New Pinot Noir Vines Not Anything

[rebusify]

Hi all! I have planted 30 pinot noir vines 3 weeks ago and they aren't doing anything. The vines arrived from cold storage from the supplier. I put them in water the night before I planted them and kept them in the water while I planted them. They are planted 4 feet apart and the soil was amended for correct levels. I watered about 4 gallons on each vine after planting. I have been watering around 4 gallons once a week. The vines are inside grow tubes and I have 2GPH emitters with hoses going into the grow tubes so the vines get around 4 gallons of water per week straight to the vine/root.

I'm in Portland, Oregon and we've had some mild weather.

Did I miss something or do I need to be more patient?

 

[Ricky2Guns]

I’ll premise my response by letting you know I am by far not an expert on growing grape vines. The fact that they are weeds they are very forgiving/hardy. We are also in different USDA Zones.

I will tell you that like you, I’m also impatient but I don’t think 3 weeks is enough to see a big difference and over watering I understand may slow the growth. Some feedback from some sites I have visited advised 6-10” of watering as any deeper can cause root rot. I have a Pinot Noir and I don’t water anywhere near 4gal and I’m in a hotter climate area. As for your spacing of 4’ apart, I believe the standard is 6’ to allow 3’ cordons on each side assuming your going with a VSP type trellis.

I also have a drip system set to 2GPH but I have my run time set to 140min (2 1/2gal) per week. My vines/leaves/tendrils look great. I believe It’s also too early in the season to water 4gal at a time. while I’m not expert I’ve never had in issue growing grape vines. This year I’m working on getting great table grapes from my other varieties.

not sure if this info helps but I figured I’d share what my research has provided. G/L with your grapes and keep us posted.

 

[rebusify]

Hi Ricky2Guns, thanks for the reply.

The only reason I was doing 4 gallons is because I have soil that is very well drained. I was testing how long it took and based on my tests before planting I could see the hole I filled up with water was draining out in around 30 minutes. This told me that I need to water a bit more but like you, I'm no expert but would have to agree that 4 might be too much. I'm going to cut that down to 2.5 for the next few weeks and gauge the soil. I have a couple dummy areas in the rows that I didn't plant so that I could check the soil a few days after watering to see how moist it is. Will need more time but will update this once I figure it out.

Now the confusing part to me is the per week figure. I'm assuming that it's every 7 days and not every 5 days.

Thanks again for your reply. Totally helps.

 

[Ricky2Guns]

Watering is always the confusing part since we are all over the U.S. and even some from elsewhere so watering advise can be difficult to recommend. I took NorCal’s advise as he is watering 2 1/2 gals once week up in Northern California BUT he doesn’t start watering until June. In my research some vineyards never totally stop watering all together they merely reduce the amount. Since I’m in West Texas (El Paso) I have to water due to the intense heat. During the winter I watered here and there with no real schedule. But now that the weather is starting to warm up, I’m going with 2 1/2 gal every wed at 3pm on my drip system. The hottest part of the day for us is 5pm oddly enough. In the summer time when we average 95 degrees for about three months I will revisit the water schedule to maybe twice a week. I have tons of vineyards around me that I keep my eyes on. In purchasing a Wine barrel for ambience the guy told me I can stop by for advise when ever I want to. I plan to take him up on his offer.

 

[Neb Farmer]

Hi all! I have planted 30 pinot noir vines 3 weeks ago and they aren't doing anything. The vines are inside grow tubes and I have 2GPH emitters with hoses going into the grow tubes so the vines get around 4 gallons of water per week straight to the vine/root.

I'm in Portland, Oregon and we've had some mild weather.

Did I miss something or do I need to be more patient?

