Frost Protection for Young Vines

[ChuckD]

The forecast for tomorrow night is 34F with widespread frost warnings!

25 Marquette


25 Petite Pearl

And 28 newly planted vines in grow tubes.

I’m not worried about the plants in tubes but I would like to protect the 2yr olds. I’m thinking about buying 50 paper grocery bags and covering them. Maybe trash bags? What would you do?

 

[wood1954]

After losing a crop to frost, I would try covering them. Plastic garbage bags or the large leaf collection bags. Good luck it’s supposed to get down to 38 tomorrow night here. This is the best start to the season for my vines and it would really crush me if they freeze.

 

[ChuckD]

For $0.04 per vine I figured it would be foolish not to try

The newly planted vines are in tubes and the two-year-olds are bagged. Frost warnings for tomorrow night too so I’ll probably just leave them on.

 

[wood1954]

I bet that works good, let us know

 

[Hazelemere]

take all of the bags off in the summer starting now. You'll kill your vines if leaves don't get sunlight and are blocked by paper bags

 

[ChuckD]

I’ve already been thinking about when the vines get bigger. This was easy because the vines are small and I don’t have the trellis built yet.

When the vines are mature you could clip de-icing cable to the wire and drape tyvec type house wrap over them like you do bird netting. I have 7 rows from 85 to 120 feet long.

100’ of heat cable - $70.00
100’ of house wrap - $115.00
x 7 = $1,300.00

Has anyone ever tried this? It’s not cheap but it would be reusable. If it saves a crop every few years it might be worth it for a hobby vineyard like mine.

 

[ChuckD]

take all of the bags off in the summer starting now

?
I just put them on today for frost protection. I’ll take them off when the danger of frost has past, which should be in two days.

 

[Hazelemere]

?
I just put them on today for frost protection. I’ll take them off when the danger of frost has past, which should be in two days.

good

 

[Hazelemere]

where do you live?

 

[Hazelemere]

Next time use transparent plastic so light can get to the leaves instead of paper bags.

 

[ChuckD]

where do you live?

Northern Wisconsin. I considered clear plastic bags but these are actually cheaper and I can just rip them off and recycle them. Also, I think the paper bag may have some insulating value.

 

[ChuckD]

Just took a walk through the vineyard and there was very light patchy frost… the temperature this morning was 37F on the porch but that’s covered. They are still calling for scattered frost tonight, then trending hot for the weekend and next week.

 

[wood1954]

The problem we have with frost is the vines put out long tender shoots that can easily be broken off in the act of covering and uncovering. I read that a vineyard out east set a bunch of straw bales out and set them on fire. Unless you get a really hard freeze Marquette will set a second bunch, so it’s not usually a total loss, I think after my frost event a few years ago I still got 300 lbs.

 

[ChuckD]

The problem we have with frost is the vines put out long tender shoots that can easily be broken off in the act of covering and uncovering. I read that a vineyard out east set a bunch of straw bales out and set them on fire. Unless you get a really hard freeze Marquette will set a second bunch, so it’s not usually a total loss, I think after my frost event a few years ago I still got 300 lbs.

Yeah, I know that with no fruiting this year it won’t really hurt them to lose the growth and have to start over. It’s just that they look so nice and I don’t want to loose what they have… I’m hoping to get them trained up and start some cordons this summer!

 

[ChuckD]

This morning there was Frost on the grass in the vineyard but only dew on the bags. When I woke up I looked out the window and the roof was pure white

 

[wood1954]

Your vineyard looks like it’s really sited well. Looks like the bags worked. Had a little frost on the grass here, but dew on the vine leaves. Hopefully that’s the last frost of the season.

 

[ChuckD]

Your vineyard looks like it’s really sited well. Looks like the bags worked. Had a little frost on the grass here, but dew on the vine leaves. Hopefully that’s the last frost of the season.

It was a hard frost here… the asparagus looks like it has frost damage. It’s supposed to be 90 by next week so we should be out of frost danger. I’m going to have to water the new vines though. we are way behind on rain this month.

 

[Obbnw]

Next time use transparent plastic so light can get to the leaves instead of paper bags.

I wouldn't use clear plastic. Here, it is not the cold air, it is more radiative losses to a clear sky and plastic won't help that and doesn't have much insulating capacity.

 

[ChuckD]

Well, other than three broken shoots from bagging, there was no frost damage at all. My basil plants and asparagus had damage. And the apples were just dropping their blossoms so we’ll see.

 

[Vern]

Went to my newly planted grape vines feeling smug, then noticed that 30% of leaves are dead. Talked to neighbor and he said we had a lot of frost two nights past. Temperature was predicted to drop to 42, so much for assuming.