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Growing Grapes

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Source: Daniel Ito, Morguefile.com

Growing great grapes. How’s that for getting the letter “G” into my post for the A to Z blogging challenge? Ha!
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In all seriousness, we’ve debated growing grapes here at Seven Oaks for several years now.  Ever since visiting Monticello in Charlottesville, Virginia, and seeing the plethora of vineyards growing on Thomas Jefferson’s mountaintop home, we’ve been inspired to add grapevines. Hubby and I toured vineyards in upstate New York on a memorable vacation and enjoyed learning how our favorite wines are made. We’ve dreamed about adding grape production to our little corner of heaven, also known as Seven Oaks Farm, but we’re just not sure where to begin. I decided to take the opportunity today to do some research on the topic in honor of the A to Z challenge, and she what I’ve learned with you.  Later on, if we do go ahead and plant some grapevines, I’ll share the progress.

 

Growing Grapes in Virginia: The Basics
The first good news: the Virginia Cooperative Extension website offers tons of information on how to grow grapes! Yay! Not only are there documents on site and variety selection, there’s a web-based tool to help you choose the perfect site for your grape crop. 
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I learned by reading the documents that the best sites for grapes include areas that have rich, fertile, sandy loam soils. Their roots grow deep, sometimes as deep as six to eight feet, so choosing your site for grape cultivation is very important. Once you plant them, they are tough to move. I’m guessing it’s disruptive to uproot them, sort of like transplanting a mature tree. They can be grown in clay soils, but do need more nutrients added to the clay, and prefer a pH of 6.0 to 6.8.
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Plants are set about four weeks before the last frost date in spring. The Cooperative Extension recommends leaving about eight feet between the plants, especially for the typical American table grape varieties. They need to be trained along guidewires or fencing, and wood chip mulch is preferred to shade the roots. They don’t like to compete with grass or weeds. They should be fertilized with a 10-10-10 fertilizer after becoming established in the home garden.
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I worry about birds and animals eating the grapes. It’s bad enough that I lose a lot of strawberries and peaches to squirrels and crows without losing all the grapes I could grow, too.  Fruit tree netting may be the answer here. Nets draped over the vines protect the fruits but allow pollinating insects to visit.
Grapes sound like a lot of work but probably aren’t much more work than the fruit trees we planted. I think I’m going to scout around the farm this year to find an area for grape vines. I’m thinking that the area near the middle of our fruit orchard may be ideal, but the web-based site selector may come in handy here. No matter where we end up planting the vines, I’d better start working out. I sense more fence posts to be dug in my immediate future if I decided to grow grapes in Virginia!
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  1. Denise D Hammond, CGFM-Retired

    We have lots of grape growers and wineries here in Michigan. For me, grapes are a nuisance that I tear out of my yard much to the dismay of local women who would walk along the back fence and collect the leaves for stuffing.

  2. Jo

    Good luck with this if you do decide to try it. I believe it takes quite a time to establish a good vineyard though. Will be interested in your progress.

    Thanks for visiting my blog today.