# Growing vines for the first time



## JDesCotes (May 19, 2014)

I started making wine in January and decided to plant a couple vines now that spring is here. 

My local vineyard sold me two vines which are about 2 feet tall and the diameter being just smaller than a dime (bigger then a pencil)

Currently they are in pots on my back deck. 

Is there anything special I need to do when planting? Also, how far apart do I plant? Any lighting restrictions I should look out for? I assume it's full light and lots of watering...

Also, when and how should I prune and when can I expect to start seeing fruit? I see some fruit starting and assume I need to prune for the first year or two...

Any help or direction to online guides is greatly appreciated!

Thanks!


----------



## JDesCotes (May 19, 2014)

Here are a couple pictures:


----------



## grapeman (May 19, 2014)

Let me start by asking some questions.
What variety(varieties)? I see you have Frontenac (zone 3 wine) and Canadice (zone 5 seedless, not the 4 listed on the tag)
Your location? (after looking up your ip, I see you are near Toronto)
Soil type?
Any growing experience at all?

Lots more questions. Let's see who can add what to the list and we can begin to answer you when we get more information.


----------



## JDesCotes (May 19, 2014)

grapeman said:


> Let me start by asking some questions.
> What variety(varieties)? I see you have Frontenac (zone 3 wine) and Canadice (zone 5 seedless, not the 4 listed on the tag)
> Your location? (after looking up your ip, I see you are near Toronto)
> Soil type?
> ...




I live about 45 minutes north of Toronto in zone 5. 

Not certain about the levels of my soil, but I grew tomato and pepper last year and they were exploding in produce. 

My parents own horses so I fertilize with 5 year composted manure and it seems to do the trick. 

My current garden is about 8 feed long and 5 feet wide and gets lots of sun. It is also at the bottom of a downward grade in my property and was rather marshy before the garden was made.... But now I barely have to water in the summer.


----------



## JDesCotes (May 19, 2014)

I should also note that last year was my first year ever gardening...


----------



## JDesCotes (May 19, 2014)

Also, here is my garden if this will help at all... 

I was thinking of planting the vines in either the "thin" portion or beside the thin portion outside of the garden entirely.

Sorry for the fisheye look, had to use panoramic to get it all.


----------



## grapeman (May 19, 2014)

I think the thin portion might be better since it looks like it will get more sunlight longer- full sun is great.
I would plant the vines 6 to 8 feet apart. Just dig a hole large enough to put the whole pot into (taking out of the pot first of course). Score the outside of the potted soil a bit to loosen the soil on the outside and encourage root growth. Cover the pot soil with just a bit of topsoil but leave a slight depression where the vine is to let it hold a bit of water. The soil should be rich enough. I wouldn't put a lot of composted manure on it right away since that will make it too vigorous. You could keep them on the mini lattice for a while until you can build some sort of trellis. We can cover that more later.

Good luck with the vines!


----------



## JDesCotes (May 19, 2014)

Thanks for your advice! Should I do any pruning once planted?


----------



## JDesCotes (May 19, 2014)

Sorry one last question for tonight:

If I place one vine on the left of the thin section and another right beside my rhubarb on the right, I can still plant peppers in between, correct? I'll leave a foot radius around the vine to be safe I'm thinking.


----------



## bigdrums2 (May 21, 2014)

Buy from vines to wine by Jeff cox. That will pretty much fix you up.


Sent from my iPhone using Wine Making


----------



## bigdrums2 (May 21, 2014)

Don't prune any. This first year they need to leaf out and grow roots.


Sent from my iPhone using Wine Making


----------



## JDesCotes (May 21, 2014)

Ok. Thanks everybody for the advice!

I've read a couple sources online saying to twist off all fruit as soon as they start to bud for the first 3 years to promote growth and strong stem and roots... Will it hurt them if I allow them to bear fruit this season?


----------



## JDesCotes (May 21, 2014)

Also, I am ordering that book tonight


----------



## grapeman (May 21, 2014)

Take all the fruit off this year. You could leave a cluster or two next year. Leaving fruit stunts the growth and sets back getting to a full fruiting capacity. Remember that the book by Jeff Cox is written as a catch all book and not all the advice may be appropriate for your situation. I can always spot new growers that have read his book because they dig a trench with a backhoe, mix the soil with ammendments and fill it back in. That may be needed in extreme situations, but more often than not it leads to high vigor not needed for the varieties you have chosen.


----------



## jekern1015 (May 21, 2014)

That would be me grapeman, LOL


----------

