Lon -- I wonder if I could prevail upon you (and any others) for some grape
advice.
We bought this property in January, and it came with about 8 different
mature grapevines. We did the best we could with pruning come a cold day in
Feb, being TOTAL novices, and trying to follow whatever made sense from
several different books (a page or two at best of info from each, and
thoroughly inadequate drawings).
Everything looked pretty good until some time this spring well after the
little tiny grape clusters had originally formed -- they either didn't make
full clustersor perhaps some sort of insect eat them perhaps? They have a
handful of grapes, but not in a cluster pattern. Or could something else be
the problem?
I don't have any idea of the varieties, but they are not wine grapes
(vinifera -- is that the term?).
I also would appreciate a quick, brief overview of how to properly care for
them (type of food and when, other considerations.), or the name of a really
good reference. We know absolutely nothing about grapes. Our grape harvest
this year will be greatly reduced and I don't wnat that to ever happen again.
Thanks in advance to you and whoever else may have contribute on this subject.
Patricia
Zone 7b, West Georgia
Patricia:
I think your grapes are in better shape than you think. Few grapes set more
than a handful of berries per cluster (10 - 15% of the flowers usually. 20%
set makes a cluster so tight the berries are squashed out of shape) - they
couldn't support the crop if all the flowers became grapes. Without seeing
the vines I can't be sure, but I've seen clusters that looked puny when they
first set, but filled out beautifully when the grapes were full size - there
has to be room for the berries, you know. If the set really is low, you
either have left too many clusters and the vine is overcropped, or there
were bad conditions at bloom time that interferred with pollination (regular
rain will do that).
Grapes don't need a lot of fertilizer. The best vines I've grown were in
heavy clay that was totally un-tilled and only partly rotted leaves and
grass clippings were put around for organic matter. No fertilizer, nothing.
Just regular water. I really feel that when the soil life is undisturbed,
the vines develop their relationship with the soil life properly and do
their very best.
I've been working on a book on grapes for some time, but have yet to get it
published - publishers don't want a one-topic book. Contact me privately if
you want more - I don't want to overload the list.
-Lon Rombough
Grapes, unusual fruits, writing, more, at http://www.hevanet.com/lonrom
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