes, it is very important not to damage the seedling with a shovel; if small wounds are made, they can get infected and the seedling can get sick.
After filling the root system with soil, the seedling needs to be slightly pulled up, this is done in order to give the roots a downward direction. Now you can pour out two buckets of water, preferably warm water heated in the sun. After the water is absorbed, we proceed to further planting of grapes.
We pour two buckets of humus into the hole; any humus is suitable for this, chicken, cow, sheep, the main thing is that it is old, crumbly, and at least two years old. Sprinkle humus with one bucket of sand.
Grape roots love oxygen, and this planting ensures air penetration into the root system.
Sprinkle the sand on top with a thin layer of wood ash.
Wood ash contains up to 17% lime; active lime will also loosen the top layer of soil, providing micronutrient fertilization and air penetration.
You don’t need to mix humus sand and ash, but simply cover it with a layer of soil on top, before cutting the grape seedling. In another way, we can say that the soil should reach the beginning of the growth of last year's shoot, that is, to the lower buds.
With proper planting, we are left with a hole up to 15 cm deep, which makes it possible to water the grape seedling during the first period of its life; later it can be filled in, leaving only a drainage pipe.
After filling with earth, pour another fifth bucket of water into the hole, when the water is absorbed, cover the bottom of the hole, which should be flat, with black film.
In the middle of the film we make a hole with a diameter of up to 10 cm. We lay the film evenly, it should lie on the surface of the earth around the hole, and we also cut a hole for the drainage pipe.
The black film will ensure the soil warms up to a depth of 40 cm, while the root system of the grapes begins to work effectively and the seedling quickly begins to grow. By autumn, the shoots grow up to 3 m, this ensures the formation of strong fruit buds, and next year you will taste the first harvest, which sometimes reaches up to 7 kg from one bush.
Also, the black film prevents the development of weeds and the evaporation of moisture from the ground. We press down the edges of the film with bricks. And near the seedling itself we place small pebbles or fragments of bricks to prevent the film from lifting from gusts of wind. Having risen, the film can break off the blossoming buds on the grapes.
Now we need to protect the shoots or blossoming buds from spring frosts; to do this, take a plastic bottle, wrap it in paper or newspaper and put it on the cutting. 
The walls of the bottle should not come into contact with the grape stem; the bottle must be threaded through the hole in the film and pressed 4-5 cm into the ground.
The bottle protects not only from frost, but also from strong heating and strong cooling, that is, a comfortable micro-atmosphere is created, and the white paper protects from sunlight, prevents the buds from heating up and ensures uniform development of the root system and shoots on the seedling.
With this planting, the grape seedling receives comfortable conditions for development. When planting grapes under film, watering should be done no more than once every 20 days; if you water frequently, the root system suffers from waterlogging of the soil, and the roots will suffocate and rot.
The film can be removed in mid-August; by this time the shoots will be up to 3 meters long, the grape seedling will be well developed, and it will already need to be hardened for winter.
Let me remind you that we did the planting in the spring; if we planted the grape seedlings in the fall, then there was no need to put the film, but it was enough to cover it with a bottle without paper and cover it with soil, having previously wrapped the cap on the bottle. And in the spring, after opening the seedling, usually the end of March - beginning of April, depending on weather conditions, then it will be necessary to cover the ground with black film and in the same way place a bottle tied with white paper.
Autumn planting of grapes is more preferable; when planting in autumn, the seedlings begin to take root in the fall, and in the spring they quickly begin to grow and develop very well.
During the season, it is necessary to carry out pinching of the seedling, fertilizing, and also protection from diseases.
Grape seedlings need to be planted at a distance of 2.5 m from each other, both in the row and between the rows, and a simple single-plane trellis is used.
*** Layerings can be made from annual and annual vines with biennial vines, if the shoot length is not enough, as well as from green shoots.
In the fall, when pruning a grape bush that you want to propagate, we outline which vine we will lay on layering, and we do not shorten it.
