I have a newfound respect for vineyard keepers. If you look up information on pruning grape vines, you most often find information telling you to prune the vines in late fall or early spring. The part they leave out is the constant trimming necessary to focus the energy on grape production.
The way I have come to think of it is this. There are two parts to grape vines. Grapes and vines. You may think if you grow a grape vine that you will soon be eating lots of big grapes. Wrong. First of all, it takes a vine started from a cutting at least 3 years to produce a single grape. Second, you're thinking of growing grapes. The grape vine has other ideas. It tries to keep growing more vine and expends most of it's energy doing this. So, it is necessary to trim the vine at least weekly to keep the vine's energy focused on the grapes.
One thing I have learned and been surprised about. Grape vines grow really, really deep roots. Like 20 ft deep! My soil here is really hard clay beneath the surface. But below that, the water table is only 5-6 ft deep. The indication I see is that the vines which were here when I moved in probably never had consistent irrigation, allowing more than a small portion of the roots push down to the water table. That explains why my vines are pretty much exploding this year. They've had consistent irrigation the last couple of years (along with fertilization), allowing the roots to expand and grow deeper. Same is true with the plum and apple trees.
Think I'm overdoing it with trees, unless I keep them topped to small proportions. Which I pretty much plan on doing. First, to keep the fruit trees so fruit is in reach and (I hope) larger size. Second, so be able to grow a larger variety. Last and far from least, I kind of figure that if the water table is that close to the surface, that means larger trees will be less stable. Think I need to talk to my neighbor with the 100 ft tall tree to my west.
Got the red crape myrtle and the green seedless grape vine today. Both came in dormant but that's okay. Soaked them both in water in the tub for a few hours, then planted them both in buckets. Crossing my fingers that they grow!
The way I have come to think of it is this. There are two parts to grape vines. Grapes and vines. You may think if you grow a grape vine that you will soon be eating lots of big grapes. Wrong. First of all, it takes a vine started from a cutting at least 3 years to produce a single grape. Second, you're thinking of growing grapes. The grape vine has other ideas. It tries to keep growing more vine and expends most of it's energy doing this. So, it is necessary to trim the vine at least weekly to keep the vine's energy focused on the grapes.
One thing I have learned and been surprised about. Grape vines grow really, really deep roots. Like 20 ft deep! My soil here is really hard clay beneath the surface. But below that, the water table is only 5-6 ft deep. The indication I see is that the vines which were here when I moved in probably never had consistent irrigation, allowing more than a small portion of the roots push down to the water table. That explains why my vines are pretty much exploding this year. They've had consistent irrigation the last couple of years (along with fertilization), allowing the roots to expand and grow deeper. Same is true with the plum and apple trees.
Think I'm overdoing it with trees, unless I keep them topped to small proportions. Which I pretty much plan on doing. First, to keep the fruit trees so fruit is in reach and (I hope) larger size. Second, so be able to grow a larger variety. Last and far from least, I kind of figure that if the water table is that close to the surface, that means larger trees will be less stable. Think I need to talk to my neighbor with the 100 ft tall tree to my west.
Got the red crape myrtle and the green seedless grape vine today. Both came in dormant but that's okay. Soaked them both in water in the tub for a few hours, then planted them both in buckets. Crossing my fingers that they grow!
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