Figuring out how to start growing grapes.

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Air layering is good with a variety that does well in your area being 'own rooted'. Here (Ohio), there are several varieties that need to be grafted onto a root stock that will tolerate clay soils. All my varieties are native types and 'own rooted', except for cab franc. It's on 101-14.
 
Depending on if I can find appropriatly sized scion wood, I'll graft a "grape of many colors" and then when pruning this year I'll cut each grafted cane back and root it this winter.

A kind of divide and conquer approach, if you will.
 
The advantage there is that my rootstock plants are growing tiny, thin canes on them. I have plenty of green material the same size, so attempting the graft costs nothing-it is very unlikely I'll have any material to bench graft onto this year.
 
Alright, some of my 101-14 cuttings are rooted and growing, and 4 out of 6 grafts seem to have taken. 3 of those 6 are grafts done on unbolted cuttings that now have tiny roots started.

Things are looking good this week!
 
Plant in a new spot and burn the old vines could be a course of action. If it's wide spread, they have an issue. Planting new vines in the same spot may result in the same problem as gall comes from a type of bacteria in the soil. Some vineyards will dig out the soil and replace it when planting new vines.

Speaking of crown gall, I've got a vine with it. There is a couple of treatment methods. One is an inoculation bath that you can soak your vines in before planting or after digging them up while dormant, soak them, and then replant as you would a bare root. The other involves the use of a anti-bacterial paint. You either cut off the gall or scrape off what you can, let sit for a day, then paint this stuff on. It will take a while to see results either way you go. So, I need to buy a half gallon jug of Gallex. Anyone have a supply of it that will sell me one jug? It comes in a case of 6 - half gallon jugs, and I don't want to buy 6. One jug will last me for a while.
 
So far, the green work has been only somewhat successful. I have rooted 8 out of 36 cuttings of 101-14, 4 out of 18 cuttings of 3309C, and the green grafting failed completely until I realized I had entirely the wrong tape for the job. Since I switched to Parafilm tape, I have been 3 for 3 on green grafts!

I am testing a new approach to green rooting now too, by covering the whole cutting except the single leaf and the cut end below ground with the Parafilm, I hope to reduce the water loss in the cutting. Same principle as wrapping the green cutting with film on a graft, just applied to rooting.

We'll see how it does, right nowy rooted rootstock cuttings gave until mid October to grow up and harden off for chip budding next year. (If they make it that far!)
 
As soon as I get home before dark, I'll try to get some photos. The weather conspires against me-I started those cuttings during very stable 80 to 85F temperatures...now it's swinging from 80 down to 70 at night, and a full third of the cuttings have turned brown since Monday night.
 
So, for the few days that these were pinched down to a single leaf, they were fine, then they were good with the few small leaves, but now that it's gotten cooler...the leaves have browned. Any dead stems have been removed, but any with green buds still on them have been left-these will likely not root now but there's no harm in trying, as this is the last batch I'll have time to root and grow out this summer. I will trim these back to a single leaf tonight, to limit water loss. Back row is Malbec, then two Syrah, then 8 Zweigalt, and the "control" cutting is a 3309C close enough to the front of the box I can see root formation when it happens.

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These are cuttings that are rooted, but may or may not survive. Any with a plastic bag over them are still very tender leaved and wilt easily-the one on the far end, front row had it's bag blown off today while I was at work, and the leaves wilted back severely-they may not come back now.

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Here's lil wilty:

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These two, (one is inside it's 2-liter greenhouse, as the cooler temps have been hurtful to it's tiny leaves too, apparently) are both 101-14, and both have good root systems. Both were cuttings taken near the end of the original shoot, but in the area just firm enough to cut-not the floppy actively growing tip, but just below it. Most of my successful cuttings have been about this size, and have been 2-bud cuttings.

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The rooting chamber (they live in here about two weeks) is just a home despot flip-top clear container. Four holes poked in the bottom for drainage, and cuttings misted daily.

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The tall white pots are just vinyl downspout, with fiberglass drywall tape drawn over the ends and duct taped into place. Reusable, 8" tall, 2x4 pots that allow good root growth, and discourage root binding.
 
I see what and why you are doing. But.. somehow things look to wet and your setting yourself up for damping off disease. Somehow you need to apply a mildewcide.
 
Oh yeah, things are wet. Every day the cutting get misted with a weak solution of Captan or Mancozeb, depending on the week. (1/10 normal strength for field spraying)

If you allow them to not be constantly wet, they will shrivel and die in hours after the first two or three days.
 
Today, I picked up all the white downspout pots and every single one of them has at least two root tips showing, so there's 3 more 3309 and 9 more 101-14 rooting successes. The plastic bags will get opened up a little at a time for a few hours each day to harden them off, then once the bags come off, I'll move them into stronger sun a little at a time over a week.

The 3309 in the rooting chamber has pushed out one root, when I see a good mess of roots and all the other cuttings are good and green, I'll start propping the lid of the box open a little, until it's full open, over about a two week period. Any cuttings that survive that will get transplanted into 1 gallon pots and moved out into the sun with the others.

I've been giving up on these things too easily, I had completely forgotten about one in the back of the watering tray, behind the white downspout pots, that was a 101-14 cutting that had turned brown and hard, and all the buds and the single leaf had fallen off. I saw it today, and tried to pull it from the pot-Nope. The next node down was below the soil level and was still vibrant green, and had LOTS of roots growing out the bottom of the pot...so it got potted up and the green node set just above soil level to get a little sunshine. I think it'll grow now too.
 
I put my cuttings that haven't shown growth outside in one of the raised tomato beds when past frost to see if they may still come to life. I usually get a few surprises. I just tossed the dead ones for this year a couple of weeks ago. None had any root action when I pulled them. I had enough that did, and I've already placed a couple in the vineyard. The rest as in pots for planting in the fall. After growing in pots, you need to trim roots at planting time to ensure good root growth next year.
 
(one is inside it's 2-liter greenhouse, as the cooler temps have been hurtful to it's tiny leaves too, apparently) are both 101-14, and both have good root systems. Both were cuttings taken near the end of the original shoot, but in the area just firm enough to cut-not the floppy actively growing tip, but just below it. Most of my successful cuttings have been about this size, and have been 2-bud cuttings.
The tall white pots are just vinyl downspout, with fiberglass drywall tape drawn over the ends and duct taped into place. Reusable, 8" tall, 2x4 pots that allow good root growth, and discourage root binding.[/QUOTE

GREAT photos! Will try vinyl tubes next time I do some.
 
The lid of the rooting chamber got propped open last night. It will stay open about 1/2" for the next few days, then I'll open it an inch, then by Friday I'll have it open to free air. Unfortunately that means anything with no roots will die out this week.
 
We planted 2200 vines 19 years ago. When we prune, we half fill two five gallon buckets with water and cuttings. When bud beak rolls around, we have leaves on the cuttings and use them as replacement vines or give the buckets to friends wanting to start vineyards. Not the proper rootstock but they grow and produce grapes.

We live in San Diego County so have milder seasons than others may contend with.

Nice forum. I am new to the site.
 
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