In the spring, we dig a ditch 40 cm deep and the same width, fertilize it, for which we take a bucket of humus, black soil and sand, as well as a liter jar of wood ash. Having mixed it all well, fill the prepared groove with the mixture to a height of 20 cm.
We leave 4-5 top buds on the vine, blind the rest, and then put it in a groove. Sprinkle with the remaining mixture to a height of 15 cm: it is at this depth that roots form better, because the earth is warming up enough.
For irrigation, dissolve 5 g of manganese, 10 g of boric acid, 20 g of urea in 10 liters of water. We water the ditch with the layering with this solution (necessarily warm) every four to five days.
This ditch can be covered with mulch. The task is this: from the five remaining buds you need to grow four vines.
5th of August pinch the top and at the end of September We dig up the layer, take it to the side and cover it with a wet rag so that the roots do not dry out.
We dig a hole for him. The smallest should be 70x70x70 cm. We also deepen the trench to 70 cm.
At the bottom of the hole and trench we pour a total of 400 g of superphosphate and 300 g of potassium magnesia or potassium sulfate. Taking two buckets of humus, chernozem and sand, we prepare a soil mixture with which we fill the hole and trench. After refueling, their depth should be 45-50 cm.
We lay the layering without cutting it off from the queen cell and fill it with the remaining mixture.
The upper buds on the layering should be 10-12 cm below the ground level on the mature vine. This is so that future branches grow from the ground and it is possible to better tilt them to the ground when covering for the winter.
Layering with green shoots done the same way.
It is laid in the prepared trench to a depth of approximately 15 cm. June 15-20. This optimal time. If they don’t fit into it, this work is done a little later, but no later than July 8-10.
On the vine that will be laid, we cut off the leaves, leaving a petiole of less than a centimeter. On the vine that remains on the surface of the ground, the leaves are not cut out; there should be 4-5 or more of them. But the top must be pinched so that the primary roots at the nodes develop faster.
Lateral shoots will appear here in 10-12 days and should be left without pinching to increase the leaf mass.
August 15 The main shoot and the shoots are pinched so that the vine ripens, as well as those shoots that are suitable for forming a grape bush.
Green layering is carried out by a shoot that has reached the required length on the mother bush. It is important that it is located at the bottom of the bush and is comfortable for bending down.
In this sense, coppice growing from an underground trunk is also suitable.
in autumn You can cut off the cuttings and move them to the desired location or dig them up and bury them in a prepared hole. Nearby, without cutting off the cuttings, you can bury an annual shoot with green shoots to a depth of 15 cm when their growth is 20-25 cm.
The one-year-old shoot that we will dig in should either lie on the ground or be tied horizontally. In this case, the growth will be almost the same size, and you can get 5-10 seedlings from one shoot.
Such tasty, healthy and juicy grapes are the favorite berry of many children and adults. Gardeners grow different varieties of this wonderful plant to try all the versatility of its taste. But buying seedlings is quite expensive. There is an easy way to grow young plants at home without buying cuttings. You can prepare and plant them yourself. So, if you want to propagate your favorite grape varieties, then go ahead!
Grape cuttings are harvested in the fall. It is best to select the material at the time of cutting. You can make cuttings from shoots whose diameter is approximately 7-10 mm. From the selected branch you need to remove everything unnecessary - tendrils, shoots, leaves, as well as tops that have not had time to ripen. This will ensure long-term storage and prolong growth capabilities.
Only 4 buds are left on each cutting. This is quite enough for the cuttings to begin to germinate in the spring and to be able to gain a foothold in the ground after planting. A cut is made 2-3 cm in height from the upper bud. The cutting is cut at an angle. At the bottom of the finished cutting, three vertical cuts are made, up to 3 cm long. Thanks to them, he will get a better metabolism and, accordingly, will settle down more quickly.