I think you will have to wait a little longer before you see the plants budding, but probably not a lot longer. I grow vinifera ( riesling, sangiovese, and nebbiolo ) just across the river from you , in the Vancouver area. They need to 'set roots' before you really get any kind of growth going. As far as watering goes , since they are new plants...yes. Don't let them dry out , but definitely do not over-water either. It is almost impossible to kill a grape plant stuck in the ground. Seriously! lol . I have really well-drained soil here, and I only watered my new plants about every three day at the most, depending on the weather. They did fine. Now that they are well established ( 10 years old ) I don't water at all until the hot weather arrives in July or August. I use the 2.5 gallon bubbler emitters on a drip line....run them for a few hours when I DO water. You will know when the grapevines need water because they will not be as 'perky' as usual . They will droop ...especial the small tendril parts of the upper canopy. When you see that...it's time to irrigate a little. Remember...grapevines will 'set ' a root that goes down at least several feet , looking for water. Once they have that tap root growing well , they almost take care of themselves!
*side note* Plan on looking into spraying for powdery mildew ! This area is notorious for mildew, it DOES happen , it WILL happen , and if it does it will ruin your year's crop. Period. So, look into a spray schedule of about once every two weeks. Even your new plants before budding, because mildew will 'embed' itself in the bark,too. Nasty stuff but totally manageable with sulphur spray.

Have fun! Growing your own is a blast!

 

[rebusify]

I think you will have to wait a little longer before you see the plants budding, but probably not a lot longer. I grow vinifera ( riesling, sangiovese, and nebbiolo ) just across the river from you , in the Vancouver area. They need to 'set roots' before you really get any kind of growth going. As far as watering goes , since they are new plants...yes. Don't let them dry out , but definitely do not over-water either. It is almost impossible to kill a grape plant stuck in the ground. Seriously! lol . I have really well-drained soil here, and I only watered my new plants about every three day at the most, depending on the weather. They did fine. Now that they are well established ( 10 years old ) I don't water at all until the hot weather arrives in July or August. I use the 2.5 gallon bubbler emitters on a drip line....run them for a few hours when I DO water. You will know when the grapevines need water because they will not be as 'perky' as usual . They will droop ...especial the small tendril parts of the upper canopy. When you see that...it's time to irrigate a little. Remember...grapevines will 'set ' a root that goes down at least several feet , looking for water. Once they have that tap root growing well , they almost take care of themselves!
*side note* Plan on looking into spraying for powdery mildew ! This area is notorious for mildew, it DOES happen , it WILL happen , and if it does it will ruin your year's crop. Period. So, look into a spray schedule of about once every two weeks. Even your new plants before budding, because mildew will 'embed' itself in the bark,too. Nasty stuff but totally manageable with sulphur spray.

Have fun! Growing your own is a blast!

Hey, thank you so much for your reply.

Can you recommend a sulfur spray? Also, you wrote that new vines need the spray too so how new? I'm 3 weeks in the ground so should I be spraying them now every couple weeks?

Also, I'm not real sure what is best for weed control. Trying to keep it as organic as possible. I'm using small nugget bark chips on one row to see how well it controls the weeds and nothing on the other two rows. Do you have any recommendations for weed control? Organic or chemical.

Thank you again!

 

[Neb Farmer]

Hey, thank you so much for your reply.

Can you recommend a sulfur spray? Also, you wrote that new vines need the spray too so how new? I'm 3 weeks in the ground so should I be spraying them now every couple weeks?

I have been using a wettable sulphur called "Microthiol Disperss"

I believe I bought mine down at OVS in Aurora,OR. for about $45 . Microthiol Disperss (fungicide) | OVS
It comes in a 30 pound bag, which for a vineyard of 30-40 plants SHOULD last a long,long time. I mix about half a babyfood jar full of sulphur powder to 2 gallons of water . Mixes pretty easily...and it is 'organic' , so I always try to go that route. According to the product information it will also take care of several different species of mites, but my main use is for the control and prevention of powdery mildew. Prevention is the key word here.

I do not spray during the winter months, but once springtime has rolled around and the temperatures are in the 50's or more, it is mildew season, so I spray every two weeks until about 5 weeks before grape harvest. So, YES ... I would start spraying your plants now... we've had plenty of warm weather lately. When I started growing grapes , I had the idea that I would not use pesticides or sprays, and just grow ' natural' . I found out the hard way that powdery mildew is probably the most prolific and damaging thing there is for vinifera grapes. And for some odd reason, it does not seem to attack the concords or other 'food ' grapes I have. Only the wine grapes!

