Growing grapes at home is basically the same process than for the large vineyard. The market vineyard is just bigger. The caring process or tending, consists of helping the vine growing in the better condition possible. Doing so will assure good productivity at the end.
Tending the vine is also about treating the soil correctly, watering the plants, pruning and controlling the pests. The most tedious part is pruning and pest control. But pruning or cutting branches in a sure way will help the vine grow bigger and be more productive. A hand cutter could be used for cutting the shoots from the last season and a hand saw for cutting the larger wood.
The vine produces new canes every year and this is on these newly shoots that the grapes will grow. This is where a home grower should be diligent. A excellent pruning job will help the vine growing with a good equilibrium between leafs and grapes. Every action should be done in a way of creating the best environment for the grape to grow strong and in abundance.
Weed operate is another task to do. Clearing the weed colse to the vine will help manufacture space for the vine to breathe. It will also let the sun nourish and stimulates the plant and favors air circulation. All are foremost factors that make an optimum environment for the vine to grow big.
Tending the vine is also about controlling insects and animals such as birds and deers. Insects are in great number. Do you know the grape berry moth, grape leaf hoppers, Japanese beetles, and rose beetles. They just love your juicy grapes. The vine can endure a little, but soon insecticides should come into play to consist of the menace.
And now the birds. A flock of birds who decides to stay for a while will make serious damage to the vine. So they must be scared away with such help as optic repellents like aluminum pie plates, synthetic hawks, owls, or snakes. another way is installing nets over the rows so birds would not have entrance to the fruits.
Deer are nice animals. Gracious and agile with big tender eyes. But they eat all the time. And they love the early spring shoots, the ones that the grapes will grow on. Some tactics to scare them away are odor repellents. They are afraid of human scent, dog hair, coyote. In fact anyone that looks like predator to them.
If you find yourself the soul of a grape grower, I am sure that you are avid to find and learn more about grape growing. There is a ton of good data available on the net if you look a itsybitsy further.
Growing Grapes At Home: Caring, Pruning, Insects and Animals