Grape care in autumn

In order for the vineyard to look beautiful and delight the owners of the site with a bountiful harvest, it needs to be properly cared for in the fall. At this time, the bushes are pruned, watered abundantly, and also covered for the winter.

After harvesting in September, there is no need to water the grapes on a regular basis. Especially if the weather is not too hot.

But before the onset of winter, the vineyard will still have to be watered. Deep moistening of the soil makes the plant easier to adapt to frost, and its root system is protected from temperature extremes.

It is recommended to water the grapes at the root. In this way, the liquid introduced into the soil can remain in the soil until the very summer. If the soil is dry and covered with cracks, it must first be loosened. You need to loosen the soil in the morning, and water it in the evening. The next day, the soil will have to be loosened again.

Another important autumn procedure is vineyard spraying. It allows you to protect the site from the most common diseases and pests. It is necessary to spray the area after all the foliage has completely fallen off. It is also important to wait for all the kidneys to close.

To protect grapes from pests and diseases, gardeners usually use iron sulfate. A solution consisting of 100 grams of product and 10 liters of water is suitable for treating young bushes. For spraying adult grapes, a 3% solution of vitriol is used. If the plants have previously been exposed to a fungal disease, the solution should be made more concentrated. For its preparation, 500 grams of ferrous sulfate is diluted in 10 liters of water. It is worth processing not only the shoots themselves, but also the soil around the grapes.

Many gardeners use folk remedies in their work. If the plants have been affected by gray rot, in the fall they are treated with an iodine-based solution. A solution made from grated laundry soap and ash will help the gardener get rid of mildew.

In the process of spraying plants, you need to adhere to some rules.

1. Treat bushes only in dry and calm weather. It is best to do this in the evening.
2. Do not spray the bushes with too much product. The liquid should not drain from the foliage to the soil.
3. When using chemicals, you should always follow the instructions. You can handle the bushes only with protective gloves and a respirator or mask.

Proper care of the vineyard in the fall also implies timely feeding of the plants. You can feed the bushes at this time with certain foods.

For introduction into the soil, it is worth using only a well-rotted product. It must be at least two years old. Compost is placed directly under the root.

To increase the yield of the bush, it can be fertilized with compost mixed with peat. Such a mixture is laid out directly under the bush, and then sprinkled with soil. In this case, the compost also functions as a mulch.

This product is introduced into the soil during its digging. It is rich in useful elements.Therefore, it is beneficial to use it for feeding both young plants and adult bushes.

Humus is introduced into open ground in pure form or, after mixing with compost. Such a product is usually filled in the furrows that are in the aisles. After applying top dressing to the soil, the furrows are covered with earth, and then watered.

If the leaves of the grapes turn red in the summer, the bushes can be fed with chicken droppings. This product will significantly improve the composition of the soil, as well as make it looser.

For plant nutrition, you can use both a dry product and a liquid infusion based on it. The second option is great for novice gardeners. To prepare liquid feeding, the manure is mixed with warm water in a ratio of 1 to 4. In this form, the product is sent to a warm place for 10-12 days.

Only high-quality wood ash is used to feed the grapes after harvest. It shouldn't contain any artificial additives. It is best to use coniferous or deciduous ash as a top dressing. The product is applied dry at the root.

If desired, an ash infusion can also be prepared from the ashes. To prepare it, 300 grams of ash must be poured with 10 liters of water. The product must be infused for a week, stirring from time to time. You need to pour it into small grooves that are around the bush.

Every few years, it is necessary to additionally add a mixture of potassium salt and superphosphate to the soil. The product is usually added to the soil dry when digging. But some gardeners pre-dilute the dry product in water, and then use the resulting solution to water the bushes.

Nitrogen-containing fertilizing is not applied to the soil in the fall. Nitrogen promotes the growth of new shoots as well as the opening of the buds. Due to the introduction of such fertilizer into the soil, the plant does not have time to prepare for the cold weather and dies. Therefore, such feeding should be avoided.

Another important autumn procedure that should not be forgotten is grape pruning. The time of its holding depends on the characteristics of the climate. As a rule, the bushes are pruned after the first frost. It is very important that the foliage from the vine has already flown around at this time.

It is necessary to cut the branches with a sharp pruner. In this case, the cuts will be flat and smooth. Sharp garden saws are used to remove thick perennial shoots.

There are several ways to prune vines.

It is recommended to prune old bushes in this way. The pruning method assumes the presence of no more than 20 eyes on the branches. This procedure helps to rejuvenate the bush. After such pruning, the bushes begin to bear fruit better the next year.

This method is the most popular among gardeners. In the process, most of the shoots are cut off. No more than 10 eyes are left on them. This pruning is done to increase the yield of the bushes. At the same time, the quality of the harvest does not decrease and the berries remain as tasty and juicy.

In the process of pruning, no more than four eyes are left on the shoots. This process is only suitable for the care of young one year old or two year old grapes. A short pruning makes the root system of such a plant stronger.

