Plant a Micro Vineyard By Jeff Shoemaker
This article originally appeared in the Feb/Mar 2018 issue of WineMaker Magazine
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Small Space Viticulture
Although the best part of visiting a winery is the wine, I have to admit I love spending time in or near the actual vineyard. A vineyard in full leaf with beautiful juicy grapes hanging about can be a very cool place to relax. I am also intrigued by how vineyards develop, particularly when green-space is limited, as it is in my own backyard vineyard. Whether you are intimidated by the idea of growing grapes or believe you just don’t have the space I hope to provide you with a new perspective allowing you to see your own personal grape growing in a whole new light.
Why You Should Dig In
and Plant for Yourself
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| Photo Courtesy of Ryan O'Donnell |
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| Photo Courtesy of Torben Løvenstein Køge, Denmark |
A great place to start is by reading a book or two on grape
growing to become familiar with grape-growing vocabulary words, styles of
trellising, vine training methods, and learn the different fungicides used to
prevent disease. I will touch base on these here, but any in-depth discussion
on these topics is beyond the scope of this article. There are several books
out there such as From Vines to Wines
by Jeff Cox, the The Grape Grower: A Guide to Organic Viticulture. By: Lon
Rombough, The Backyard Vintner by
Jim Law, or WineMaker’s Guide to Growing Grapes by Wes Hagen. These
books are a great place to start to lay the groundwork for you to build on.
An important thing to consider is what you plan to do with
your grapes. For fresh eating and jelly making, only two vines may be needed.
Some vines can produce up to 20 lbs. (9 kg) per vine, and it only takes
approximately 12 lbs. (5.4 kg) to make a good-sized batch of jelly. If you plan
to make wine you'll need at least 80–100 lbs. (36–45 kg) of grapes to make 5
gallons (19 L) of finished wine, which translates into five to ten vines. The
type of grape you choose to grow will influence these figures. Even with as few
as three vines you could harvest enough fruit for a few gallons of wine. This could
be bottled on its own, blended with other wines that you've made to create
interesting new flavors and add diversity to your cellar, or combined with
purchased grapes or juice to make a full batch of wine. Another way to use
grapevines is for decorative purposes in your landscaped areas. What better
backdrop for a wine tasting is there than a grapevine?
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| Photo Courtesy of Ryan O'Donnell |
You now need to figure out where to put some roots down.
This can be virtually anywhere such as a pergola over a sidewalk for a
decorative effect, on a trellis along a driveway or walkway, along a house
wall, even growing up posts on your porch or gazebo. If you’re fortunate enough
to have the space for a few short rows, you could build a trellis that fits the
grapevine's growing style; the possibilities are limitless! In my vineyard the
rows are 30’ (9 m) long, which allows me to have four vines per row. I then
planted 13 rows, which allowed me to take advantage of a piece of my lawn that
didn't get much use while keeping the rest of the yard free for my son to drive
his Power Wheels around on.
When choosing a site, there are a few things to keep in mind
when it comes to growing grapes such as:
Will they get enough
sunlight? Grapevines need full sun throughout the day to ensure a fully
ripened crop at the end of the growing season. This means at least 6 hours a
day. More would be better, but anything under 6 hours a day is not optimal.
Even if you perform leaf pulling to get the sun's rays into the canopy (you’ll
be doing this anyway,) it still isn't enough. Once you have a couple ideas of
where you'd like to plant, watch these sites on a sunny day and time how much
sun the potential site receives.
What about my soil?
When planting a large vineyard, a lot goes into the site prior to planting.
Soil testing and amendments to fix any deficiencies are just a couple
preparations that are needed to ensure the vines are healthy and live long and
fruitful lives. Normally, soil testing is recommended prior to planting a vineyard; but in this case we're dealing with
such a small area and limited amount of vines that I suggest that you forgo
extensive soil testing. But, to ensure success (because this will be a small
monetary investment after all,) you may want to know what's going on down in
the dirt. An internet search will bring up plenty of labs you can send a soil
sample to, which will give you recommendations on the proper soil amendments.
Soil tests will also help you determine if your soil is a high- or low-vigor
site.
Will they have the
space to grow?
