# New vineyard



## Collie Flowers farm (Jan 19, 2020)

So I bought an old farmhouse in 2018 with 5 acres of ground and was trying to decide what to do with the ground rather than just keeping it mowed. A friend said I should plant a vineyard and I kinda shrugged it off at first, but after doing some research it seemed doable.
In the summer of 2018 I set in a few test vines to see how things would go and did everything wrong killing all the plantings.
So along comes spring of 2019. Armed with six months more knowledge than before I planted Shiraz, Brianna, Enchantment, and some 101-14 rootstock. Just 5 of each to see how things would go. This time they took off and did well.
This week I have been pruning and taking some cuttings to propagate some more plants for this spring. I'm currently callusing them off and will be transferring them into tree pots to grow them out before moving them outdoors.
I've also ordered a few cuttings of Marquette and Landot noir to trial this year.
I went to a pruning seminar over the weekend at a local winery Chateau de blue and they were kind enough to provide me some cuttings of their Cab Frank. Nice place and well worth the trip.
This will be a 3 acre hobby vineyard and I hope to collect and plant some of the older more obscure varieties of vinefra, although procuring them is proving difficult and slow going. But this is something I will be building over the course of a few years, so no hurry.
Anyway, here's a few pictures of the first row I put in last year, its 360' long and will be dedicated to rootstock plants in the upcoming years as it is a bit shaded on the end.
This year I hope to get two to four more trellis in and the same in following years...

Anyone have any obscure vinefra cuttings the want to part with??


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## Collie Flowers farm (Jan 19, 2020)

Shiraz July 1st 2019



Shiraz September 4th


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## Collie Flowers farm (Jan 21, 2020)

Cuttings packed up and in the process of callousing...


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## Collie Flowers farm (Jan 23, 2020)

My tree pots showed up yesterday. These will be used to grow the vines out for awile before moving them outdoors. Also picked up a heat mat, the growing area is 79 F but the soil temp was only about 70 F.
I'm dying to open the bags and see if they are callousing but I know it's just way too soon.


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## Xnke (Jan 23, 2020)

They won't callus below about 78F soil temp. No roots until callus, but once you have that callus tissue, the roots will start growing as low as 40F.

I just went through the same on my test samples. Upped the temp 2F on each mat, nothing under 78F callused, but a t 82F it was like magic. 10 days, and ready to pot up.

Where did you get your tree pots? I have just used vinyl downspout cut into 8" lengths.


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## Collie Flowers farm (Jan 23, 2020)

Xnke said:


> They won't callus below about 78F soil temp. No roots until callus, but once you have that callus tissue, the roots will start growing as low as 40F.
> 
> I just went through the same on my test samples. Upped the temp 2F on each mat, nothing under 78F callused, but a t 82F it was like magic. 10 days, and ready to pot up.
> 
> Where did you get your tree pots? I have just used vinyl downspout cut into 8" lengths.



These get mats take 5 hours to get up to temperature. I set the thermostat to 85 and will check it when I get home to see if it's there. 
There is a temp probe stuck into the one bag in the center to get temp readings from. Hopefully this works out, if not I have another idea on what to do...
Tree pots can be found here https://www.greenhousemegastore.com/containers-trays/plant-pots/treepots

I opted for the 3" x 8" pots...


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## Xnke (Jan 23, 2020)

I use the same mats. For mine, I took two bath towels and layered over the top to help keep the temperature from fluctuating. Of course, mine are also whip grafted and then callused, so I am healing the graft at the same time.


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## Collie Flowers farm (Jan 23, 2020)

Xnke said:


> I use the same mats. For mine, I took two bath towels and layered over the top to help keep the temperature from fluctuating. Of course, mine are also whip grafted and then callused, so I am healing the graft at the same time.



I have a few cab Frank I grafted onto the 101-14 that I'm hoping will take. My rootstock plants are only a year old, so there was not many canes suitable for grafting because of the size difference between the rootstock canes and the cab Frank. But I did get about 25 good cuttings of the rootstock and hope they take.
The back row in the vineyard will be all rootstock when I'm done..
I appreciate the advice, thank you


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## Collie Flowers farm (Jan 23, 2020)

Did you tape your graft unions??


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## bshef (Jan 23, 2020)

In the mid-Atlantic, the Omega graft is the most reliable. The graft should be waxed with grafting wax. All vinefra should be grafted. I don’t think you will need a lot of rootstock unless you will be selling rootstock for grafting. I have four vines of rootstock and I think that may be too many.


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## Collie Flowers farm (Jan 23, 2020)

bshef said:


> In the mid-Atlantic, the Omega graft is the most reliable. The graft should be waxed with grafting wax. All vinefra should be grafted. I don’t think you will need a lot of rootstock unless you will be selling rootstock for grafting. I have four vines of rootstock and I think that may be too many.



In the grand scheme of things I hope to sell potted vines ready for planting.
I also have my eye on my neighbors 40 acres that might go on the market soon.
I did use an omega graft and just taped them with electric tape. I do have several wax pots and different waxes for investment casting. I wonder if they can be used??


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## Xnke (Jan 23, 2020)

As long as your melting point is below 140, it'll probably work. You want full liquidus at 140 or below, and cold water ready to cool the wax as soon as you dip it.

Usually though I use Parafilm M grafting tape, which requires no wax in many cases, unless I sit down to do a lot of grafts. I struggled with grape grafts last year because of the requirement for hot callusing...other plants I've grafted don't need that warm temp to callus up (or I've never noticed a need for it, anyway!)


