Proper care for grapes in the suburbs

Grapes are a kind of "berry of life". Its nutritious, dietary and even medicinal properties are widely known all over the world since ancient times. The grapes contain fructose and glucose, as well as many organic acids. Each berry contains 1.5% of valuable microelements and vitamins. A harmonious combination of sour and sweet taste forever provided the grapes with one of the places at the top of the gastronomic Olympus, and it's not necessary to talk about the connoisseurs of wine. Today we will discuss the care of grapes in the suburbs. Yes, yes, this most valuable product can be obtained practically in the middle zone of our country!

Basic botanical information

Included in the family Vine. "Vine" is not only called the vine, but also its fruits - known to everyone as large, fragrant and sweet berries. After planting the seeds of this plant in the soil, they quickly germinate and give quite large shoots, which in the first year are theoretically able to bear fruit. In the first time, lateral shoots quickly begin to branch out and develop lateral shoots, but by the end of the first or second year, almost 90% of the lower processes are dying, forming the familiar shape of the vine. The vine blossoms are not too noticeable, the flowers are small and collected in "clusters" of inflorescences. Coloring the fruit strongly depends on both the variety and the conditions of the specific area.

General features of cultivation

What should provide for the care of grapes in the suburbs? Firstly, one must always remember the photophilic nature of the vine, its inclination to freeze out on the open to all winds. Simply put, grapes need a fairly warm, well-lit place, closed from the wind. Strange as it may seem, these very simple conditions provide excellent results for the cultivation of this plant throughout the territory of the Moscow Region. Remember that varieties with dark berries require more heat than their lighter "brethren".

That is why in our region most often cultivated are light varieties, as they are easier to care for. For grapes in the summer in the suburbs you need to constantly look out, sheltering from possible early frosts, so that black varieties do not take root very often.

On soil conditions and the location of the vine

In general, despite the myths cultivated by some, the vine is tolerant enough to many types of soils, but a couple of conditions must be fulfilled: firstly, the soil layer must be deep enough, drainage is mandatory. The pH value is in the range of 6.5-7.0. Also, do not plant grapes on purely calcareous soils, as it is often affected by disease. It is much more important and more difficult to choose the right place from the point of view of illumination and protection from the wind.

Ideally, you need a slope facing south or southwest: so caring for grapes in the summer in the suburbs will be easier, since you only need to water the vine occasionally. In our conditions, the wall of the house, directed in the same direction, approaches. Never plant a vine in small and closed courtyards, where snow accumulates for a long time and the soil does not warm up for a long time.

How to prepare a landing place?

We have already talked about drainage. At the slightest probability that the soil on the selected site can become too wet, it is mandatory. Grapes do not tolerate such conditions in principle. Approximately three weeks before the vines are planted in the open ground, it is necessary to dig the ridges into two bayonets of the shovel. If the soil is acidic, add lime at a rate of 200 grams per square meter. It is very important to fertilize the poor soil: about a couple of garden cars of humus to the same area. Especially for this is the Isabella grapes. In the suburbs, planting and caring for this variety must necessarily provide for a good fertilizer, since without this work you will not get anything done.

Please note that grapes are required to have vertical supports. When growing vines near the wall of the house, ropes or wires should be placed about 30-35 cm apart. If there is a possibility of cultivating grapes in open areas, poles of two meters long are dug into the ground to a depth of 60 cm. The interval between them should be about two meters (up to three inclusive). It is better to put extreme supports on metal stepchildren or fill. Of course, in the presence of funds, it is better to make the supports at once "stationary", since in our conditions the poles will not last long in the soil. Pull one rope at a height of 40 cm, over it, every 30 cm, stretch cross bars. At each future hole put a pole: so it will be easier to determine the place of digging and applying fertilizers.

About the correct landing

In southern regions, this culture is planted between October and March. Of course, in our conditions this is somewhat unacceptable ... Therefore, we will plant grapes in the early spring, before budding. In any case, the ground at the depth of the landing should warm up to a temperature of 10-11 ° C. Note that the vine is desirable to withstand the whole winter in a cold greenhouse, isolated from frost by a layer of snow. So it is better adapted for landing in the open ground. This condition is extremely important if you plan to grow Isabella grapes. In the suburbs, planting and caring for this variety is rather complicated, and therefore it is worth taking care of obtaining stable and strong plants.

When planting near the wall, move away from it at a distance of 40 cm, and plant the grapes every 1.3 m. In the open space, the distance between the vine should be at least one and a half meters. In the presence of rows between them also stand a gap of one and a half to two meters. Be sure to check that inoculated bushes the vaccine site must be above the soil level. Do not forget to tie grapes to the pedestal. After planting the vine thoroughly watered and mulched by the overripe humus.

