Starting a new vineyard

[GSMChris]

I'm in Wisconsin so I have no idea (specifically) what California soils are like, but is it common to amend the soil for wine grapes? Will you continue to amend after the initial application?

What I have been told is that the limestone should be a one time thing to adjust the Ph. Most people in Paso Robles have to adjust their Ph the other way (alkaline soil) and use sulfur which apparently is a multi year process.

Other amendments aren't unusual - compost is pretty normal or gypsum if you have heavy clay.

I see virtually all growers here adding compost at the end of the season. Cover crops are also pretty normal - usually some combination of things like barley, bell's beans, crimson clover.

 

[CortneyD]

What I have been told is that the limestone should be a one time thing to adjust the Ph. Most people in Paso Robles have to adjust their Ph the other way (alkaline soil) and use sulfur which apparently is a multi year process.

Other amendments aren't unusual - compost is pretty normal or gypsum if you have heavy clay.

I see virtually all growers here adding compost at the end of the season. Cover crops are also pretty normal - usually some combination of things like barley, bell's beans, crimson clover.

Cover crops totally make sense but I had no idea vineyards were amended! Learn something new every day- thanks for sharing!

 

[BigH]

... is it common to amend the soil for wine grapes? Will you continue to amend after the initial application?

Potassium, phosphorus and many other nutrients have poor mobility in soil, so if you don't fix them before planting, you are going to have a difficult time trying to add them later. My soil was low on phosphorus when I planted my vineyard. I was told to apply phosphorus only, and disc it in as deep as I could. Finding phosphorus only fertilizer was a bit of a challenge.

Nitrogen's mobility depends on the form that you apply, but compared to the others, it is one nutrient that you can deal with on an annual basis after planting.

H

 

[CortneyD]

Potassium, phosphorus and many other nutrients have poor mobility in soil, so if you don't fix them before planting, you are going to have a difficult time trying to add them later. My soil was low on phosphorus when I planted my vineyard. I was told to apply phosphorus only, and disc it in as deep as I could. Finding phosphorus only fertilizer was a bit of a challenge.

Nitrogen's mobility depends on the form that you apply, but compared to the others, it is one nutrient that you can deal with on an annual basis after planting.

H

Oh I get all that stuff, I just didn't know vineyards were amended! Something, something about how my brain understood terroir and growing grapes hard just added up to not amending. Now I know! Thanks!

 

[Bkat]

Oh I get all that stuff, I just didn't know vineyards were amended! Something, something about how my brain understood terroir and growing grapes hard just added up to not amending. Now I know! Thanks!

Keep in mind, you can accomplish quite a bit with a good balance of cover crop and not need to add much if anything. So don't fret too much about it or feel that if you don't micro-manage with supplemental inputs, you're on the path to disaster.

Top dressing the aisles with composted manure once a season will take care of a lot. Nature is pretty good at finding a balance and established vines are deep-feeders, bringing nutrients and minerals up rather than relying on supplemental feeding from above. Also, keep in mind grapes are pretty resilient plants and if you go too headstrong into maximizing fertility the vines will be leafy but not necessarily productive, especially if you're growing cold-hardy varieties. Grapes grow well in some very difficult places so being in Wisconsin where your soil is probably better than most (depending upon where you are of course), don't feel you need to overthink it.

 

[Dennis Griffith]

I always test the soil prior to starting another row, and amend accordingly. After 2 - 3 years of growth, I test either the leaves or petioles, depending on lab preference. Amending rows at this point depends on the lab results.

 

[GSMChris]

Progress at last yesterday. The team showed up and spread the limestone and compost and then used a 24 inch disc to turn it under. The black metal pipe dragging behind smoothed the soil out and generally made it look prettier!

Photos to follow

 

[GSMChris]

The spreader

 

[GSMChris]

The limestone

 

[GSMChris]

The tractor - with disc attached this time

 

[GSMChris]

Boy it has been a while since I posted on this thread... Lots of progress has been made - most notably the end posts have been installed, the main irrigation lines have been run, all of the holes have been angered, and we are about a third of the way through build out the trellis. A series of pictures to follow....

 

[GSMChris]

Digging the post holes

 

[GSMChris]

52 Posts planted....

 

[GSMChris]

Irrigation line marked for trenching - Note that I am running the lines in the 8 foot space between the end post and the first vine.

 

[GSMChris]

Trench leading from the blue line in the previous picture over to the water tank. Large hole near the tank is where the five valves will be positioned - one for each variety of grape. Note also that new electrical has been installed on the post along with the drip irrigation controller. Eventually a shed will be built to the left of that post and the controller will be moved inside the shed.

 

[GSMChris]

We used a two man auger to drill 589 of these....

 

[GSMChris]

Trellis is a work in progress. We are installing a drip tube line at 18 inches and the cordon wire at 40 inches (because we aren’t getting any younger and this will reduce bending over.)

Catch wires will follow in a couple of years.

 

[ibglowin]

Starting to come together!

View attachment 85981Trellis is a work in progress. We are installing a drip tube line at 18 inches and the cordon wire at 40 inches (because we aren’t getting any younger and this will reduce bending over.)

Catch wires will follow in a couple of years.

 

[ChuckD]

Looks great! I plan on starting my grapes this year and adding the trellis next summer. Of course I’m only planting 25 to 50 grapes at a time.

Will you be using grow tubes?

 

[GSMChris]

Yup- I’m using the orange/pink/salmon colored plastic ones in the 24 inch tall flavor. My main pests are ground squirrels and jack rabbits so that’s high enough to keep them off.

I debated skipping the trellis this year but decided that I wanted to get the irrigation tubing off the ground and away from the aforementioned pests.