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## Xnke (Jan 23, 2020)

So I realized I left out some details.

The grafts I did that are callusing now are Vidal Blanc onto 3309c, and are 1/8" to 3/16" diameter, smaller than will work in most omega tools. A single slash whip graft, no tongue, with a normal swing line stapler staple through the matched up graft. After stapling, taped up with Parafilm, and into the 3:1 mix of perlite and peat moss, moistened up.


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## Collie Flowers farm (Jan 23, 2020)

Well no problem getting up to 85f 



Xnke said:


> A single slash whip graft, no tongue, with a normal swing line stapler staple through the matched up graft.



I thought about stapling the smaller cuttings but then though I was crazy for considering such a thing. Do you have to remove the staple at some point??


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## Xnke (Jan 24, 2020)

I do, but you wouldn't have to, strictly speaking. After the graft is mostly healed I pull the staple by cutting it flush on one side, then pulling the shanks straight through.


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## Collie Flowers farm (Jan 24, 2020)

I think that when I do this again I will either use grapemans method, or build a box, put the heat mat in, line it with plastic then add 6 or so inches peat perlite mix and stick the cuttings into it upright.


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## Xnke (Jan 24, 2020)

Different methods for different needs. If you are grafting vines, you need to make sure the graft union is at the proper temperature to callus and be sure it doesn't dry out. If just rooting cuttings,anyethods work.


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## bshef (Jan 24, 2020)

Collie Flowers Farm, you might want to take a class at Piedmont Community College in Charlottesville, VA on grafting. It is on Saturday April 11. I took it last year and it was real good. https://pvcc.augusoft.net/index.cfm...5161&int_category_id=6&int_sub_category_id=41 PVCC has a really great Viticulture program. I know it would be a bit of drive but it is well worth the effort. Gabriele has a grafting box you get to see and he tells you the temps to use. Start high, in the 90s for a week, then decrease...I have the details in my notes.


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## Collie Flowers farm (Jan 24, 2020)

bshef said:


> Collie Flowers Farm, you might want to take a class at Piedmont Community College in Charlottesville, VA on grafting. It is on Saturday April 11. I took it last year and it was real good. https://pvcc.augusoft.net/index.cfm...5161&int_category_id=6&int_sub_category_id=41 PVCC has a really great Viticulture program. I know it would be a bit of drive but it is well worth the effort. Gabriele has a grafting box you get to see and he tells you the temps to use. Start high, in the 90s for a week, then decrease...I have the details in my notes.



Yes, I'm afraid that is just too far of a ride for me. But I do plan on attending.....
https://www.facebook.com/173249636064008/posts/2566620550060226/

I've watched several videos on grafting, just have never done it before until now. I think I mostly just need to develop how I go about doing things. Like finding out the bagged up vines were not getting up to the needed temp for callousing and having to make adjustments to the way I do things. Next year I'll be more prepared


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## Collie Flowers farm (Jan 28, 2020)

When I took the cuttings for callousing I stuck some smaller canes into a pot just to see what would happen. I dont know if they are actually going to root, but they are starting to push buds.
Time will tell....


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## Collie Flowers farm (Feb 2, 2020)

Pulled a couple cuttings today to see how things were progressing. Looks like they are callousing ok, but I think I'll let them go another week before potting them.


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## Collie Flowers farm (Feb 2, 2020)

The cuttings I just stuck in the pot seem to be doing well.. being they are just rootstock callousing might not be necessary??
Time will tell....


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## Collie Flowers farm (Feb 5, 2020)

I dug up the rootstock cuttings I had just stuck into a pot and replanted them into tree pots.
Sure enough they did have roots.


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## Collie Flowers farm (Feb 5, 2020)

Also pulled the Marquette and potted them up.
They seemed to have calloused ok and had a couple bits of roots showing.
I really hope these take ok....


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## VinesnBines (Feb 5, 2020)

How long did it take to get the propagation license from U Minn for the Marquette cuttings? Is it only $200 for the license if you are propagating for own use? That would be worth the cost for more than 50 vines if the cuttings root well and survive.


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## Collie Flowers farm (Feb 5, 2020)

VinesnBines said:


> How long did it take to get the propagation license from U Minn for the Marquette cuttings? Is it only $200 for the license if you are propagating for own use? That would be worth the cost for more than 50 vines if the cuttings root well and survive.



I ordered those cuttings online...


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## Collie Flowers farm (Feb 11, 2020)

Ok so now I'm second guessing myself.
The cuttings I took and just stuck into the pot are doing well, but I'm seeing flower clusters on them?? Pretty sure they were the 101-14 but i didnt label them and i thought the 101-14 was a sterile variety?? 
Ok so what do you think of this? Finger for size reference lol...


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## Xnke (Feb 11, 2020)

That's normal for cuttings. They are ideally 1 year old wood, so some of those buds are always going to be flower clusters. 101-14 isn't sterile, it's female. It requires a pollinator.

But, any fruit set on a 101-14 will absolutely be a crossing of it and whatever parent pollinated it.

All grapes set flower clusters, but some varieties are perfect flowered and self pollinating, some are male (3309C comes to mind), and some are female (101-14 MGT, 1616C, LS-50, MN1047)

Just pinch off the flower clusters as soon as they are big enough to deal with, as they sap energy that the cutting needs to use for roots and shoots.


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