This pruning is suitable for small vineyards. In the process, some of the shoots are cut short. The rest are left longer. This approach allows you to always keep them in good condition.

When planning to trim grapes, it is also important to consider their age.

1. In the first year, the seedlings only need to give the desired shape. Usually four sleeves are left at this time. Shoots at this stage are cut to 40-60 centimeters. This is done so that they can develop normally.
2. In the second year, after waiting for all the sheets to fall off, the long sleeve must be shortened. The upright stems should be cut to two buds and the fruit stems to four.
3. In the third year, the gardener needs to remove 4 vertical shoots, as well as sleeves that have already borne fruit. The central stem is cut to two buds, and the distant ones are cut to four.

Many gardeners prefer to plant grapes on their site in the fall. For planting, it is recommended to choose annual green seedlings about 40 centimeters high... There should be healthy buds on the surface of the shoot.

Before planting, the shoots should be shortened to four eyes. It is also recommended to place them in a solution that stimulates root growth overnight. The site is prepared in advance before planting. The gardener needs to dig several holes there, and also lay a dense layer of drainage on the bottom. Broken brick or crushed stone is usually used to create it. Then a mixture of earth, ash, humus and nitroammofoska is poured into the pit. The use of quality fertilizers will lead to the fact that the grapes will quickly take root and grow.

Next, the hole must be filled with fertile soil. After adding soil to the pit, it must be watered abundantly. The moisture should be well absorbed into the soil. It is not worth planting grapes immediately in a pit prepared in this way. You need to wait 10-12 days. However, experienced gardeners recommend preparing holes for autumn planting of grapes since August.

During planting, the bottom of the pit must be sprinkled with a layer of earth again. Young seedlings are placed in the holes prepared in this way. Short sprouts are set vertically, long sprouts at a slight slope. After that, the roots of the grapes are covered with fertile soil. It needs to be tamped well and then watered. One seedling takes 2-3 buckets of water.

After watering, it is recommended to cover the seedling with a plastic bottle with a pre-cut bottom. Then it must be covered with fertile soil to the very neck. Such preparation will protect young seedlings from freezing. Top of the grapes can be additionally covered with spruce branches, straws or thick cloth.

If you do everything right, the seedlings can quickly take root on the site.

To protect the bushes from frost, they must be securely covered. This can be done in several ways.

This is the easiest way to warm grapes. To begin with, the shoots must be bent to the ground and secured with metal or wood. Further, the grapes need to be sprinkled with fertile soil. The layer of earth should be no more than 15 centimeters.

At the beginning of winter, it is worth throwing on the same amount of earth on top. Under such shelter, the vine can easily survive the winter cold.

Dry sawdust can also be used with this material. Dried grass or wood chips are poured directly under the root. In early summer, the straw layer should be within 20 centimeters. After a month, the thickness of the dry straw “blanket” should be doubled.

If dry sawdust is used to cover the bushes, an additional portion of nitrogen fertilizers will have to be added to the soil in the spring. In the event of the appearance of rodents on the site next to the grape bushes, it is recommended to decompose the poison. This will help protect delicate wood from pests.

This material can also be used to cover grapes. Sharp spruce needles repel rodents, because they are unpleasant to run on a prickly surface. In addition, he is not afraid of fungal diseases. Therefore, spruce branches can be safely used to shelter young bushes.It should be laid in a layer 35-40 centimeters thick. The needles fallen from the branches in the spring will be an excellent fertilizer for plants.

Freshly fallen snow is a great natural shelter. It only needs to be thrown onto the vine at the very beginning of winter. This will be enough to protect the plant roots from frost.

Many gardeners prefer to combine different types of covering materials. So, for example, a small layer of spruce branches on top can be covered with dry straw or peat. You can put peat or soil on top of the dried grass. This option is great for hiding bushes in Siberia and other cold regions.

But black film, roofing felt and other materials that do not allow moisture or air to pass through should not be used. This can cause the grapes to ripen.

When choosing a shelter for grapes, it is important to consider the age of the bushes.

The grown plants are already more adapted to cold weather. Therefore, next year they will no longer have to bend to the ground and completely cover. Usually they are only slightly lowered down, and from above they form a shelter in the form of a house.

Perennial vines need only partial shelter. As a rule, the vine is laid on coniferous branches or a thin layer of straw. From above, grape shoots are covered with snow. If the winters in the region are not very cold, the gardener can only mulch the soil, as well as cover the base of the vineyard with any suitable material.

In order not to ruin a young vine, novice gardeners should follow simple recommendations.

1. Always carry out full pruning of plants. Cutting off the tops of the lashes does not give the desired effect.
2. Use a sufficient amount of fertilizer. It is best to make feeding on schedule.
3. Spray the bushes regularly with products that protect them from diseases and pests. All gardeners know that it is easier to spend time on preventive treatment than on treating an ailing plant.
4. Do not use film or agrofibre to cover the plant. Condensation will constantly collect under them.

If properly cared for during the fall months, the grape bushes will stay healthy for longer and will also bear fruit well.