According to some accounts, Dionysus is actually attributed to creating the Grapevine. The story goes that Dionysus had fallen in love with a handsome young Satyr-boy named Ampelos.
Ampelos was quite a reckless character and one day when out and about on a jolly with Dionysus he attempted to ride a wild bull they happened upon. His rodeo was cut tragically short as he was tossed off the bull, repeatedly gored by the horns and killed.
Dionysus was devastated and, for reasons beyond my mortal comprehension, used his powers of deity to transform the corpse of his lover into the first grapevine. Equipped with the vine, Dionysus proceeded to travel the world with a posse of party goers and introduced the people of foreign lands to the grapevine with instructions on how to cultivate and how to make wine. There is another story about Dionysus and Ampelos where the reckless boy was killed when he slipped picking some gaudy grapes from an Elm.
Dionysus, in honour of his lover, lifted the lost boy to the stars turning him into one of the stars of the constellation Vindemitor, but come on Of these 60 species there are three main species of primary interest to the fruit grower, Vitis labrusca - American Grape, Vitis rotundifolia - Muscadine Grape and Vitis vinifera - European Grape. So, during this article we'll take a close look at these incredible plants including how to grow them, the uses of Grapes, growing Grapes in polycultures, permaculture and agroforestry and I'll introduce some pest and disease resistant cultivars that we are offering from the bionursery this season.
History - The grapevine family, Vitaceae, is believed to be over 65 million years old and would have initially spread around the globe by continental drift long before us humans arrived on the scene. It's unclear where Vitis vinifera originated but there is evidence that we have been growing grapes since the earliest days of civilisation from as far back as B. By B. The Hittites are credited with spreading grape culture westward as they migrated to Crete, Bosporus and Thrace, as early as B.
Under the influence of the Romans, grape production spread throughout Europe. Much later, the Western Europeans planted the grapevine wherever cultivation was possible, i. Description - V. The plant bears a fruit, botanically referred to as a berry that we know as the grape. Depending on the cultivar, the grapes can be green, pink, red or purple-skinned and the pulp is usually a light green or yellow colour and encapsulates small seeds. Vitis vinifera leaves and tendrils.
Sexual Reproduction - The plants are hermaphrodites with each tiny flower containing both male and female reproductive structures. The flowers are borne in clusters inflorescence with each cluster containing hundreds of flowers.
At the beginning of the flowering process, in the spring, the petals are fused together in what is known as a calyptra. The calyptra serves as a cap containing the male and female flower parts and eventually slips off liberating the pollen from the anthers of the stamen male part. If the pollen from the anthers make contact with the stigma female part the pollen grains plant sperm will proceed towards the ovary down the stigma and if they reach the egg at the bottom, fertilisation occurs and a grape will start to develop.
Growing Range - Vitis vinifera is found throughout Asia, North America and Europe and has a preference for subtropical, Mediterranean Climate and temperate climatic conditions. Countries by grape production - Wikipedia.
We have not had any problems with the grapes we are growing in our gardens that are borderline USDA 5b. For grapes that will tolerate colder climates look to cultivars of Vitis lambrusca - American Grapes, or hybrids of, that are cold hardy to USDA zone 4. Ecology - Although Vitis vinifera does not need insects to set fruit, a range of pollinators will still visit grape flowers that are rich in pollen and nectar.
Many other insects including some serious pests will feed on the roots and leaves of the plant see pests below. Bees and wasps are also very fond of the ripe fruit and we always leave some bunches on the vine to provision for them.
The Great Tit, Coal Tit, Blue Tit also seem to enjoy picking through the flaky bark for grubs that may be sheltering there for the winter. These temperature limits are found mostly in the mid-latitude regions of the continents. With careful cultivar selection and use of microclimate it is possible to grow outside of mid latitude regions with good success but most commercial production of grapes is grown within the preferred climates as mentioned above.
