Rules for planting grapes by cuttings in open ground
Long gone are the days when viticulture was considered the privilege of the inhabitants of the southern regions. Thanks to the efforts of breeders who received such frost-resistant varieties as Isabella and Muscat, grape cultivation has become possible in areas with a more severe climate. Many summer residents believe that the most affordable and effective way to propagate this culture is cuttings. The main thing in the spring when planting grape cuttings in open ground is to adhere to a certain arrangement of planting pits and furrows, to feed on time, water and cut plants, and to competently fight pests.
Grape variety selection
Today there are many grape varieties, and it is very difficult for an inexperienced gardener to understand such a variety. To make the right choice, you need to know exactly how the fruits will be used. For making wine, technical varieties are better suited. Bunches of table grapes with large sweet berries will decorate any dessert table, and universal varieties can be canned, used for wine production, and consumed fresh.
The best grapes will be those that give a bountiful harvest and at the same time are resistant to diseases, are not afraid of frosts, and do not need special care. Here are some of the well-known varieties recommended by experts for outdoor planting.
- "Tason" - differs in early fruiting, high productivity, large oval berries, collected in bunches weighing up to 700 g
- "Fun" - gives a bountiful harvest of sweet dark blue berries, is well stored.
- "Kishmish"- sweet green berries are very aromatic, have almost no seeds.
- "Isabel" - great for harsh climates. It can be grown without shelter for the winter, the variety is resistant to diseases and pests. "Isabella" can be grown even by a novice gardener, as the plant is very unpretentious and does not require special care.
- "Friendship" - can be used to make white table wines, is frost-resistant and resistant to diseases.
Every gardener wants to grow only the best grape varieties, but when choosing a crop, one must take into account the characteristics of the soil and climate.
Harvesting cuttings
Planting grapes in spring begins with harvesting cuttings, which is carried out from September 1 to October 15. For the future planting material, a healthy, powerful vine with a thickness of at least 7 mm is chosen and cuttings 50 cm long are cut.
Important!
The lower cut is made under the knot, and the upper cut is made 2 cm up from the peephole. The handle must have at least four live buds.
Cuttings are cleaned of earth, whiskers, stepsons and immersed completely in water. After 24 hours, the planting material is sprayed with a 3% solution ferrous sulfate, and the cut parts are treated with molten wax to protect the seedlings from drying out and rotting.
Store cuttings properly in a cool, ventilated area, basement, or bottom compartment of your refrigerator.
With the onset of the first spring days, you need to check the planting material and prepare it for planting in the ground. For this, the following activities are carried out.
- The cuttings are carefully examined. The absence of spots on the vine and the fresh green color of the bast are indicative of the good quality of the seedling. You can also make a longitudinal cut to make sure the shoot is alive.
- Cuttings are cut from a healthy vine, each of which should have 2-3 eyes.The upper cut is made strictly perpendicular to the axis of the branch, departing from the eye 1 cm, the lower one - under the knot with a slope.
- Longitudinal grooves are drawn along the bark of the cutting with a sharp needle.
- Cuttings are placed in a vessel with water, to which a growth stimulant has been added, until the kidneys swell.
After 10-12 days, it will be possible to notice how the upper kidney has swollen. So it's time to plant the cutting in the ground.
Landing place
Before starting planting, it is very important to choose the right place for the future vine plantation. Better if it is the southern or southwestern part of the garden.
For example, for planting "Isabella", which tolerates a drop in temperatures down to -30 ° C and can easily winter without shelter, it is still better to take a warm, sunny place. This is a late variety, and the berries ripen at the end of autumn, at this time of the year it is necessary to provide the Isabella grapes with a sufficient amount of sunlight.
When planting grapes along a house or outbuildings, you must step back 1 m from the wall. It should be ensured that the site is open and that there are no tall trees or shrubs nearby that shade the plantings. It is undesirable to plant grapes near corn or sunflower.
Soil preparation
Before planting grapes in the spring, you need to carefully prepare the soil. If the soil is acidic, limestone is added to it.
Neither Isabella nor any other grape variety will grow on salty soils. If the groundwater is close to the surface of the earth, drainage must be done. It is recommended to add manure to sandy soil, and sand to peat bogs.
The site of future plantings is dug up with a shovel or cultivator, loosened and fertilized. Then they make grooves and soak the ground with water, watering with a hose.
You can plant cuttings when the soil at a depth of 20 cm warms up to + 10 ° C. Usually, the soil reaches such temperatures in mid-April, so it is advisable to plant grapes from April 15 to May 10. If you plant grapes later than May 20, the cutting will take root worse, and in hot weather it will dry out completely.
Layout of planting holes and landing rules
To facilitate the care of plants before plant grape cuttings in the spring, you need to carefully consider the layout of the seedlings. Varieties should be combined into groups, since different planting and care schemes are provided for different types of grapes. So, when planting technical varieties suitable for making juice and wine, 80 cm can be left between the cuttings according to the instructions. At least 1.5 m is left between the seedlings of table varieties, and the row spacing is 2-2.5 m.
Saplings, which have already formed roots by the time of planting, take root best of all. They are pruned slightly to stimulate root development and improve plant survival.
In the middle of the planting pit, a small mound of soil is poured, the roots are covered with earth. Watering the planting site, the earth around the plant is carefully tamped.
Important!
The seedling is immersed in the ground 40 cm so that the upper bud remains above the ground.
After watering, the garden bed can be covered with peat or sawdust. Such care will prevent the soil from drying out. To create a greenhouse effect, it is recommended to stretch plastic wrap over the plantings. After three weeks, the plantation is gradually freed from the greenhouse, opening the film for an hour and accustoming the plants to the sun's rays and fresh air.
Vineyard care
A very important point in caring for grape plantings is watering. During rooting, young plants especially need abundant watering, which must be carried out at least 3 times a week. Then the amount of watering is reduced to once every two weeks.
Advice
Mulching will help preserve moisture. At the end of summer, in order to improve the ripening of the shoots, watering is stopped altogether.
In addition to watering, vineyard care consists in loosening the soil and removing weeds.It is necessary to loosen young plantings very carefully, not coming close to the fragile roots located at the very surface of the earth.
In early June, caring for grapes involves fertilizing with fertilizer prepared from 10 g of urea, 15 g of superphosphate, 10 g of potassium salt, dissolved in 10 liters of water. The next top dressing is carried out in early August, once again enriching the soil with phosphates and potassium salt.
In late autumn, general watering is carried out, providing plants with moisture before the onset of winter.
Pruning grapes
Care for planting grapes includes pruning, which must be carried out, otherwise the bushes will grow strongly, and the berries are crushed. In the first year, only superficial roots and unripe green parts of the shoots are removed.
In the spring of the next year, shortly before flowering, the damaged and frost-bitten parts of the plant are removed, the shoots are pinched and pinched, and then tied to a support, turning in the desired direction.
The first real pruning is done after the lateral shoots have grown 15 cm. In this case, 3-4 shoots are left on the seedling and no more than two on the cuttings.
Planting grapes by cuttings is the most effective and simple method for propagating a culture. It does not require special knowledge and skills, therefore it is available to every novice gardener. To grow a full-fledged grape harvest on your site, you just need to know how to prepare cuttings, root and plant them in the ground, and after planting, properly care for the vineyard.
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