When all the cuttings are ready, it is best to collect them by variety, tie them into bundles, and label them. Different varieties in one bunch draw beneficial substances from each other and affect their neighbors. Therefore, sorting plays an important role.
When preparing cuttings, it is important to pay attention to their color. It should be green without any rot or damage.
It is also important to properly treat grape cuttings before wintering so that they are well preserved. The vines tied into bunches are placed in water for a day, after which they are treated with copper sulfate (5% solution). Next, the workpieces need to be dried.
There are several ways to properly store grape cuttings in winter. The first involves placing bunches with cuttings in plastic bags. Wet sawdust is also poured inside. To ensure that the cuttings can breathe, the bag should not be tied tightly. The finished package should be left in the cellar. The temperature should be 2-4 0 C. Usually it is the cellars that meet these requirements. Another plus or minus 1-2 0 is allowed.
If you live in a multi-story building, then its basement may not be suitable for temperature conditions. In such rooms there are often communications that significantly increase the temperature. If the cuttings are too warm, they will begin to breathe and waste all their nutrients. As a result, you will have too weak seedlings. And this is even at best.
The second method of wintering cuttings is suitable for summer residents who do not have cellars, as well as for those who grow grapes in large quantities. First, right on your site, you need to select a place where a trench is dug. Protected places located on a hill are best suited. For example, near buildings - sheds, garages, or fences. This will prevent rain and melt water from flooding the cuttings. You can artificially drain water from the trench using a dug ditch and a slope.
As for the size, it all depends on the number of cuttings prepared. The depth should be approximately half a meter. The cuttings are also tied into bundles and labeled. They are then carefully placed in a trench. Before this, the bottom is sprinkled with wet sand (layer - 5 cm). All cuttings are laid tightly, but so that they are not damaged. Moist (but not wet!) sand is again poured on top in a layer of up to 10 cm. Then the trench is covered with earth in a thick layer - 25-30 cm.
The third method is characterized by frank simplicity, but great efficiency. It is suitable for those who want to save a small number of cuttings. The storage space in this case is a simple refrigerator. By the way, you can save not so little in it - about 200 cuttings.
Before being sent to the refrigerator, the cuttings are wrapped in natural and clean cloth. They are then placed in a bag with a small breathing hole. The fabric should be checked periodically and kept damp.
You can start removing cuttings from wintering shelters at the end of February. After removal, their suitability must be checked. The vine is wiped with a rag to remove mold and vitriol residues after the autumn treatment. If the cutting is well preserved, then it does not look overdried, the bark does not peel off or wrinkle. The cut of the cutting in the spring should be bright green.
Preparation of cuttings consists of the following steps:
After just 10-12 days, maybe a little more, the top bud will begin to swell. Next, a young shoot will appear there. As it evaporates, fresh, clean liquid is added to the water. After 20 days, the cuttings will take root. When the process begins, it’s time to prepare them for planting.
You can germinate grape cuttings at home using available materials - plastic bottles, cups.
In glasses, germination is carried out as follows.
- Three holes are made at the bottom of the containers using an awl.
- First, soil with leaf humus is poured into the glasses (2 cm layer).
- A smaller container with a cut out bottom (also a glass) is placed on top. You need to pour soil between the walls, compact it and water it.
- Clean river sand is poured into the inner container, after which it is watered.
- Now you can remove the smaller container and insert the cutting into the middle of the sand, deepening it by about 4 cm.
- The sand needs to be watered again.
- The glass is covered with a plastic bottle with the bottom and top cut off.
- Such seedlings are watered with warm water every 1-2 days.
You can remove the bottle when the seedling grows up to 4 leaves, and its roots are visible near the walls of the glass.
You can germinate cuttings in bottles. To do this, the neck is cut off and holes are made in the bottom. First, the drainage is filled in, then the soil mixture (about 7 tbsp.) A stalk is stuck into it. It should be tilted so that the top peephole is level with the top of the bottle. A layer of old steamed sawdust is poured on top and everything is covered with a plastic cup. When the shoot grows, the cover is removed. The cuttings are watered through a tray.
