Vineyard From the Beginning- Grapeman

[BlueStimulator]

One can only hope!!!!!

And wait

 

[daniyalsm]

I hope you get good weather soon! It has already crossed 100 F here lol.

 

[grapeman]

The vineyard has continued to do well and the Marquette grapes are in veraison. It is continually in the mid to upper 80's here.

 

[Masbustelo]

They look great!

 

[ibglowin]

Do you trim/hedge the your vines before netting? Looks like you have vines reaching the vineyard floor from the top wire!

 

[grapeman]

No I don't hedge them. That makes them send out laterals and makes a tangled mess. Yes many shoots reach the ground from the top wired at 6 feet and would be much longer if there wasn't a heavy crop.

 

[grapeman]

I want to bump this thread back up now. I haven't had time to keep it updated properly. My wife and I have both been sick especially recently so time for working on it has been limited. I have been working on the little booklet/guide I mentioned earlier and will put it here soon. I just wanted to bump this so that I could find the thread easier next time. I am also making it sticky for now so I can add to it easier.

 

[sour_grapes]

Hope you are convalescing, Rich!

 

[grapeman]

So here is the Guide to Propagating Grapevines Using Two bud Cuttings I created for sharing with everyone.

 

[JamesGrape]

That is a very nice document, thank you.

 

[Ellawell]

This was an awesome thread to scroll through. As a relatively impatient person, I wonder if I like the wrong hobby with all this waiting and the time stamps from root to fruit prove it! Haha. Thank you for documenting this.

I've got a rooting question: I've got about 70 Cab Sav and 60 Zin vine clippings. A few of the Cab have been in soil for a couple weeks now and the rest are newer. I'm not really noticing much progress. My concern is that I didn't know about heating mats before I started. Would buying some now perhaps be too late, 1-3 weeks after starting them? The slow progress makes me think they've died, even though I can still see a bit of green inside the stem from the buds I removed, and the green ones I'm attempting to root are still fully green as well.

 

[Zintrigue]

Oh my, this is great information. Who knew it was that easy.

 

[CK55]

This was an awesome thread to scroll through. As a relatively impatient person, I wonder if I like the wrong hobby with all this waiting and the time stamps from root to fruit prove it! Haha. Thank you for documenting this.

I've got a rooting question: I've got about 70 Cab Sav and 60 Zin vine clippings. A few of the Cab have been in soil for a couple weeks now and the rest are newer. I'm not really noticing much progress. My concern is that I didn't know about heating mats before I started. Would buying some now perhaps be too late, 1-3 weeks after starting them? The slow progress makes me think they've died, even though I can still see a bit of green inside the stem from the buds I removed, and the green ones I'm attempting to root are still fully green as well.

Patience, they will grow.

 

[M38A1]

Amazing thread which only took me 3/4 of a bottle of wine to get through. LovedLovedLoved all the detail and your approach. Seeing the time and date stamps on the posts was also helpful in getting a sense of time to complete each phase. Most certainly a lot of effort not only to build the winery but to document it in this post.

 

[Karl]

Rich,When we started our little vineyard I read someplace you should plant your rows from east to west have you heard this before ? Also how do you intend to water your rows ? Looking forward to your progress. We only have 32 plants right now maybe more when I retire. Good luck..... Mike

Have only heard that in the context of prevailing winds, thinking that the winds will dry the vines quicker. I think that is useless.

Wish my vines were growing N/S and the sun rises from the east to west last time i checked in the Northern Hemisphere, and i prefer good sun exposure on both sides of my vines (which i currently do not have and it is a problem)

 

[ibglowin]

Most of the time you want to plant N/S as you want to maximize E/W sunlight in order to ripen the grapes especially in cooler climates such as where this vineyard exist...... Relying on the wind to blow fungal spores off your vines is a disaster in the making. Fungal disease is best treated by proper spraying protocols.

 

[CK55]

Most of the time you want to plant N/S as you want to maximize E/W sunlight in order to ripen the grapes especially in cooler climates such as where this vineyard exist...... Relying on the wind to blow fungal spores off your vines is a disaster in the making. Fungal disease is best treated by proper spraying protocols.

You should know that I live in a extremely dry area we maybe get rain 4x a year. So I'm not at risk for mildew or fungus as much as others. I also don't spray my vines with anything. Only my 40 year old Alicante vine got some black spot .And that's about it.

 

[Dennis Griffith]

Well done! I notice you didn't use growing tubes. I tried them the first year that started. I decided that I could do better, so I quit using them.

 

[CK55]

Well done! I notice you didn't use growing tubes. I tried them the first year that started. I decided that I could do better, so I quit using them.

I did because where I live is really Sunny and my Barbera got burned a bit when we had a freak 104F day. Which is rare.

 

[Dennis Griffith]

I did because where I live is really Sunny and my Barbera got burned a bit when we had a freak 104F day. Which is rare.

Well, that makes a difference. I don't have the sun issue, but without the tubes, my first year vines this year reached the top wire and I was able to get a nice head with a couple of cordons. Now they are growing canes like nobody's business. I may let them bear next year on year 2, which I haven't ever done. But I think I've got the soil prep down fairly well, which resulted in some vigorous first year vines.