Hello From Maryland

[Collie Flowers farm]

New guy here, just put in a few vines last year to test the waters. Planted Shiraz, Brianna, Enchantment, and some 101-14 root stock plants. So far things have gone pretty well and I have been taking cuttings this week to try and produce some more plants. This will be a 3 acre hobby vineyard and I'm looking to plant (at a guess) about 400 plants of 10 different varieties over the next few years. I'm hoping to cultivate some of the more obscure varieties that are not grown in my area to try them out and see how they perform and make some wine from them.
Any one have any obscure varieties they grow that would be willing to part with some cuttings?
Here is a few pictures of last year's start to the vineyard. It's been a learning experience!!

 

[Collie Flowers farm]

Hmm, might have to resize my photos...

 

[Boatboy24]

Welcome from northern VA!

 

[jgmann67]

And south central PA.

 

[beano]

And from the North Carolina Sandhills.

 

[mainshipfred]

Welcome, another NOVA here, where in MD?

 

[Collie Flowers farm]

Welcome, another NOVA here, where in MD?

Up north just behind Fair Hill...

Thanks for the welcomes everyone

 

[franc1969]

Welcome! I'm over by Frederick/ New Market.

 

[gsf77]

Welcome

 

[Dennis Griffith]

Welcome from Ohio. I make a lot of trips to MD and try to hit as many seafood places as I can.

 

[DRM ll]

Welcome from Eastlake Ohio

 

[crabjoe]

Up north just behind Fair Hill...

Thanks for the welcomes everyone

I almost never look at this forum!. Glad I did. I'm up here in Ceciltucky too, down in Port.

About 10 years ago, I tried to grow grapes and failed.. Met a guy off of Tome Hwy that had started a year before.. Never kept in touch with him, but I think he gave up. Hope you have some success!!

If you need any help, let me know.. I'm not far and I would learn from you.

Welcome aboard!

 

[Collie Flowers farm]

I almost never look at this forum!. Glad I did. I'm up here in Ceciltucky too, down in Port.

About 10 years ago, I tried to grow grapes and failed.. Met a guy off of Tome Hwy that had started a year before.. Never kept in touch with him, but I think he gave up. Hope you have some success!!

If you need any help, let me know.. I'm not far and I would learn from you.

Welcome aboard!

Hi crabjoe,
I'm curious to hear what happened with your vineyard attempt. Did the plants die out the first year?? What's your soil like? And did the vines have good sun and airflow?
What varieties did you have and on what rootstock??

 

[crabjoe]

Hi crabjoe,
I'm curious to hear what happened with your vineyard attempt. Did the plants die out the first year?? What's your soil like? And did the vines have good sun and airflow?
What varieties did you have and on what rootstock??

I really don't remember.. at that time, I was doing a lot of vegetable gardening and wanted to try some grapes. I planted 2 vines of each.. can't remember the varieties.. but 3 were wine grapes and one was a concord. I live just above Port and there's plenty of sun and airflow. My issue I think was the soil. I'm only on an acre but I've got so much granite in my yard, I bought a SCUT to clear some rocks. Basically, the vines just didn't want to grow. They got few feet long and then stunted.. I didn't know what to try.. that's when I found that guy over off of Tome Hwy.. He had started his vines a year before and they good, but looked really thin. I gave my vines another year then gave up.. I just pulled them out... actually, they were so thin, I just mowed them over. Because of that experience, when I saw your pics, I got really excited...

BTW, I really know nothing about growing grapes. My Aunt use to have a few Concord vines and when she was around, I asked her what she did.. she said nothing other than prune the hell out of them every year. Me, I never even made it to the pruning stage.

Oh.. I found a wine club over in York Pa... I went last week and was talking with a retired commercial wine maker. When I asked him about growing grapes, he said you can't us cutting for wine grapes because they'll get infected and die.. He said they needed to be on some root stock.. He told me he had a friend that would need help with pruning in the late May, early June time period. I'm hoping I can make it and pick up some knowledge. Once I feel more confident, I'm going to try grape growing another try.