Planting in open ground
Sprouted cuttings can be planted in the ground no earlier than the moment when the average temperature per day is above zero. The selected place should be treated with urea and watered. 2 hours will pass - it’s time to plant grape seedlings. They need to be placed every 2-3 m. 1.7-2 m is left between the rows. In order for the seedlings to take root and grow better, their roots are trimmed a little when planting.
Cuttings need to be planted in special planting holes. A mound is poured at the bottom of such a trench, into which the cutting is planted. Having straightened the roots, they are carefully sprinkled with earth. After this, the soil is compacted and watered. The cutting is covered with a cap, for example, from a bottle. It is shaded from the sun using gauze or newspaper thrown over the cap.
Grape cuttings are often planted in trenches or holes. This method has a number of advantages. Among them:
- Convenient watering and fertilizing;
- Light shelter for wintering;
- Simple conversion to a greenhouse;
Trenches are dug 30 cm deep and approximately 45 cm wide and long. Immediately before planting, fertilizer is applied to the ditch - 2 ash and 150 g of potassium-phosphorus fertilizer. Everything is mixed with the soil and watered. The soil after onions, vegetables and root crops should be treated with potassium permanganate before planting grapes. Planting in ditches is sometimes done using a crowbar - it is used to first make holes for the cuttings with roots.
There is also a difference between the vertical and inclined planting methods. As for the distance between the cuttings, the future method of growing grapes depends on it. If you plant less often, the bushes will be lower and easier to care for in our conditions. Dense planting leads to the fact that the next season the bushes form and grow vertically. This allows you to increase fruiting. But this method requires more care, and covering it for the winter is more difficult.
Planting grapes with cuttings: video
Care for planted cuttings is the same as for other grape bushes. First, you need good watering. Young plants especially need it. You only need to water at the roots. In spring - as it dries. We don’t water it 1-2 weeks before flowering, and after it ends, let the plants drink again.
Growing grape shoots need to be tied up correctly. It is best to make a horizontal garter with a slight slope. But the vertical method is also used, in which growth is more active from the upper ocelli.
Pinching will help increase yield and quickly form a bush. The top above the 10th node is removed a couple of days before flowering.
If planting was accompanied by the application of fertilizers, then they will last for about 3-4 years. Then fertilizers, both organic and mineral, are applied again. Manure, compost, peat, and bird droppings are good options. Suitable minerals include potassium salt, ammonium nitrate, superphosphates, and urea. In spring, dry fertilizers are used under the bush in the grooves. Before flowering, water with a solution of mineral substances.
Also, further care of the plant includes shelter for the winter, pruning, treatment against diseases and pests.
Grapes - germinating cuttings in water: video
Preface
Many gardeners argue about what time of year grape seedlings should be planted. This can be done both in spring and autumn. Each case has its pros and cons. We will talk about them, but mainly we will talk about planting grapes from cuttings after winter.
Required tools and materials
Pipe BucketWhen is it better to plant grapes - in spring or autumn?
Practice has shown that most gardeners prefer autumn to plant fruit bushes. At this time, the seedling is in a dormant state and now it is easier to find the desired variety, since many people finish digging up rooted layering or cuttings. In autumn, the soil is sufficiently moistened, so excessive watering will not be needed. But the big disadvantage of autumn planting is that no one can be protected from a too cold winter.
Seedlings planted in the fall and not having time to take root will definitely die if they are not protected. Although sometimes precautions will not be able to save new plantings from severe frost, sleet or hurricane winds.
Now, as for planting seedlings in the spring. In winter, you can more carefully prepare planting material. It is possible to order the desired varieties, or slowly prepare the chibouks yourself. After the snow melts, a site is selected for future grape bushes and planting holes are prepared.
