Grapes and how to care for them organicly

ErieDeare · May 5, 2013

I have 2 grape vines and would like to know the best way to care for them and what to feed them?

They are Concord Grapes and I want to use them for pies. So I would like to have them grow organically

What would be the best fertilizer to feed them? An how often would you feed them? By a spray or granular fertilizer? .

BigBrownDogHouse · May 6, 2013

I'm sure someone will chime in that knows more than me but I have never done much for my grapes besides a bit of watering in the most serious of droughts and that was after serious leaf droop....and the drought years brought the best grapes.
I believe once grapes are established they don't really need anything as fertilizers stimulate leaf and stem growth but slow down the fruit.

I've had bumper crops by doing pretty much nothing.

Let's hope someone else repsonds.

Fusion_power · May 6, 2013

It depends on the nutrient status of your soil. The plants will benefit from organic nutrients such as worm castings or composted manure. 5 gallons of compost per year will benefit most plants.

BigBrownDogHouse · May 6, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fusion_power

It depends on the nutrient status of your soil. The plants will benefit from organic nutrients such as worm castings or composted manure. 5 gallons of compost per year will benefit most plants.

I might have to do that. I've never done anything to those poor plants. Guess I have been giving them tough love over the years.

Here's a few shots from last year's harvest. According to the dates I have on the pictures, the big batch was actually picked at the very end of August which is the earliest I remember picking. The other picture is from October.

Durgan · May 6, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by ErieDeare

I have 2 grape vines and would like to know the best way to care for them and what to feed them?

They are Concord Grapes and I want to use them for pies. So I would like to have them grow organically

What would be the best fertilizer to feed them? An how often would you feed them? By a spray or granular fertilizer? .

I add a layer of compost every Spring and use a lot of wood chip mulch. Pick the Japanese Beetles off the vegetation and generally succeed, except for a late
Spring frost which killed all the buds in 2012.

Here is the 2011 Concord harvest, one plant. And the possibilities for 2013 are looking good. Note. I prune in January when the plant is dormant.

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?AZQUW 16 September 2011 Concord Grapes

Thirty pounds of pristine Concord grapes were picked from my one vine,and made into juice. Twelve liters of juice was made from 30 pounds of grapes. Between two and three pounds of grapes for each liter. There were only about five earwigs found in the clusters.

Method: Cut grapes off the vines and each cluster inspected for damage to the fruit and damaged fruit removed. Washed,Weighed, then the grapes were removed from the cluster support by swiping with minor hand pressure across a one inch mesh plastic screen. This only took about five minutes per ten pounds.

The first batch of ten pounds were simply juiced without adding any water. (The result was considered too thick so a liter of water was added to each ten pound batch to thin somewhat. The grapes were mashed with a potato masher with a liter of water added, then brought to a boil, and made into a mash with the portable hand blender. The mixture was then put through a screen to remove the fiber from the juice. The screen was small enough to prevent any seeds from passing through. Juice was placed in liter jars and pressure canned at 12 PSI for 15 minutes.

This is a superb grape for the table. One of my favorites.

BigBrownDogHouse · May 7, 2013

Quite impressive Durgan! I've had some impressive harvests but I don't think anything on that scale.

I don't give my poor grapes too much attention. I stuck them in a thin strip of soil along the garage years ago and that was basically it.
Maybe they need me a little bit.

bughunter99 · May 8, 2013

Don't plant them on the inside of the fence that the maniac whacko dog likes to run up and dog along.

Signed
Former grape vine owner

halleone · May 9, 2013

I pretty much ignore mine. I am smack in the middle of Washington Wine Country, so when I see the field workers pruning the acres of vines, I prune mine, too. No fertilizer, they get that from the lawn fertilizer, mostly. I do put a good thick layer of grass clippings on for mulch. The silly thing grows all over its allotted space and heads off to visit the raspberries. I do try to thin out most of the grape clusters in hopes of getting larger bunches, but I never seem to pick enough of them off - so the birds help me out.

The old vines get chopped off in the spring to be used as peas supports, works great.

