The nuances of caring for grapes in spring

Grapes are a rather demanding crop, so it will not be easy to care for them. Spring care is especially important, it is during this period that the gardener has to carry out the greatest number of procedures. It is worth carefully familiarizing yourself with all the stages of caring for grapes in the spring.

How to remove cover?

Grapes do not belong to particularly winter-hardy crops, therefore, for the cold period, they need mandatory shelter. After winter, it must be properly removed. This should be done only after the snow has melted, and the temperature parameters of the air will be +5 degrees. The procedure is carried out gradually, preparation in this case is very important. At first, you only need to raise the shelter so that fresh air enters. This will prevent the debate of culture.

Airing is recommended to be carried out in doses – no more than three hours a day. Then, when the air warms up to +10 degrees, the covering material can be completely removed, and this is done carefully, trying not to break the weak vines after wintering. The terms of withdrawal completely depend on the territory in which the gardener lives.

If the climate is warm, then grapes can be released already in early April. In cold regions, the dates are shifted closer to the end of the month.

Having removed the shelter, it is necessary to immediately assess the condition of the grapes. The first step is to examine the eyes. A healthy eye in the context is green, and a frozen eye is brown. The situation is not fatal, just in this case, the grapes will grow later. Next, examine the vine itself. If it is black or brown on the cut, then such an escape must be cut to the very base, and then spud. The last step is root evaluation. If they did not survive the winter well, then the grapes will begin to dry quickly. To save the plant, some of the vines will have to be removed in order to reduce the load on the crop.

Shaping and garter

Pruning grapes is practically the first thing that needs to be done after winter. The procedure is simple, even beginners can handle it. First you have to carry out sanitary pruning. After removing the shelter and assessing the state of the culture, its type is determined.

• If the annual shoots are completely frozen and the buds are dead, all dead parts must be removed. Those vines at the bottom, use for layering, and those at the top, cut to two internodes.
• If the shoots are moderately damaged, then you need to select those in which the top is frozen, and then remove them. By ignoring this procedure, you will get a large number of unnecessary stepchildren.
• In case of weak damage to the shoots or its absence, pruning can be omitted, since the grapes will already grow well.

Following the sanitary, shaping pruning is carried out. It is necessary to form a bush, otherwise it will be thickened and will give less yield. If we talk about the classic form, then the haircut is carried out as follows.

1. Pruning the first year depends on the number of shoots. If it is one, it is necessary to cut it by 4 eyes, and if there are two, then, respectively, by 2. The purpose of such a haircut is to get “sleeves”. So in horticulture, developed grape stems are called. After the procedure, there should be 4 or more.
2. In the second year, you don’t have to do much. Only new shoots are to be cut, making them shorter by two eyes.
3. In the third year, you will have to pay attention to the “sleeves” themselves. Each of them should have two vines. They need to be cut to a certain number of buds, usually from 7 to 15, while 4 buds are left on the branches, and about 12 on the arrows. During the pruning of the third year, a replacement knot is also made (the shoot closest to the roots). It needs to be cut into two kidneys.

It is worth remembering that pruning is carried out with a sharp and disinfected tool, and the wounds will need to be covered with garden pitch.

Having finished pruning, it is necessary to proceed to the next event – the garter of grapes. Without it, it will not be possible to protect the plant from the fungus, since the vine will spread along the ground. The garter should be carried out in the absence of rain. The first stage is carried out immediately after the opening of the culture. Shoots are allowed along the trellis, and the fruit ones must be placed below. The second stage will be taken up in the first days of May. Here you will need to tie up the youngest shoots.

The garter may look different. The most common types are:

• on a wire trellis (the simplest option described above);
• fan (suitable if the bushes grow with medium strength, suggests the presence of a “sleeve” for each branch with fruits, looks like a fan);
• horizontal cordon (this is an option for plants with large berries, when shortened “sleeves” are placed on long cordons);
• vertical cordon (arched formation).

How to take care of the soil?

Caring for home grapes in the spring is by no means limited to caring for the vine itself. It is also very important to properly care for the soil. This process consists of three main steps.

Watering

The first watering after winter is called water-charging. It is very rich and stimulates the grapes to wake up. It is necessary to water the vine with warm water, while the costs will be from 200 to 300 liters per bush. This watering is enough for plants for 2 months. After this time, irrigation should be done every 10 days, giving the bushes 30 liters each. 21 days before flowering, a second abundant watering is carried out.

It should be noted that pouring water under the root is not recommended. It would be more correct to dig shallow grooves (0,2 m) half a meter from the grapes. The same technique should be followed for normal watering.