Top dressing and watering

The calendar of care of grapes in the Moscow region begins with early spring. At this time, it is obligatory to introduce a complex mineral fertilizer. In the same period, mulch the soil with rotted foliage. The thickness of the mulch layer should be at least three centimeters. You should know that grapes are extremely sensitive to a small amount of magnesium in the soil. With its shortage, the vine not only can not yield at all, but also perish, since in this case the plant is very quickly affected by a variety of pests and diseases. To prevent this, take 250 g of magnesium sulphate, dissolve in a bucket of water and sprinkle the vine. In two weeks it is necessary to repeat.

Remember that the care of grapes in the spring in the Moscow region assumes a weekly top dressing with liquid mineral fertilizers, performed before the ripening of berries. If you grow a vine near the wall of your house, do not forget to water it regularly. However, do not get carried away and bog down the soil, because in this case the plants quickly begin to decay the roots and it dies.

How and when to harvest correctly?

Remember that even with full berry coloring, they are not yet fully mature. Fruits need to accumulate a certain amount of sugars, as a result of which they acquire a familiar to everyone delicate taste and aroma. For early varieties, this period is about five weeks, but late varieties can ripen up to two months. Note that when harvesting grapes with bare hands, you destroy the protective wax film, which leads to a rapid deterioration of the product. So, always work in gloves, try to hold the bunch for a "stump," and cut them with a pruner.

Berries, collected in this way, can be stored for a very long time, incidentally ripening. The last in the conditions of the Moscow region and the entire Central strip is extremely important, as far as grapes are not everywhere ripening. Planting and care (in the suburbs) it is very important to perform correctly, but if you can make a mistake during cultivation, a bad pruning will put a cross on the vine!

Trimming rules

Pruning is an extremely important moment when caring for grapes. Remember that the shoots left on the vine must meet several important requirements at once:

• They should not have any mechanical damage, signs of disease and pests. In addition, it is recommended to leave only shoots of normal length, with a uniform green color.
• It is desirable to leave new sprouts if their diameter is 6-12 mm. Of course, in a young vine they can be thinner. If the stem is too thin, then it simply did not have time to accumulate the necessary amount of nutrients, and therefore is weak and can die at any time. In the case of excessively thick shoots, there is also nothing good: they do not bend well, they have too short internodes, and they age earlier.
• Very important! When pruning and other activities (especially when harvesting), we strongly recommend that you protect the stems from damage, cuts and chips, as such defects on the vine do not overgrow and are not tightened with resin.

If you really value the yield and taste qualities of the berries obtained, we recommend leaving no more than 10-12 eyes per square meter of the space occupied by one vine. Try not to confuse the bushes and cut the vine completely. In the case when one of the vines for some reason has been badly overwintered and weakened, it is necessary to reduce the number of shoots left on it, but on the neighboring bushes their number can be increased. What else can suggest taking care of grapes in the suburbs?

Trimming after freezing (unsuccessful hibernation)

Damage to the grapes by winter frosts - the situation in our region is not rare. Before eliminating the consequences of the elements, it is necessary to assess the extent of damage at least for an eye.

If there was a freezing of the eyes, how to care for the grapes? In Moscow, pruning is the only way to save the situation. At the same time try to leave more eyes on young shoots. Of course, it is not necessary to get particularly involved, because otherwise, multiple sprouts will simply pull out all the juices from the damaged bush. In the case when the whole upper part of the vine is affected because of frost, it is cut off, trying to form more shoots from the remaining hemp. If enough sprouts are formed, there will be no special difficulties with this.

By the way, is there a maximum viniculture resistant to vinification for the Moscow region? Varieties that can be taken care of by uncontrolled care: "Alpha", "Fox berry", "Kay Gray".

How correctly to cut grapes?

Remember one important thing: successful pruning can be done only if you use a new and extremely sharp secateur, giving a smooth and clean cut. The older the shoot, the more direct the cut angle should be. This will minimize the area of damage received by the plant, which will favorably affect its survival in the winter. If we talk about young shoots, it is customary to cut them strictly above the eye, departing from it by three centimeters. So you will get excellent grapes: planting and grooming in the Moscow region, pruning and fertilizing are quite hard work, but they are worth it!

The main diseases and pests of plants

Note that grape diseases are difficult to diagnose, since different pathologies can show similar symptoms. So, to accurately determine the scourge, you need to carefully monitor the pathological process and notice the most characteristic signs. All diseases of the vine are divided into two varieties:

• Chronic variety.
• Seasonal type.

To the causative agents of the "chronicle" are: esca, ekskoriosis, eutipiosis, as well as diseases of bacterial and viral nature. All of them are extremely dangerous in that they practically can not be affected by standard pesticides and for a long time can remain completely undetected while staying in a latent state. Most often, infections are carried out with care, with the help of tools. You should not discount the insects, and in some cases, the disease can quickly cover the entire vineyard, falling along with the pollen of the plants on the grapes. Landing and care in the suburbs (photo is in the article), all these hard work, can be lost in vain, if at least one pest is rooted in the vine!