One grapevine (depending on the training style you've chosen,
grapevine varietal, and site vigor,) will take up a 6’ x 4’ space (1.2- x 1.8-m) on a typical top wire cordon-style trellis. Or the vine can take up more like a 5’ x 5’ (1.5- x 1.5-m) space if it is trained up a pole in the umbrella-kniffin fashion or if it’s head-trained. No matter what the training method is, the vines will need to be able spread their wings to some degree.
One grapevine (depending on the training style you've chosen,
grapevine varietal, and site vigor,) will take up a 6’ x 4’ space (1.2- x 1.8-m) on a typical top wire cordon-style trellis. Or the vine can take up more like a 5’ x 5’ (1.5- x 1.5-m) space if it is trained up a pole in the umbrella-kniffin fashion or if it’s head-trained. No matter what the training method is, the vines will need to be able spread their wings to some degree.
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| Photo Courtesy of Torben Løvenstein Køge, Denmark |
Will my Vine Turn
into an Unmanageable Monster? The answer to this question is maybe. But
there are things that can be done first to figure out just how big the vine
will get. And as mentioned above, there are ways to tame the vine once the new
shoots get growing.
Get a soil test done.
Didn’t I just say forget the soil test? For those of you who are the Inspector
Gadget-type, a soil test would be valuable information to know for your
specific site, and will allow you to have a better idea of the expected vigor
of your future micro-vineyard. Sites high in Nitrogen and other nutrients will
encourage increased shoot growth turning your vine into a beast unless you're
prepared and know what to expect.
Plant a test vine
in your potential site and monitor its growth for a couple seasons. For a new
and casual grower who just wants to plant a few vines to see what will happen
(which the main target of this article), this may be a better example of what
to expect when growing your vines; rather than interpreting soil test results.
For example, a vine with more than 10’–12’ (3–3.6 m) of new shoot growth in one
season is considered highly vigorous. Medium-vigor is 6’–10’ (1.8–3 m) and
low-vigor would be 3’–6’ (0.9–1.8 m) respectively. With this information,
whether it is from a soil test or a test vine, you can figure out your vine
spacing and trellis type, along with what your expectations can be. When
shopping for grapevines, the vigor of the grapevine[BP1] [2]
and suggested planting distance should be provided in the vine desciption. Another thing to consider is what rootstock
your potential vine(s) will be grafted on to. Native varieties such as Concord,
Niagara, Catawba and some French-American hybrid vines are typically grown on
their own roots because they can tolerate phylloxera nipping at their roots,
and overcome other shortcomings in the soil.
If native varieties aren’t your jive and you would prefer to grow
vinifera varietals such Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Noir, you will need to
familiarize yourself with the different rootstocks vinifera vines are commonly
grafted onto. Vinifera and some hybrids need to be grafted to various
rootstocks to help them survive soil-born phylloxera or nematode infestations.
Rootstocks can also assist in the survival of cold winters, over come soil pH
issues, or even moderate vigor. Since we are considering planting grapevines in
a small space, vine and rootstock vigor should be highly considered prior to
purchasing or planting your future vines. If you have a high-vigor site and a
small space, maybe you can choose to have your vine grafted onto a low vigor
rootstock such as Millardet et de Grasset 101-14 or Riparia Gloire (some
nurseries will do custom grafting for you.) If all of this research of
rootstocks and vine-vigor seems daunting to you, grapevine nurseries are able
help you determine the best vine and rootstock for you site. You can also plant
fewer vines but allow them to spread out and produce more grapes, negating the
need for more vines while still giving you your desired result. You may be
thinking, what if I plant my vines close together and let the roots compete for
nutrients therefore reducing vigor to some degree while increasing yield? (Or
maybe you're not asking yourself this question, but please do, so I can answer
it.) Sounds like a good idea right? In reality the real competition would be
topside with a tangle of shoots and foliage shading your fruit, increasing
disease pressure and preventing sunlight from getting into the grape clusters.
Give your vine its space, even if you have to plant fewer vines. In the long
run you will be harvesting more grapes.
