How to Grow Grape Vines – Important Considerations

How to Grow Grape Vines Important Considerations

Growing grapes in your own garden can be a very rewarding experience in many ways. Learning how to grow grape vines is not actually as complicated as many people seem to believe. As long as you make yourself familiar with the basics, following any proven grape growing system will ensure you are able to produce a healthy crop, year after year. In this article we will cover some of the fundamentals that are essential to successful grape growing.

Soil preparation is an important step you will need to take before planting your vines. Make sure the soil contains plenty of natural, organic compost. If this is not found naturally in the soil then you can add it after the holes have been dug. Each hole should be dug to a depth that allows the root ball to be just about covered when the vine is planted. Try to add some additional soil around the base of the vine to give additional support while it is still young and relatively weak. Always remember to check the drainage in any site where you are thinking about growing grapes. If excess water is allowed to collect around the roots, this can quickly cause them to rot, which will have a negative effect of future growth. Land that is on a slope will be the best kind of location for grape growing. Never plant at the bottom of a slope as water will be very likely to accumulate here.

A trellis system should be installed which will allow you to control the growth of your vines. They will be unable to support their own weight in later years, so this trellis is a vital requirement. It is however necessary to put this trellis in place from day one, allowing you to train the vines from a very early age. Encouraging the branches to grow horizontally along trellis wires will greatly improve fruit production in the future. Be careful not to tie the branches too tightly or you will risk damaging them and impeding growth.

Your vines should be watered generously in the first few weeks after they are planted. This is especially true in warmer climates. After the first few weeks you can decrease the frequency with which you water, always remember to be generous when watering time does come around though.

When you begin to see fruit growing on your vines, it will not be worth picking until you are into the third year of growth. Any fruit which appears in the first two years should not be harvested, just thin the bunches by removing just over half of the grapes.

Pruning is a very important aspect of growing grape vines. In the first two years you will only want to leave a few of the strongest canes in place so that all energy can be focused on helping them grow. Everything else can be pruned back to the frame. Do not be worried about pruning too aggressively, around 80-90% of the previous years growth will often need to be removed. You are just looking to leave the most promising canes as these will be the ones that are responsible for producing the fruit in the next growing season.

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