Adventures in growing grapevines
My husband and I started married life with little spare time. Vacation consisted of an extended weekend run to the Finger Lakes in New York State.
Back then there were few wineries in Pennsylvania. After a five hours' drive to New York wine country, we enjoyed the heady scent of wine aging in wooden barrels. Trying to guess if we would like the taste of a wine judging only from its label in a store did not compare to sampling wines in the scenic wineries overlooking those beautiful Finger Lakes.
Thus began my passion for all things grape.
Fast forward to 2010. My husband began making wine, and I decided to try growing a few vines on our one-third acre suburban lot. I had visions of grapes to eat, fresh grape juice, grape jellies and jams, and home-grown, homemade wine.
Did you know that grape leaves can be used in cooking? Dolmathes, a Greek recipe, is stuffed grape leaves.
Selecting the planting site is key to success. All plants need sun, water, and nutrients. In addition, grapes must have plenty of air flow and good soil drainage.
A grapevine given its ideal conditions can live 50 years or more.
Sufficient air flow helps the vines to dry after rainfall. Vines that are damp for an extended time will be prone to fungal disease and will require fungicide applications.
Good soil drainage is necessary because grapes will not thrive with constantly wet roots. Wet soils deprive the roots of oxygen. Fungal disease will then attack the roots, resulting in a short-lived vine.
Once you've chosen your planting site, it is time to test the soil. Penn State Extension Soil test kits are available for $9 from the Extension office.
Follow the test results' directions to amend the soil to provide the nutrients needed for grape growing and maintain a soil pH between 5.6 and 6.4.
Next, choose your variety. We are fortunate to have several choices of grapes sufficiently hardy to grow well in our area. Would you like seeded or seedless fruit? Do you want them for juice, or jelly, or wine, or eating fresh?
The grapes most widely cultivated in the Northeast are referred to as American bunch grapes. They are Vitus labrusca derivatives and include the cultivars Concord, Niagara, Catawba, and Delaware.
Varietals with names you may be familiar with such as Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Sauvignon Blanc are members of the grape species Vitus vinifera, native to southern Europe. These vinifera are extremely sensitive to cold, hardy only to Zone 7, except for Riesling which is hardy to Zone 6.
Vinifera are also susceptible to the Phylloxera root louse which is prevalent in our area's soils.
Given the problems with vinifera, they are extremely challenging to grow in our region. However, cultivars which cross Vitus vinifera and Vitus labrusca create French-American hybrids that are much hardier than the Vitus vinifera parent and that can be successfully grown in hardiness Zones 4 and 5.
When planting your chosen vine, be sure to dig a hole big enough to spread out the roots, as cramming the roots inside a too-small hole can stunt the plant. Water the grapevine when it is planted.Once shoot growth begins, trim the plant to leave only the two strongest shoots. Trim each shoot to 2 to 3 buds, leaving 4 to 6 buds on the plant.Grapes require an inch of rain per week or the equivalent during the first growing season. In a dry season, water every 7-10 days.The first two years are devoted to getting a strong start for the vine, so you will need to remove flower buds to encourage strong vine and root system growth.Keep an eye out for insects and diseases. Every grapevine is susceptible to one or more diseases or pests that damage leaves, fruit, or roots.Japanese beetles can turn grape leaves to lacy skeletons quickly, and they sometimes feed on the grapes too. Other insect pests include grape berry moth (feeds on grape berries), grape Phylloxera (forms galls on root system and leaves), grape root borers (feed on roots), and grape cane girdlers (feeds on young and mature vines).You can remove insects manually, but when 15 percent or more of the leaves are ruined by defoliating insects or 4 percent of the grape clusters are destroyed by insects, consider pesticides.Good air flow helps to fight disease. Grape diseases include black rot. Common in warm, humid, or wet weather, it infects fruit and vine. Botrytis bunch rot infects both the leaves and fruit. Downy and powdery mildew can affect leaves and fruit. Phomopsis infects leaves, shoots, and fruit.Call the Master Gardener Greenline at 724-287-4761, Ext. 229, for help with information on pest and disease management.Grapevines are adaptable, and once they are established, they can be trained to create striking arbors, fences, and trellises. Let your imagination run and be creative. Most of all, enjoy your harvests.Monica Huselton has gardened since childhood and she became a Butler County master gardener in 2015. She lives in Butler Township with her husband, Richard.