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| This is actually from my vineyard... |
Now that you've decided on what vine to grow, we need to
support our grapevine with some sort of trellis. Depending on where you plan to
grow these, a trellis may not be needed at all. Maybe you have an old
clothesline pole for a vine to grow upon, or maybe along a fence or porch/deck
railing. While these may have a few drawbacks like being close to the ground as
a fence is, or lack of wires for support when using a pole — you can still
manage to grow a vine or two and produce grapes even if the support system is
less than optimal. But if you're lucky enough to have a space in your yard that
is at least 13’ x 15’ (4- x 4.6-m) for example, you can build a dedicated
trellis for your vines and have two 15’ (4.6-m) rows, 7’ (2.1 m) apart (at
least 8’/2.4 m would be better) with 3’ (0.9 m) of space on either side of the
rows to able to work with the vines. This spacing would allow four vines, two
in each row. This particular spacing between rows allows sun into the rows, and
the grass can be mowed with a common push-mower. Another example would be if
you have a long and narrow space that measures 50’ x 7’ (15.2 x 2.1 m). This
would allow one long row with space on both sides for canopy management and
other vineyard work.
When tackling a vineyard project this size, just about
everything you need is at your local hardware store. Small vineyards don't
necessarily need heavy gauge wire, or end-post anchors like longer rows of
vines would. The end-posts can be pressure treated 4” x 4” x 8’ posts without
an anchor (what is called a dead man). When you don't have a lot of room to
spread out, adding an additional 4’ (1.2 m) out from each end-post to connect a
wire to a ground-anchor may not be feasible. To install the end posts, you'll
use a manual post-hole digger to dig down 2’ (0.6 m). When I did my end-posts,
I did not cement them in. If done improperly, water gets down under the cement,
freezes, then pushes the post out of the ground! I prefer to insert the post
into the hole, break up bricks or cement blocks into smaller pieces and put
those in the hole, then dirt, and repeat, all while packing it down tightly
with the flat end of a shovel handle or digging bar with each layer of rock or
dirt. With each layer, I use a level to make sure the post is going in
straight, or the post can be angled away from the vines which would help to
keep the post from being pulled inward. If your rows are short you can forgo a
center post. My rows are 30 feet (9.1 m) so I have a post at the 15’ (4.5 m)
mark to take some of the weight off of the end posts, this could be a thinner
metal post or just another 4” x 4” X 8’-foot post.
Now that your end-posts are in, you need to consider what
the vines will hang on. High tensile galvanized steel wire is typically used
for trellis projects. You could also use a 2- x 2-inch piece of wood and secure
the vine's arms (cordons) to that, but a center post would be needed to help
support the middle depending on the length of the row. Whereas, using wire you
could get away with no center post in short rows as mentioned above. When using
wire you'll need a way to attach it to the end posts. I like to use wire ratchets
and Gripples, which can be found from retailers who sell fencing material. Use
a wire ratchet at one end and a Gripple on the other. This gives you the
ability to ratchet-tighten the wire very easily, which may be needed once the
vines get heavier with fruit. You could use heavy staple-nails to secure the
wire, but the wire will inevitably start to sag with no way of tightening the
wire back up again.
The vine you choose will determine what trellis you will
build. Grapevines with an upright growth habit will prefer to grow on a mid
wire cordon trellis. This training method is by far more neat and tidy, and is
best suited for along sidewalks and driveways. Whereas top wire cordon is more
suited for vines with a trailing growth habit and will need more space and will
require skirting and tucking of the new shoots. You could also plant a few
posts and grow a vine up and either head-train it or use the umbrella kniffin
system. No wires are needed and you train the vine in an umbrella shape.
The Tools of the Trade
No matter the size of your vineyard, you'll need the right
tools to maintain it. Proper care of the vines will help you consistently bring
in a crop of grapes, keep it from going wild, and prevent or at least minimize
diseases. Since we're dealing with a smaller vineyard, there is no need for
tractors, 100-gallon (380-L) sprayers, or hired help! Most of the tools you may
already have laying around the garage.
Pruning shears are needed to prune the vine in the dormant
season. Pruning is possibly the most important thing you do for your vines. It
prevents over-cropping, excessive growth of foliage, etc. A quality pair of
pruners is recommended. Take my earlier advice and read a book on grape
growing. You will not only learn proper care, you'll also learn common pruning
techniques. Common gardening tools such as a hoe or garden claw are used for
weeding. Another benefit of having only a few vines is you don't have to use
weed killer around your vines. Just use the garden claw or hoe to rip them out
and it’s done. Or you could just remove them by hand.