Worth1 · June 10, 2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by bughunter99

Don't plant them on the inside of the fence that the maniac whacko dog likes to run up and dog along.

Signed
Former grape vine owner

Worth

OkieDan · June 10, 2014

I mulch mine with ground leaves and wood chips. Every spring I place a fruit tree fertilizer spike under the mulch and about a foot away from the base of the vine. I planted them last year, and have grapes this year. Very important, water them during the winter if moister is low. Good luck!

Stvrob · June 10, 2014

Does anyone know if its possible to graft one of the fancy wine-type grapes onto one of the muscadine-like vines that grow wild throughout the south? I was given a fancy juice grape on a trip to Maryland a few years ago. its Juice tastes like burgandy wine. I planted it in my Yard here in NE Florida. It grows a little bit in the early spring, but it is not thriving. Meanwhile, the edge of my Yard is litterally overrun with Wild vines.

Worth1 · June 10, 2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stvrob

Does anyone know if its possible to graft one of the fancy wine-type grapes onto one of the muscadine-like vines that grow wild throughout the south? I was given a fancy juice grape on a trip to Maryland a few years ago. its Juice tastes like burgandy wine. I planted it in my Yard here in NE Florida. It grows a little bit in the early spring, but it is not thriving. Meanwhile, the edge of my Yard is litterally overrun with Wild vines.

Yes you can.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...2jubBha7eqPTlA

If they truly are muscadines I would make wine from them.

Muscadines are like 24% sugar.

Worth

Stvrob · June 10, 2014

Thanks Worth, I think I might give this a try.
Those are the wild vines that grow well here. I'm pretty sure they are in the muscadine family, but I hardly ever see fruit on them. Plus I think most of the wild plants are male.

GainesJohn · June 14, 2014

Every summer when I was a kid, my mother took me to visit her parents, who lived on the shores of a lake in east Texas. When we arrived, we always headed straight to their grapevines to pick and eat the fresh, juicy fruit. This was not a fancy grape-growing enterprise—just a couple purple 'Concord' grapevines climbing a metal trellis in a vacant lot. These grapes got very little attention between our visits. My garden maintenance north shore pruned them and tied on new strips of flash tape to keep the birds away, but apart from that, the grapes were on their own.

GainesJohn · June 16, 2014

"Find a site that's got good drainage and as much sun as you can get," emphasizes Lon Rombough, nurseryman and author of The Grape Grower: A Guide to Organic Viticulture. "If you don't have a spot with full sun, make sure you've got morning sun, especially in cooler climates. That'll get the vine warmed up and get its metabolism going, so to speak." Air circulation is vital to preventing disease. "Don't park your vine in a corner with a fence on two sides," Rombough warns. "That would just block all the air movement." Given those constraints, though, he's seen some creative ideas for fitting grapevines into small spaces, including a trellis that was partially shaded but tall enough to allow the vines to climb up and reach full sun high above the rest of the gardening north side.

As a backyard gardener, be realistic about the number of vines that you can plant in a small space. Unlike many other types of fruit-bearing plants, most grapes will produce a healthy crop from just one vine—no pollination-partner necessary. A single grapevine can scramble up an arbor and provide leafy green shade all summer. In a vineyard, most growers space grapes 8 feet apart in rows with 8 feet between them; in even the most compact quarters, allow at least 3 feet between vines.

May 5, 2013	#1
ErieDeare Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Ohio Posts: 33	Grapes and how to care for them organicly I have 2 grape vines and would like to know the best way to care for them and what to feed them? They are Concord Grapes and I want to use them for pies. So I would like to have them grow organically What would be the best fertilizer to feed them? An how often would you feed them? By a spray or granular fertilizer? .