Everyone knows that it is undesirable to plant any plants in cold soil. Frozen clods make it impossible to compact the soil well. Therefore, roots can hang in voids without contact with the ground. This means that the plant will have nowhere to take moisture and nutrients from. This problem can be dealt with - just before planting you need to water the soil with hot water at about +60°C and then almost every day replenish the missing moisture in the soil by watering. But you will know for sure that your seedlings will not freeze and die.
Preparation and storage of pipes
In winter, winegrowers do not sleep. In addition to the fact that they prepare tools, correct their notes, stock up on processing supplies, they also prepare the stored cuttings for rooting. One of the most accessible ways is to plant grapes from cuttings. In winter they can be rooted. Beginners consider this a difficult task, but experienced gardeners find it one of the most promising ways to propagate this crop.
To do this, after the first frost, you need to cut the grape vine into separate fragments. The cuttings must be well-ripened, light brown in color, and free from spots or other mechanical damage. Checking the ripening of the vine is very simple. You need to run your hand over it; if it’s warm, it means it’s ripe. A cold surface means that this vine should not be used. The stalk should be 40–50 cm long and have three or four eyes. On the opposite side of the lowest eye there should be a trimmed antennae.
The storage temperature for prepared cuttings should be from 0℃ to +5℃. They can be located in the cellar, on a surface with sand. Before planting, seedlings must be dipped in a pink solution of potassium permanganate. This operation is performed in order to destroy the infection existing on the seedling. And after drying, the cuttings can be stored. The entire sequence of this process is on video.
Several times during the winter, usually two or three times, the branches are inspected, wiped dry with clean material, and then put back in their original place. Some gardeners who propagate grapes from cuttings in the refrigerator in the spring. They wrap the planting material in a plastic bag and place it on the bottom shelf.
Preparing chibouks for planting
At the end of February - beginning of March, seedlings are taken out of storage and carefully examined. For a day or two, they are completely immersed in rain or melt water. Now you need to use pruning shears to make a cut 2 mm below the lowest eye and 1.5–2 cm above the top one. It’s easier to say, update old sections.
The bud located on the lower node must be removed, and the upper one must be treated with paraffin. Heat the paraffin in a water bath to +50–70℃. Quickly lower the desired area into it and immediately immerse it in cold water. After this manipulation, a dense crust forms on the upper cut, which will protect the cutting from the penetration of various microbes and bacteria. Don't forget to sign the cuttings. The video shows the entire process of waxing cuttings.
Now the cuttings are being planted. This is a process by which the opening of the eye is delayed relative to the appearance of the roots. Otherwise, when a shoot appears from the buds before the roots form, it will most likely dry out. It is necessary now, in early spring, to artificially create a temperature difference in the area of the upper bud and the lower node. You can use an electric picker, but another option is also possible. Tie all the cuttings into a common knot, tie a wet rag around the bottom of the bunch and pack it in a plastic bag. Place this entire bouquet on the windowsill so that the upper buds are closer to the window, and the lower buds are closer to the radiator. Within a couple of weeks, roots will begin to appear on the cuttings.
Preparing the planting hole
Planting grapes in early spring using vegetative seedlings is done even before the swelling of the eyes occurs on them. The planting hole should be 70–80 cm deep and up to 70 cm in diameter. It is better to dig it in the fall.
Place crushed bricks or large pebbles on the bottom. This will be a drainage layer, the height of which should be about 15 cm. Next comes the nutrient mixture - soil, humus and sand, preferably river sand. All this is in a 1:1:1 ratio. It is good to add 50 g of superphosphate or 20 g of ammonium nitrate. And another 50 g of one of such preparations as crystallon, rastavarin, nitrophoska or other similar fertilizers. All components must be thoroughly mixed and poured onto the drainage in a layer of about 20 cm.
Now the soil of the upper horizon or well-rotted humus is filled in. The thickness of the layer will be about 10 cm. Next, you need to pour a bucket of hot water into the hole.