Weed control...I mow between rows, carefully weed whack between plants, pull a few over-zealous weeds by hand , but I rarely rototill between rows anymore. Instead i just keep the odd grasses and wildflower growth to a minimum. Kind of natural, i guess. The grapes grow great, so I feel this works well. You will notice a lot of commercial vineyards are not grass and weed-free. Some are , some aren't. I see that as a personal choice. * smiles *

Good luck....you're going to like it when those plants look like grapevines!

 

[Ricky2Guns]

I use mulch but then again I don’t have 30 vines but I guess its all the same no weeds here.

 

[hounddawg]

this is probably as dumb a question as there is, but on a small scale vineyard once the vines are established to the terlasses a 2 foot fence around it with weeder geese, i use geese on my garden, or did, since i got health problems i've not made a garden in a few years, and i turned my geese over time into goose and stuffing like others do with turkeys,,
Dawg

 

[montanarick]

Hi all! I have planted 30 pinot noir vines 3 weeks ago and they aren't doing anything. The vines arrived from cold storage from the supplier. I put them in water the night before I planted them and kept them in the water while I planted them. They are planted 4 feet apart and the soil was amended for correct levels. I watered about 4 gallons on each vine after planting. I have been watering around 4 gallons once a week. The vines are inside grow tubes and I have 2GPH emitters with hoses going into the grow tubes so the vines get around 4 gallons of water per week straight to the vine/root.

I'm in Portland, Oregon and we've had some mild weather.

Did I miss something or do I need to be more patient?

Thinking it may still be a little early for bud break in your area - another week or so? I'm in Montana and I don't get bud break until night temps are in the fifties

 

[Neb Farmer]

Thinking it may still be a little early for bud break in your area - another week or so? I'm in Montana and I don't get bud break until night temps are in the fifties

Nope! Bud break has been happening in the Portland area for about a week or so. We had a stretch of 70 degree sunny weather last week that kicked everything into gear.

 

[montanarick]

Hope they pop soon. I'm really not familiar with Pinot vines. Maybe the nursery that you purchased them from could be of some help. Good luck

 

[rebusify]

We have bud break so happy to report things are good with the exception of those F^%&ing Moles! Had break about 4 days ago and they are starting to go. What is strange is that 75% of the vines have shoot sign growth and 25% of them aren't doing anything. Am I to understand that some might take a bit longer to break out?

Thank you to all of you for your replies. It means a lot.

 

[hounddawg]

We have bud break so happy to report things are good with the exception of those F^%&ing Moles! Had break about 4 days ago and they are starting to go. What is strange is that 75% of the vines have shoot sign growth and 25% of them aren't doing anything. Am I to understand that some might take a bit longer to break out?

Thank you to all of you for your replies. It means a lot.

get you some caster beans or caster bean seed, both the same, go to freshest mole activity using one finger poke a little hole in it, drop in 3 caster beans then gently cover hole , i just pull up a clump of grass elsewhere and gently sit it on the hole to block light, do that everywhere you have moles, whala all dead moles,,,,
Dawg

 

[montanarick]

If caster beans works - you're a life saver. Are these just regular ole caster beans or something unique?

 

[hounddawg]

If caster beans works - you're a life saver. Are these just regular ole caster beans or something unique?

nope just every day caster beans, kills them dead...
Dawg

 

[hounddawg]

If caster beans works - you're a life saver. Are these just regular ole caster beans or something unique?

i don't know why 3, but i was raised doing this and on very rare occasions i still do it, i mean i know why you block the light from your finger hole, but i never ask why 3, but yes it works, years ago i cleared my mom's flower gardens, and her yard, and my yard and my vegetable garden too.
Dawg

 

[hounddawg]

i don't know why 3, but i was raised doing this and on very rare occasions i still do it, i mean i know why you block the light from your finger hole, but i never ask why 3, but yes it works, years ago i cleared my mom's flower gardens, and her yard, and my yard and my vegetable garden too.
Dawg

now we dont get moles but every 3 or 4 years, but that was after doing that every year till all moles even out aways were all killed so now it is rare to see that humped up tunnel. and i go to the seed stand get more beans and good again for a 2 to 4 years but thats after killing tons of them little devils