Soil - Grapevine prefers a deep, rich, moist, well-drained, moderately fertile loam and prefers a pH in the range 6. There are a wide range of cultivars available that are suited to a variety of soils see table below making it possible to find a cultivar for pretty much all soil conditions. Location - Grapevines require full sun for healthy growth and good production.
Some shade for a few hours a day is fine but in areas with cooler summers than a typical Mediterranean summer, plant in full sun and utilise a favourable microclimate, such as sun facing wall, to help provide the heat required to ripen the fruit.
Like many fruits, Grapevine are susceptible to replant disorder, a problem of re-establishing plants in soil where the same species was grown previously. This should not be a problem when five years have passed since the removal of the previous plant.
Spacing - Vine spacing, when trained on wires along a row, can be 1. The distance between the rows should be at least as high as the vines to avoid shading. For grapes grown on arbors one vine per m 2 of arbor space is good. If growing your vines from cuttings you can double or triple the planting density to account for the cuttings that don't make it or do not grow as strong as others and thin them out later. Pollination - V.
The flowers are self fertile hermaphrodites and the pollen is transferred from the male flowers to the female flowers when the calyptra cap that fuses the petals together is shed. This process is very noticeable on the vines of our arbour as the floor is littered with the tiny flower caps.
Wind is also thought to assist in pollination and insects may also play a small role. Development of flower parts begins shortly after bud break and takes approximately six to eight weeks. It's normal for nearly 50 percent of the flowers not to set fruit in a cluster. Picking the right cultivar - There are thousands upon thousands of cultivars to choose from.
More often than not the best cultivars to grow are ones that are already growing well locally to you. There are a range of options from late summer fruiting dessert grapes to late autumn wine grapes. I found this root stock selector tool for Australian growers and the below table from the excellent Agroforestry News Vol 8 No.
Fertility - Grapes are deep rooted and once established will require little compost unless your soil is extremely poor. When planting out I often use 15 L compost applied to the surface topped with 20cm deep straw mulch and will repeat this in the 2nd year of planting only.
Irrigation - Outdoor-grown grapes will only need watering in severe and prolonged dry spells. The most important time to irrigate is when the plants are in flower and when the fruits are starting to enlarge.
Applying irrigation when the fruits are ripening is not at all necessary and can lead to a dilution of the sugar content, reducing sweetness. Weeding - Young vines should be kept clear of weeds while they establish. Our newer vines are weeded each year with the weeds chopped and dropped to the surface following with half a bale of straw mulch to prevent new weeds emerging and to preserve soil moisture.
Pruning - When pruning, the most important thing to know is the fundamental growth pattern of Grapevines. The buds, that will emerge as flowers and ripen to fruit if pollinated and fertilised are borne on the new growth and are fully developed by the end of autumn ready to emerge again in the following spring.
These stems are easy to identify as they are the only stems that have buds are lighter in colour and smoother than the previous years and older wood that will never produce buds. But the lapse between planting and first harvest is crucial to future harvests. The single most important thing you can do in this time is prune. What do you need to do to encourage your vines to grow well? Only a few things, really.
During its first year, your vines will send up shoots from the ground; prune off all but the strongest of these. Once your plant begins producing fruit each season, pruning requirements will change, but pruning will remain an important part of the care of your vines. Grapes Take a Little Time 6 min by Garden.
It is an important step to growing grapes, because it helps them produce a healthy crop of fruit and survive for many years. New grape growers are often surprised about how much of the vine gets removed during pruning. This is because grapes are produced on new shoots, not old branches. The exact process of pruning grapes depends on how you decide to grow them in your garden and how much space you have. Fences are ideal to use as support for vines. Vines can also be contained to one stake in the ground.
If you have an arbor or pergola, grapevines can be grown over the top to produce shade. If your goal is shade, you may prune less than if your goal is fruit. If your goal is to produce a lot of high quality fruit, it is best to grow it on a basic trellis or fence where it will have lots of sunlight.
