subject: Top Five Tips For Planting The Best Grapes [print this page] Top Five Tips For Planting The Best Grapes
Long gone are the days were it was thought professional wineries and vineyards were the only places that could successfully grow grapes. Growing grapes has become a passion for a lot of home gardeners. Grapes offer so much to home gardens with their vibrant colors and tangy berry taste. Grapes also go further than just bringing more beauty to a garden, they can also be used to make juice, wine, jams and jellies. Growing grapes will be a complicated task but with many resources available today it will be easy to accomplish it. However there are a few tips below that will help you with planting your grapes.
Tip 1: Choosing the best location for grapes is a key in getting the most out of your harvest. For instance to get the sweetest grapes, vines need to be planted in area with a abundance of sunlight. Grapes grown in shaded areas will not be as sweet as those in sunlit areas. This is because sunlight causes the sugar in grapes to accumulate, so the more sunlight the sweeter the grape will be. This also is important if the grapes will be used to make juice, wine, jams or jellies.
Tip 2: Soil is very underestimated part of growing grapes, many gardeners fail to take the proper steps to make prepare their soil. Understanding proper pH levels and soil drainage is very important part of planting grapes. For example planting grapevines in clay like or sandy soil is not a good idea as the tend to hold more moisture then say a rocky or sloping land as they tend to drain well. Gardeners should also be aware of pH levels of soil as the ideal level for grapevines is between 6.0 and 6.5 anything above 6.8 could damage vines. However there a many ways to maintain the level of pH that you wish to acquire.
Tip 3: Many times when choosing a grape varieties, home gardeners tend to over look the conditions that can also effect there grapevine's production. Climate is something that will probably play a major part in growing grapes. Though grapes are very versatile and grown throughout the world in many different climates, they are still subject to there species. As some grapes can thrive in cold weather while others can't. Likewise determining the purpose of the grapes whether they well be made into juices, wines, jellies or just be eaten will also be a factor in determining the variety.
Tip 4: Gardeners should be conscious of the use of fertilizers when growing grapes. Fill planting holes with fertilizer has been a practice by home gardeners for years. However research has demonstrated that grapevines do not use fertilizer until they reach about 3 inches long. The research has also shown that adding fertilizer direct to planting holes or the vines roots can damage the vines. Fertilizer should be added to soil to add nutrients that are missing within the soil.
Tip 5: A very highly overlooked aspect of planting grapes is planing. Often times many home gardeners do not take enough time to adequately plan there home vineyard. Besides choosing the best location and creating great soil conditions, another important is the spacing when planting. Grapevines should be planted at least 6 to 10 feet apart and about 5 inches deep. Alike grape varieties should be planted near each other for maintenance reasons.