Loosening

The loosening procedure is aimed at letting oxygen to the roots. In the spring, you will need to loosen the soil twice. The first loosening will be deep, and it is carried out immediately after opening the grapes, going deep into the ground by 0,25 m. The second is carried out before flowering, and here the depth will be no more than 0,1 m. More frequent procedures are not advisable.

Mulching

Mulch has two important functions at once: it limits the growth of weeds and retains moisture in the soil. Before the procedure, the soil is cleaned, getting rid of weeds, and then watered. In general, any organic material can be used as mulch. Straw, sawdust, chips, pine needles showed themselves very well. The layer of mulch should not be too thick.

Additional fertilizing

In the spring, grape bushes will need to be fed three times.

1. The first feeding is carried out in April. For this, wood ash is used. A glass is taken on a bucket of water. The resulting mixture is applied together with water-charging irrigation.
2. When the kidneys swell, 15 grams of ammonium nitrate and superphosphate are dissolved in a bucket of water. Such top dressing will be root.
3. At the beginning of the second decade of May, a bucket of water is mixed with 10 grams of phosphorus and 30 grams of nitrogen (you can take urea) and potassium. The mixture is also spilled on the soil.

The first or second top dressing can also be replaced with organic matter, but this is not done too often. The soil will have to be dug up so that the fertilizers mix with it. Such top dressing can be carried out every few years to increase soil fertility.

Treatment of diseases and pests

So that grape bushes do not catch diseases, you need to worry about prevention in advance. It includes several stages.

1. For the first time the grapes are sprayed after the garter. To do this, you need to use vitriol, and you can take both copper and iron. Another solution is Bordeaux mixture.
2. The second treatment is carried out at the beginning of the last month of spring. Apply the remedy “Horus”, which will protect against fungi. For one hundred square meters, 10 grams of the drug is enough.
3. The next step is tick prevention. Take the drug “Sunmite”, instructions for its use are attached. You need to spray early in the morning.
4. 3-4 days before flowering, it is necessary to give preference to such a tool as Ridomil Gold. It will protect the grapes from fungi. The invasion of pests can be avoided by processing the bushes with Decis. To increase resistance to diseases, apply “Vuksal-kombi B”. They also process grapes after the start of flowering.

Important: one of the best and relatively safe remedies for almost every culture is Fitosporin. It can also be used as a prophylaxis or in the treatment of various diseases.

Care rules based on the region

In general, grape care measures look standard. But in some regions there are certain features of cultivation.

• So, in the middle lane, spring comes later than in the south. Therefore, all gardening work in the Moscow region should be started closer to mid-April, or even by its end, depending on the season. After removing the shelter, sanitary pruning is carried out, and after 10 days the culture is fed. Grapes must be tied to a support, and the soil is additionally fertilized with magnesium.
• In the Volga region, it is permissible to remove shelter only at the very end of April, but it often happens that this is done in early May. At night, the culture is not left without shelter until the air temperature is completely normal. Spraying is carried out immediately after removing the shelter. Irrigation should be infrequent, but a lot of water will have to be used. During loosening, the soil is fertilized.
• As for Siberia, it is rather difficult to grow grapes here., so it is often cultivated in greenhouses. In the spring, it is very important to feed the plants, while nitrogen is given in minimal quantities. Formative pruning in the spring months in Siberia is not carried out.
• The Urals are milder in climate, but growing here also looks difficult. It is necessary to open the grapes in May, when the air temperature reaches a minimum of +13 degrees. It is very important to do everything gradually, because it can still be cold at night. Trimmings are present in this region, but it is not recommended to cut everything at the root.
• Crimea has a very warm climate, grapes live best here. They begin to trim it already in the last month of winter. At the same time, it is worth considering that the climate of the Crimea can be very dry already in early spring. Therefore, watering should be timely.

Possible mistakes

Finally, consider the typical mistakes of novice gardeners, leading to diseases, insufficient harvest, or death of grape bushes.

• Incorrect timing of removal of shelter. If removed too early, a return frost can damage the plants. And if it’s too late, then the grapes can be forbidden, budding, which will necessarily negatively affect the harvest.
• Absence of the first abundant watering. Without a large amount of water, the grapes will wake up longer, it will be very difficult for them to grow and give normal fruits.
• Incorrect pruning or lack thereof. This is one of the worst mistakes. Frozen branches will not be able to give buds, this is “waste material”. They will only take strength from the bush.
• Ignoring preventive treatments. Perhaps the plant will not get sick. But if this happens, it will be difficult to cure the disease. It’s better not to get in trouble at all.
• Choosing the wrong supports and materials. Garter materials should not injure the plant. In addition, you need to take care of the correct type of garter. It depends on the type of crop and the strength of its growth.