Contrary to popular speculation or belief, growing grapes in your backyard is not as difficult as you might think. When someone mentions the idea of starting a grape garden, one can immediately assume that without acres of free land at their disposal, it will be next to impossible to succeed. This is absolutely NOT true!
In fact, there are many hobby vintners today who are happy with their little garden of vines in their backyard. The grapes they produce are excellent for eating and making wine and the little effort that goes into it goes a long way.
As a full time grape grower, I have learned the secrets of what it takes to grow the best tasting grapes for decades. As a child I worked with my father on his farm planting and pruning vines all day and I continued to work with him as a teenager and even now as an adult and family man. I want to teach you how to grow grapes and share with you the secrets to maintaining a successful grapevine garden so that you, too, can enjoy what these delicious fruits have to offer.
First of all, growing grapes in the backyard does not require expensive fertilizers or manures. You can get some really good vines from ordinary soil. Another advantage is that you will not have to invest a lot of time in your garden because the roots themselves will look for what they need. The only thing you need to worry about is where to place the vine.
It really is quite amazing how no matter where you plant your vines, all you have to do is guide the vines around your house to well-lit areas. If you have an open garden where the sun shines all day, that will work even better.
The best time to plant your vines is during the fall. Do not allow vines to fruit during the first planting season. Instead, always remember to cut your vines back to about four shoots. The reason for this is that those four shoots will become the strongest points and guide the rest of the vine up the wall where you planted them. You want your vine to use all its energy producing strong wood for the next season because it is during the second growing season that you get the best grapes.
Remember that the wood that is born this year will bear fruit next year. Therefore, during the first year, cut off any flower buds that may form, thus ensuring that the vine’s energy is focused on producing wood.
When pruning during the summer, you want to cut off all new growth and leave the old wood behind to provide future fruit. Only remove old growth when it becomes a lingering nuisance hanging all over your garden. When pruning in fall or early winter, you should cut the vines down to about five or six shoots this time just so that once again the vines use all their energy to produce strong wood over winter.
Most grape vines mature in late summer, early September. At this time you can enjoy the best grapes grown at home and continue to prepare your vines for future growth.
Expect! Don’t go planting some vines you bought at your local nursery and then wonder why you’re getting poor results. Many of these vines come from out of state and were cut from healthy ground that will never have the strength to mature once brought home. Learn the fundamentals of growing grapes in the garden first before you make a mistake!