 

[Collie Flowers farm]

Basically, the vines just didn't want to grow. They got few feet long and then stunted.

I'm a firm believer that selecting the right rootstock is just as important as varietal selection.
My Shiraz is grafted onto 101-14 rootstock and out performed both the Brianna and Enchantment (miserable puke of a plant)
I am curious to try grafting the enchantment onto the 101-14 rootstock and see what happens.
There is alot of reasons your vines may have stunted out but I would bet that you can get vines to grow by changing your approach to getting them established. Think you'll ever have another go at it???

 

[crabjoe]

I'm a firm believer that selecting the right rootstock is just as important as varietal selection.
My Shiraz is grafted onto 101-14 rootstock and out performed both the Brianna and Enchantment (miserable puke of a plant)
I am curious to try grafting the enchantment onto the 101-14 rootstock and see what happens.
There is alot of reasons your vines may have stunted out but I would bet that you can get vines to grow by changing your approach to getting them established. Think you'll ever have another go at it???

I'll definitely give it another go.. I just need more knowledge before trying. That 1st time.. I was thinking if I plant it, it would grow. LOL.. I found out I was WRONG..

 

[Collie Flowers farm]

I'll definitely give it another go.. I just need more knowledge before trying. That 1st time.. I was thinking if I plant it, it would grow. LOL.. I found out I was WRONG..

Lol. Yes I made the same mistake, and learned from it!!
This second go round I really changed things up and it seems to be paying off but I wont really know until I sample some of the grapes this year and see..
I still made a mistake this year and that was ending my spray routine a bit too early and having some downy mildew set in.
But if you want to give it a go again, I have a soil sampler and can pull a couple of cores for you to get an idea of your ground and what rootstock you should try.
Are you a red or white wine guy??

 

[bshef]

The truth is when growing grapes you want less vigor. The vines need to struggle. Lush foliage does not result in grapes. At least I hope that is right. My vines did fair and it appears I have live vines after the first year. We'll see when I prune (not before March) and at bud break. My biggest fear was the drought we had. Not a drop of rain in September. Against some advice, I started up the drip line. Grapes need Southern exposure, good airflow (slope), good drainage (rocks are fine - limestone is great). Site selection is a big part of success and the other factor for success is varietal - grow what thrives in your area not what you like to drink.

 

[crabjoe]

Lol. Yes I made the same mistake, and learned from it!!
This second go round I really changed things up and it seems to be paying off but I wont really know until I sample some of the grapes this year and see..
I still made a mistake this year and that was ending my spray routine a bit too early and having some downy mildew set in.
But if you want to give it a go again, I have a soil sampler and can pull a couple of cores for you to get an idea of your ground and what rootstock you should try.
Are you a red or white wine guy??

I'm an any kind of wine guy, but generally I tend to drink whites. For me, growing grapes is more of a learning thing. The goal is to be able to make wine, from start to finish with grapes I grew.

So far, this is what I know. A vine on average produces 10lbs of grapes. I need the vines on root stock, so no cuttings. Pruning is 6 out and 3 up. Must spray on almost a weekly bases and the best way to know what to spray is to subscribe to an email distro, I think it was Va Tech, because they state what they're spraying and why, and we're aprox a week behind.

This years plan is to try and get some 1st hand experience with experienced growers, then hopefully I'll be ready in the fall to order some vines for next Spring.

Thanks for the offer on soil sampling, but for now, I just need knowledge and hands on work (training).

 

[bshef]

Pruning is not as simple as 6 out and 3 up. The first year is back to two buds, the second year you train the trunk, third year you decide if you are spur or cane pruning or a combination. The variety determines the best pruning method and each vine is an individual. Proper pruning is crucial for grape production. Take some classes through a program or through the Maryland vineyard association. There is a LOT to learn and growing is a full time job.