Remember, flowers and fruit are located on buds that developed the previous year. Therefore you need to encourage new growth, but not too much. For the first year, pruning is the same no matter how you plan to train your vine. The key is to develop a strong root system and straight trunk. During the second summer, train lateral shoots onto the trellis or fence, so that they run parallel to the ground, on both sides of the trunk.
Once the trunk has reached the trellis and is the height that you want it, and the lateral cordons arms have been formed, prune the vine each winter or spring before growth begins. Have you moved into a house and inherited some old, overgrown grapevines? Don't dig them out just yet; they can probably be saved! You want to prune old and neglected vines in stages.
Your goal is to get the vine back to a single trunk with well-placed canes. Prune when the vine is dormant, just before growth begins in spring. If the vine is overwhelmingly large or has excessive dead wood, it is fine to cut off the entire vine a few inches above the ground. This will encourage new canes to grow from the ground suckers that you can use to re-grow the grapevine from scratch.
This is a common practice. Even if you wish to leave behind some of the old growth, you should still start a new trunk, and remove the old one once the new one is established:. The best way to tell if grapes are ripe is to taste a few. Many varieties turn color before they are ripe. Grapevines are often able to regrow new canes from low down on the trunk. You may need to limit pruning for the year to determine how much of your vine has died. It might be easier to start again with a cane from the base of the vine and treat the vine like you just planted it.
Because the vine will have a large root system, you might be surprised at how fast it will regrow. Most insect and other problems can be reduced by planting vines in a sunny location with good air circulation.
Weather conditions, winter hardiness of the variety, infection from the previous year, history of pesticide use and surrounding vegetation can affect a vine's susceptibility for a particular year.
Japanese beetles chew holes in the leaves leaving them with a lace-like appearance. Look for beetles and their damage beginning in late June or early July through August. Having Japanese beetles on a plant attracts more beetles, so it's important to prevent accumulation.
The best control for home gardens is to check your plants often, at least twice a week and ideally in the morning when they're less active, and knock beetles into a pail of soapy water. Monitor frequently and throughout the growing season for any other potential pest outbreaks. As with diseases, cleaning up dead leaves and berries and cleaning under the vines will help.
This invasive fruit fly prefers strawberries and raspberries, but also feeds on grapes. This pest can do significant damage in large numbers and should be reported to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture when found. Yellow jackets and multicolored Asian lady beetles may feed on ripening grapes, damaging the fruit and promoting fungal disease infection.
The best prevention is harvesting grapes as soon as they are ripe. Birds are attracted to the ripening berries and can eat them all before you are ready to harvest. The only foolproof method of protection is netting to cover the ripening fruit on the vine.
Good air circulation in very important for preventing most diseases. This means annual pruning to keep the canopy from getting too dense. Equally important is raking and removing leaves each fall as well as picking up and composting fallen fruit. After pruning, remove cuttings away from the vines. These practices will remove some of the places disease can overwinter to infect the following spring. If possible, diseased portions of a vine should be removed and discarded at the first sign of disease, to prevent spread to the rest of the vine.
High humidity promotes infection from both powdery and downy mildews. Infected shoots should be pruned and destroyed. Pruning in late winter should increase air circulation, as the vine grows during the year with the goal of reducing the chance of heavy infection.
Common fruit rots of grapes in Minnesota include Botrytis bunch rot, black rot, phomopsis, anthracnose, and sour rot. These fungal diseases can cause complete crop loss in warm, humid climates. Botrytis infection can be seen on leaves, petioles, shoots and grapes. Prune grapevines during dormancy and position shoots during the growing season to allow exposure of fruit to sunlight and good air flow through the canopy.
Pruning and training are also helpful in controlling Botrytis bunch rot. For black rot, grapes are susceptible from bloom until about 6 weeks later. Symptoms seen after that time period are due to an infection that occurred earlier. Grapes are very susceptible to damage from 2,4-D and dicamba herbicides, which are widely used to control dandelions, creeping charlie and other weeds in lawns. Many common, store-bought weed killer products contain 2,4-D and dicamba, so gardeners may be applying them without realizing it.
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