Planting grapes using vegetative cuttings
Now we can plant our chibouks. But before planting, the seedlings need to be hardened off, that is, exposed to fresh air for a couple of days. Planting chibouks is carried out as follows - supporting the seedling with your hand from below, place it on the bottom. The hole is filled with earth up to half of the cutting and watered with one or two buckets of warm water. You can add liquid humic fertilizers to its composition. After the water is absorbed, soil is added to the hole. Ultimately, there should be 15 centimeters left to the top of the earth.
The bud itself should be slightly below soil level. Such a depression is made so that the side shoots (sleeves) formed on the bushes can be conveniently bent to the ground and covered for wintering. Yes, and it’s more convenient to water.
It is better to plant in evening time and when it's cloudy outside. If the weather is hot outside, then the chibouks need to be shaded with something. In order for moisture to remain in the ground longer, a film cover is installed. The seedlings are covered with plastic wrap, where a cross-shaped cut about 1 meter long is made in the center. Cover the planting hole, thread a green shoot through the hole, and cover the edges of the film with a weight. The film can be removed in August.
How best to feed seedlings in early spring
To make fertilizing more effective, you need to install one or two pipes in the planting hole where grape cuttings are supposed to be planted. Accordingly, the width of the pit should be larger than usual. The pipe is installed before the seedlings are planted. It should be located at a distance of 20–40 cm from the sprout itself. It can be an asbestos-cement pipe, plastic or pottery. Its diameter can be up to 10 cm. The bottom of the pipe is on the drainage layer of the pit, and the top protrudes 15 centimeters above the soil level. This process is clearly shown in the video. Water is poured through the top of the pipe and the seedlings are fed.
The nutrients that you provided when planting grapes in the spring are usually enough for a couple of years. The seedling develops intensively and covers more and more layers of soil. It is good if the soil is fertile and has a sufficient amount of humus. Otherwise, the soil must be constantly fertilized. Because in 3-4 years the bush will enter the time of full fruiting and it will need additional root feeding. Otherwise you won't be able to wait good harvest on your site. And for those who have more questions on this topic, you can watch the video materials.
Growing your own vegetables and fruits is becoming increasingly popular, because gardeners prefer natural products.
In addition to potatoes, shrubs also adorn the beds: planting grapes is a useful and very profitable business, because they bear fruit well and produce a rich harvest.
It is not difficult to cultivate it on the site, because the shrub is quite unpretentious, and its yield can reach up to 12 kg from one bush!
How to plant grapes
In our middle latitudes, such cultivated grape varieties are most common.
- Laura, producing large, slightly elongated fruits;
- frost and disease resistant Shunya, having round fruits of a dark pink hue;
- early ripening white grape variety Nadezhda Aksayskaya;
- You can often find other varieties in garden plots: small bunches of grapes, easily grown in cold regions, called F – 14–75, as well as variety Victoria, Muscat summer and others.
Planting of grape seedlings most often occurs in spring or warm autumn, when the first frost is still far away. It is better to use those varieties of seedlings that are guaranteed to take root on your site, and therefore before purchasing it would be a good idea to study the characteristics of these varieties. For changeable climatic zones, where sudden frosts often occur even in late spring, it is better to choose unpretentious, frost-resistant seedlings.
Distance between grape bushes
There are many factors that affect the distance between grape bushes.
There are several types of planting grapes:
- single lane
- two-lane
If you plan to plant grapes using a single-strip method, then the distance between the bushes should be 2.5-3 m. If using a two-strip method, 1.5-2 m.
What seedlings to use
For planting in the ground on the site, one- or two-year-old grape seedlings are used, which have already matured well and are sufficiently strong. They should be harvested in the fall after pruning the grapevine.
Many experienced winegrowers advise planting young grape stems in the autumn, because the weather at this time of year is more predictable, and frosts do not occur as often as in the spring.
How to plant grapes in autumn
In our area, seedlings are planted in prepared holes in the fall.
- In favorable soil consisting of black soil, the holes are not dug too deep: up to about 60 cm in depth and width.
