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Grape vine newbie.
MzSquawk
Posts: 18
in Fruit & veg
Hi I was bought 2 grapevines for my birthday.I have planted them but I'm now stuck. I've spent hours looking over the internet for which type of trellis to use and am baffled there so much info and I don't know what's the best way for me to go. The varieties I have are grape flame and lakemont. When I got them they were just sticks with roots and wax on top(sorry to sound so untechnical). A few shoots have now appeared and I again have looked over the internet to see if I should let all shoots grow etc but again confused. Please help. Thanks.
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try these instructions. Usually you tie to wires not up a trellis. Are you growing in a greenhouse or outside? where do you live?(county or country would give us a clue.)
you can train them over anything,my grape vine is over an old iron post ,you train two shoots to grow over after planting in a nice rich compost and watering well in summer when fruit grows .You will need to in October to cut back the shoots and take foliage off before November and the cold comes. if you want big grapes you will have to thin out the grapes ,my vine is 43 years old and still going strong.
I don't think height matters, but they need moisture, warmth and lots of sun. I have them clambering up an old tree trunk, stubby and short in a large pot(approximately 5' tall), one trailed in the GH , along a fence, up a pergola and arch and they are various heights. Easy to strike as well from the prunings in the autumn.
So do have a go, they are easy to grow, but need pruning in the autumn to give you fruit. You can use the young leaves too, blanched and stuffed..delicious
Yes Philippa, I blanch them and tray freeze them, then I carefully put them into plastic boxes in the freezer. Make sure you use leaves that are not too young nor too tough.
MzSquawk - I replanted my vine last year after 3 years of it growing under a sink in the corner of the greenhouse. I bought a book off amazon.co.uk called 'Growing Vines To Make Wines' by Nick Poulter - very useful and practical advice. When I took the old vine down in the Nov/Dec of 2012, I stuck the cuttings into a big tub of compost with the buds facing upwards and having dipped them in a little pot of rooting hormone.- all of them rooted the next Feb!
From the advice in the above book, I transplanted my vine by digging a large foot wide and deep hole in the middle of the gable end of the gh, a handful of fish, bone , and blood for root development, and filling with a mix of compost, pea gravel, and growmore fertiliser and smoothing off the soil to the original level . Last year, I decided to use the Guylot method of training - ie first season - in April/May when buds appear, rub off all except the last one at the tip - this is your leader. - you must then continue this vertically, or horizontally, it's up to you, along the gh, nipping off all year - do not allow any fruit to develop. The second year (2014 for me), repeat this to continue the leader along under the top ridge of the ghouse, tying in as you go, and again, nipping off all buds that develop along it's length - no fruit this second year. Next year, 2015, I will allow only 4-5 fruits to develop,and take the side shoots (laterals), down the sides of the roof., nipping off as I go. In 2016, the vine should be complete. Hope this helps in your decisions. Only probs - tying in, and space between the glass and the vine - should be 18" to avoid mould on leaves.
I agree with Bruce, I have a "Black Hamburg" in the GH trained along the middle and one side of the roof. It is a heavy cropper although I am not so strict about my pruning and training. And, yes, it does help(fiddly) to leave space between glass and vine to prevent mould. The vine is over thirty years old and its' roots are in the ground outside the GH. They grow very well outside too in large pots. Choose the right variety of grape for planting outside. Like Bruce, I have struck some cuttings (very easy) and hope to grow them in large pretty pots at focal points.
Bye the way, figs are easy to strike too and grow very fast