May 6, 2013	#2
BigBrownDogHouse Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Northern Illinois ZONE 5a...wait now 5b Posts: 906	I'm sure someone will chime in that knows more than me but I have never done much for my grapes besides a bit of watering in the most serious of droughts and that was after serious leaf droop....and the drought years brought the best grapes. I believe once grapes are established they don't really need anything as fertilizers stimulate leaf and stem growth but slow down the fruit. I've had bumper crops by doing pretty much nothing. Let's hope someone else repsonds. __________________ Brian

May 7, 2013	#6
BigBrownDogHouse Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Northern Illinois ZONE 5a...wait now 5b Posts: 906	Quite impressive Durgan! I've had some impressive harvests but I don't think anything on that scale. I don't give my poor grapes too much attention. I stuck them in a thin strip of soil along the garage years ago and that was basically it. Maybe they need me a little bit. __________________ Brian

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May 6, 2013	#3
Fusion_power Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Alabama Posts: 2,250	It depends on the nutrient status of your soil. The plants will benefit from organic nutrients such as worm castings or composted manure. 5 gallons of compost per year will benefit most plants.

May 8, 2013	#7
bughunter99 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: zone 5 Posts: 821	Don't plant them on the inside of the fence that the maniac whacko dog likes to run up and dog along. Signed Former grape vine owner

May 9, 2013	#8
halleone Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Walla Walla, Washington Posts: 360	I pretty much ignore mine. I am smack in the middle of Washington Wine Country, so when I see the field workers pruning the acres of vines, I prune mine, too. No fertilizer, they get that from the lawn fertilizer, mostly. I do put a good thick layer of grass clippings on for mulch. The silly thing grows all over its allotted space and heads off to visit the raspberries. I do try to thin out most of the grape clusters in hopes of getting larger bunches, but I never seem to pick enough of them off - so the birds help me out. The old vines get chopped off in the spring to be used as peas supports, works great.

June 10, 2014	#10
OkieDan Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2014 Location: Sapulpa, Oklahoma Posts: 63	I mulch mine with ground leaves and wood chips. Every spring I place a fruit tree fertilizer spike under the mulch and about a foot away from the base of the vine. I planted them last year, and have grapes this year. Very important, water them during the winter if moister is low. Good luck!

June 10, 2014	#11
Stvrob Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 1,413	Does anyone know if its possible to graft one of the fancy wine-type grapes onto one of the muscadine-like vines that grow wild throughout the south? I was given a fancy juice grape on a trip to Maryland a few years ago. its Juice tastes like burgandy wine. I planted it in my Yard here in NE Florida. It grows a little bit in the early spring, but it is not thriving. Meanwhile, the edge of my Yard is litterally overrun with Wild vines.

June 14, 2014	#14
GainesJohn Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: 90 Wellington Hill St, Mattapan, MA 02126 Posts: 2	Every summer when I was a kid, my mother took me to visit her parents, who lived on the shores of a lake in east Texas. When we arrived, we always headed straight to their grapevines to pick and eat the fresh, juicy fruit. This was not a fancy grape-growing enterprise—just a couple purple 'Concord' grapevines climbing a metal trellis in a vacant lot. These grapes got very little attention between our visits. My garden maintenance north shore pruned them and tied on new strips of flash tape to keep the birds away, but apart from that, the grapes were on their own.

June 16, 2014	#15
GainesJohn Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: 90 Wellington Hill St, Mattapan, MA 02126 Posts: 2	"Find a site that's got good drainage and as much sun as you can get," emphasizes Lon Rombough, nurseryman and author of The Grape Grower: A Guide to Organic Viticulture. "If you don't have a spot with full sun, make sure you've got morning sun, especially in cooler climates. That'll get the vine warmed up and get its metabolism going, so to speak." Air circulation is vital to preventing disease. "Don't park your vine in a corner with a fence on two sides," Rombough warns. "That would just block all the air movement." Given those constraints, though, he's seen some creative ideas for fitting grapevines into small spaces, including a trellis that was partially shaded but tall enough to allow the vines to climb up and reach full sun high above the rest of the gardening north side. As a backyard gardener, be realistic about the number of vines that you can plant in a small space. Unlike many other types of fruit-bearing plants, most grapes will produce a healthy crop from just one vine—no pollination-partner necessary. A single grapevine can scramble up an arbor and provide leafy green shade all summer. In a vineyard, most growers space grapes 8 feet apart in rows with 8 feet between them; in even the most compact quarters, allow at least 3 feet between vines.