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Author Topic: Starting with a grape vine  (Read 3841 times)

suziequeue

  • Joined Feb 2010
  • Llanidloes; Powys
Starting with a grape vine
« on: April 16, 2014, 01:48:43 pm »
We have decided to grow a grape vine in the raised bed outside the back (south facing) wall of the house. It is very sheltered there and gets the sun all day. We will grow it up a trellis and then across the patio to the side of the house - creating a little tunnel with (hopefully, eventually) fruit hanging down in the summer.


We are in Powys, Mid-Wales


My main questions are:


What kind of soil should go in the raised bed and where to get it?
What grape varieties? I think we want dessert grapes rather than wine grapes. Both red and white would be good.
How far apart should we space the vine plants?


Any advice/wisdom/experience gratefully received
We do the best we can with the information we have

When we know better we do better

shygirl

  • Joined May 2013
Re: Starting with a grape vine
« Reply #1 on: April 16, 2014, 11:02:10 pm »
no wisdom except our old neighbours had a vine in their big greenhouse - took up the entire thing as it was huge. lots of black grapes  :yum:

HesterF

  • Joined Jul 2012
  • Kent
  • HesterF
Re: Starting with a grape vine
« Reply #2 on: April 17, 2014, 11:20:09 pm »
We've got 2000 grape vines being planted in three weeks time! Having said that, I'm little use to you because they're all wine grapes. I did plant three desert varieties last year but they were chosen pretty randomly.

For soil, they're not particularly fussy. We're on chalk and had our soil analysed so we know we're low on magnesium and will be treating accordingly. Apart from that, they need a decent NPK balance and ideally a slightly alkaline pH (I think anything from 6 to 7.5 is ideal but we're 7.8). One important thing is that their roots need to go deep. We're getting the ground ploughed to 30cm deep but then also having it subsoiled to 70cm deep. So if you're planting in a raised bed, make sure you've dug down into the soil below to break it up a bit as well.

Our vines will be 1.6m apart along the row with 2.4m between rows but if you've got fewer and can feed them more easily, you'd probably get away with a slightly closer spacing. It helps to keep them well mulched with rotted manure each year and generally keep the roots well fed and damp/cool.

The root stock is important as well as the variety. We got expert advice on those - we realised that if we made a mistake with that many, it'd be fairly huge - and ours are coming over from Germany where they're kept in extended dormancy so they can be planted after the last frost here. Have you got a good nursery locally that you could got and talk to about local vines and get suggestions of root stocks? They are best placed to give you local advice on the best root stocks for your climate and soil. So basically I'm no use on that part at all.

We have got a lot of books on grape growing (husband went on a course at Plumpton and came back and bought the book list) so I can suggest some reading if you want - also helps with the pruning.

H

pgkevet

  • Joined Jul 2011
Re: Starting with a grape vine
« Reply #3 on: April 21, 2014, 08:22:37 pm »
Not far from you is http://www.penarthvineyard.co.uk/
I'm guessing they may/may not have a dessert grape or two as well as the wine stuff..might be worth a polite ask re variety?

MAK

  • Joined Nov 2011
  • Middle ish of France
    • Cadeaux de La forge
Re: Starting with a grape vine
« Reply #4 on: April 21, 2014, 09:12:10 pm »
If you are planting vines in rows then you need to consider load . a chap on  an allotement in SE London employed a JCB to sink concrete stakes that took high tension wires to support a 10 ton load from his vines. I guess that he had a 10 rod allotement. He persuaded others to plant vines and formed a co=op to process te grapes and make wine, He drank a bottle a day but never shared a glass with me!!!!!
I have my own vines now here in France  ;D
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Somewhere_by_the_river

  • Joined Dec 2013
  • Near Llandeilo
    • Angela French Graphite Artist
    • Facebook
Re: Starting with a grape vine
« Reply #5 on: April 22, 2014, 07:53:34 pm »
Have you managed to find any suitable varieties Suziequeue? I'd be interested to hear if so, we're Carmarthenshire and also have a south facing wall that gets a lot of sun (just not today - pretty dull and wet!). The soil here's actually similar to where we were before, but we had a cheap-ish vine from a DIY store garden centre that did well, so I hoped...

MAK

  • Joined Nov 2011
  • Middle ish of France
    • Cadeaux de La forge
Re: Starting with a grape vine
« Reply #6 on: April 22, 2014, 08:56:35 pm »
Do you know anyone with a good vine who could give you a cutting? Now may be a good time to plant a cutting if the vine is just in bud.
My neighbour gave me 3 cuttings a few weeks ago and I simply stuck them in the grounds with some rotted manure/top soil, watered every few days and now they are in leaf.
www.cadeauxdelaforge.fr
Gifts and crafts made by us.

suziequeue

  • Joined Feb 2010
  • Llanidloes; Powys
Re: Starting with a grape vine
« Reply #7 on: April 23, 2014, 11:24:48 am »
Thanks for all the useful info. We have been in touch with a place called Sunny Bank Vines in Herefordshire which hold the national collection of vines and sell a very wide variety. They seem helpful and knowledgeable and there is an open day in September where you can look at the vines and taste some of the grapes.


We aren't going for anything particularly high level - just some nice tasty grapes to make grape juice and eat etc.


The biggest issue is preparing the bed
We do the best we can with the information we have

When we know better we do better

MAK

  • Joined Nov 2011
  • Middle ish of France
    • Cadeaux de La forge
Re: Starting with a grape vine
« Reply #8 on: April 25, 2014, 12:31:43 pm »
How many vines do you want and what colour grape?
I could post you some cuttings that you could start off next spring ( maybe just a little too late now).
www.cadeauxdelaforge.fr
Gifts and crafts made by us.

 

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