Cost of growing your own grapes

[wood1954]

So not counting the original cost of the plants, trellis etc, I’m spending about $150 per year on pesticides and fungicides for my 65 vines. I think that’s pretty reasonable as this year I should see about 600 lbs of grapes and next year even more maybe 1000 lbs. around $2 a plant is ok for a hobby I wonder how much big commercial growers spend Per plant. My plants are Marquette and itasca.

 

[crushday]

Oh, wow @wood1954 - you’re trying to get an answer to a question that is incredibly difficult to answer. Economy of scale and buying power are two things that come immediately to mind as it pertains to big commercial growers.

What’s important is if you’re ok paying .25 per pound based on your harvest estimations this year and .15 per pound based on next years estimation. Kit prices for the same quantity would likely cost $450-600, shipped.

Nice job.

 

[sour_grapes]

You might glean something from one of these links at Washington State. They are mainly aimed at bigger wineries, but there is some info for smaller ones, too: Economic Tools: Grape and Wine Production | WSU Viticulture and Enology | Washington State University

 

[montanarick]

Good info - thanks

 

[Neb Farmer]

After the intial cost of setting up my small 45 vine vineyard, the only costs I have involved are the small amount of wettable sulphur that I spray them with every two weeks. The battery-powered sprayer only cost me about $60 usd , and the 30 pound bag of sulphur should last me a long time...maybe 30 years? Luckily I do not have to utilize any pesticides ...so far. Knock on wood. My vineyard yields on average about 300 pounds of fruit per year, so this works really well for me.

 

[efBobby]

Generally the easiest way to get your answer that I know of is to ask your extension agent and they will provide you with a per acre cost for your locale for commercial wine making.