- In less favorable soils (sandy and clayey), seedlings are deepened into holes up to 100 cm wide and about one meter deep.
Less often in our strips, grapes are planted in trenches.
Planting grapes in spring
The principle of autumn planting is practically no different from how to plant grapes in the spring. The only exception is that grape stems that are planted in the ground in the spring are more susceptible to the negative influence of weather conditions.
If you want to plant grapes in the spring, 10-14 days before planting, autumn grape harvests must be planted in plastic cups so that they have time to wake up and adapt.
We carry out germination as follows:
- moisten the cuttings with warm water and leave for two days;
- prepare plastic containers with several holes in the bottom;
- pour a mixture of soil and leaf humus onto the bottom of the glass (2 cm layer);
- the next layer (2 cm) is a layer of washed sand;
- Make a hole in the prepared mixture and place the cutting there;
- we fill the cutting with another 4 cm of earthen mixture (the total height of the earthen lump is 8 cm);
- pour water.
The cuttings that have awakened after a few weeks can be planted in open ground.
Before planting grape stems, it is a good idea to first prepare the soil.
- The top layer of soil is mixed with mineral fertilizer and then placed at the bottom of the pit.
- It is better to cover the roots of young seedlings and stems with clean soil; do not add gravel or crushed stone to the planting holes to “weight” the soil.
- When planting grapes in unfavorable soils, it would be a good idea to add peat or sand to the planting hole or trench; thanks to them, the root system of the bush will better absorb beneficial microelements, and moisture will remain in the soil longer after watering.
- When planting, the bottom of the hole should be fertilized with organic matter. Ideally, this is humus, but compost, bird droppings or rotten old leaves will also work.
It is important to remember that grape seedlings are extremely vulnerable after planting, and therefore sudden cold snaps and frosts can cause serious harm to them. But how to plant grapes in the ground correctly is only the first stage of work on a personal plot. No less important is the subsequent care of young seedlings.
How to plant grapes: principles of proper care of seedlings
If young seedlings of cultivated grapes experience a constant lack of heat and light, then the bush harvest will suffer greatly. Also, seedlings do not like sudden and excessive drops in soil temperature; conditions in which the soil can warm up to 30°C are considered ideal.
If your garden plot is too cold and windy, and there is a significant lack of solar heat and light, then you can help the grape bushes with improvised means. For example, many winegrowers use plastic film to wrap shrubs. No less popular in caring for grape bushes are special heat-reflecting screens and covering the ground with black film.
Grapes are a crop that loves moderation in watering. Both poor watering and excess moisture in the soil negatively affect the growth of shoots and ripening of vines. Under such conditions, the fertility of shrubs decreases because the formation of inflorescences deteriorates. Water the grapes with warm water. If there is an excess of moisture in the area, then it makes sense to organize a drainage system for the shrubs.
During the flowering of grape bushes, air temperature is of no small importance. Winegrowers say that the optimal temperature during fruit set is about 25°C, but this value can fluctuate by several degrees in both directions.
If the thermometer shows above 30°C, and the weather is dry, then the ovary period is considered infertile, and there may be no harvest at all. Of course, this is not so critical for very young seedlings that have not yet grown enough to produce a full harvest. However, for mature shrubs such weather can be fatal, completely eliminating their fruitfulness.
But no less dangerous are long torrential rains with 100% humidity, which wash away pollen from the vineyard shoots. Remember that this culture loves moderation in moisture, and this rule applies not only to watering the root system.
Grape growers often help shrubs achieve maximum yield using the following methods:
- Artificially pollinated grape inflorescences, and also use ground sulfur for this, which stimulates the fertilization process.
- The tops of young grape shoots are pinched, and then partially remove the green grape leaves growing in the area of the budding bunches.
In general, planting grapes is a very rewarding task, because when proper care the bush begins to bear fruit abundantly already in the third year after planting, delighting the summer resident with its heavy clusters.