Seasonal diseases include mildew, oidium, gray mold, anthracnose. To the same category are considered rubella and white rot. Seasonal such pathologies are named because they appear at the very beginning of the vegetative season. Their appearance is predetermined by the wrong agricultural practices and negligence of the vine-grower, when the latter does not engage in high-quality autumn harvesting of the vineyard, leaving a lot of debris. In it, the pathogens of diseases of the vine, as well as the pest larvae, perfectly winter. Thus, care for grape in autumn in the suburbs provides for mandatory cleaning of the territory with the subsequent burning of garbage.

Downy mildew

Mildew (downy mildew). Dangerous that it develops throughout the vegetative season, and affects almost all the green parts of the plant. Infection occurs very quickly in wet and rainy weather, with an ambient temperature of no higher than 13 degrees Celsius. A sign of the onset of the disease is the appearance on the leaf blades oily stains of various shapes. Gradually they are covered with a well-noticeable mycelium, reminiscent of white threads. To this pathogen is particularly sensitive grapes "Lydia": in the suburbs planting and caring for this variety are relatively simple, but this circumstance should never be forgotten!

As soon as such a plaque appears, we can assume that the whole bush is affected. At the site of damage, the tissue of the leaf quickly crumbles, drying out, and with a strong lesion the entire leaf blade simply disappears. The same fate befalls young shoots, berries and buds. The older sprouts strongly lag behind in growth. Practice shows that at the first outbreak of downy mildew, up to 80% of the entire crop is lost, many bushes are killed. With wet and wet weather, the development of the disease occurs almost instantaneously, killing virtually the entire grapes. Cultivation and care in the suburbs behind him is complicated by the once-unstable climate!

Information about the pathogen

The disease has a fungal nature. Peculiar "capsules" containing a lot of spores of the pathogen are formed at the end of autumn, being attached to the lower leaf blade. They are perfectly preserved not only in the upper layer of the soil, but also on its surface. In the spring these formations germinate and give rise to the mycelium falling on young leaves during heavy rains, which "throw" the vine with soil particles. Note that the spores at the first stage are completely not affected by the action of antifungal drugs, since they are covered with a thick and very dense shell. As a rule, the duration of the incubation period does not exceed a couple of weeks, after which all the same spots appear on the leaves.

Note that cases of infection are recorded only during wet, rainy weather. Since in some areas of the Moscow region fogs are often, false powdery mildew produces real devastation, "knocking out" whole plantings of grapes. To prevent such a sad outcome, it is necessary to create the best conditions for airing the bushes, without narrowing the gaps between the rows and individual vines. Once again, we recall that Isabella grapes are especially sensitive to this. In the Moscow region, caring for it involves two-fold treatment of the plant Bordeaux mixture or its substitutes. Do this at least two times. If there is no possibility to purchase or make independently Bordeaux liquid, it is possible to use its substitutes, which assortment in modern gardening stores is extremely wide.

The present powdery mildew

Also called "Oidium". As in the past case, can in the shortest time hit all the green parts of the vine. Primary infection occurs long before flowering, as the pathogen "sits" in last year's shoots. To determine their harmful nature is very simple: infected sprouts quickly become covered with whitish, mealy coating. As for the leaves, the mycelium, as a rule, develops on the upper part of the leaf blade. If the degree of damage is very strong, the whole leaf is involved in the process, which very quickly falls off. Virtually all affected shoots do not have time to accumulate the necessary amount of nutrients, and therefore in winter they freeze.

The affected berries literally burst from the inside so that the seeds become easily discernible. A characteristic sign of this disease is the hideous smell of rotten fish, which is clearly felt near the affected bushes. The disease not only leads to a significant percentage of viniculture freezing, but also to a very low commercial quality of berries, which become small and sour. Unlike the previous disease, the oidium develops best without precipitation, but the increased humidity of the surrounding air is also popular with this pathogen. The incubation time is only five to seven days, and over this period irretrievably lost more than 80% of the entire crop.

How to counteract an infection?

As in the previous case, try to create conditions that maximally favor the airing of the inter-rows and the intervals between the bushes. To reliably destroy the pathogen, all the foci detected on the plants twice (about a week) are treated with a Bordeaux liquid. Two more treatments - before flowering and immediately after it. In the process of vegetation, it is necessary to closely monitor the bushes of grapes. If the symptoms of infection appear again, the vine is sprayed again. You can recommend the use of specialized compounds that are available in the horticultural stores.

If you follow our advice about which you could read in this article, then the vine will always delight you and your guests, bringing a plentiful harvest of juicy, fragrant and sweet berries! This is how care is taken for the grapes in the suburbs.