A 1- or 2-gallon (4- or 8-L) sprayer will work great for up
to 15 grapevines. A respirator, gloves, long sleeve shirt, and pants are also
needed. You'll also want to look into canopy management techniques that will
help to keep fungus at bay. This will allow you to worry less about disease
pressure and possibly spray less. In most cases you'll need to spray pesticides
at least to some degree. One drawback to having to use pesticides in a small
vineyard is, some of the sprays available come by the pound (0.45 kg) or by the
gallon (4 L), and they can be very expensive for the amount needed for just a
few vines. Luckily, there are three sprays that come in smaller lots at a
reasonable price, which can be used to treat the most common problems such as
black rot, phomopsis, downy mildew, and powdery mildew; which is perfect for
the small vineyard owner.
Mancozeb
This comes in a 1-pint container and is the base of most pesticide programs. It is good against black rot, Phomopsis, and downy mildew. This can only be sprayed up to 66 days before harvest. As you get closer to harvest you will need to switch to something else.
This comes in a 1-pint container and is the base of most pesticide programs. It is good against black rot, Phomopsis, and downy mildew. This can only be sprayed up to 66 days before harvest. As you get closer to harvest you will need to switch to something else.
Captan
This comes in a 1 oz. container. Once you've reached the 66 day pre-harvest interval for Mancozeb, you can switch to Captan, which is good against Phomopsis, downy mildew, and just adequate for black rot.
This comes in a 1 oz. container. Once you've reached the 66 day pre-harvest interval for Mancozeb, you can switch to Captan, which is good against Phomopsis, downy mildew, and just adequate for black rot.
Eagle 20 and Spectracide
Immunox fungicide: Eagle 20 comes in (16 oz.) and Spectracide Immunox is
sold in (12 oz.) bottles. These both contain the active ingredient Myclobutanil. This is great for black
rot, and powdery mildew. This particular pesticide should be rotated with
another spray when spraying for powdery mildew (PM). PM can actually build a
resistance to certain sprays rendering them ineffective.
For more information regarding developing a spray program
and fungicide resistance, please read the grape section of the Mid West Fruit
Pest Management Guide: https://ag.purdue.edu/hla/hort/pages/sfg_sprayguide.aspx
If you are planting grapevines
along a sidewalk or porch railing, you may decide to forgo the use of the above
pesticides due to what is called the re-entry interval (REI.) The re-entry
interval is the time frame before you can safely enter the area that was
sprayed. Some are one day (Mancozeb) some are up to four days (Captan.) One to
four days indeed may be a little much to ask family members to avoid high
traffic areas, especially if the vines are just for looks, or for as little as
a few gallons of wine. Organic sprays on the other hand have a shorter REI than
the fungicides mentioned above; some as little as 4 hours. With such a short
REI, you could spray in the evening when foot traffic is less and the REI can
pass without possible exposure to family members or pets. Either way, when
spraying, just alert the family to steer clear of the area until it is safe to
enter the area again.
To get you started on your
research, below is a list of organic fungicides with a short REI that treat
common grapevine diseases. Unfortunately, some of these organic fungicides come
in larger lots that may be too big for just a few vines, or they may not treat
your particular disease forcing you to use a fungicide mentioned above. These
sprays are approved for use in certified organic agriculture. For more
information on growing grapes organically, check out The Grape Grower: A Guide to Organic
Viticulture. By: Lon Rombough
Kaligreen- Powdery mildew.
REI- 4 hours
Stylet Oil- Powdery Mildew,
Botrytis Bunch Rot. Also controls mites, leaf roller, leaf hopper and
more. REI 4 hours
Serenade- Phomopsis,
Anthracnose, Downy Mildew. Comes in a smaller container good for small growers.
REI-4 hours.
Lime Sulfur- Dormant spray
for Phomopsis.
Sonata- Powdery Mildew,
Downy Mildew and Botyris Bunch Rot. REI-4 hours.
As is the case when attempting anything new,
research is needed when you’re considering handling fungicides, organic or not.
This ensures you’re in the know and can make educated decisions on when and
what to spray. A little research goes a long way and should done prior to any
planting is done.
Now Get Out There
With
this information I hope you can now envision grapevines growing in different
places in your outdoor living space. Use your imagination and let your
creativity be your guide. The pictures provided should inspire ideas that will
allow you to harvest a crop of grapes and turn them into something delicious.
Even if it’s just for a little decoration or letting your little kiddos eat em'
up. Good Luck!
For more information on growing
grapes in the city or the suburbs, check out Downtown Grapes By: Wes Hagen in the June-July 2011 issue of WineMaker Magazine
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