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Archive for October 2007

Razak’s grapes in the tropics

On October 21, 2007   /   growing grapes   /   8 Comments

Hi Grape Viners.

I would like to show you some pictures of grapes from a subscriber in Malaysia (tropics). Razak, is doing a fine job growing grapes there! Remember, there is no dormant season in Malaysia, so they have to “force” dormancy by removing leaves, stop fertilizing and watering the vine a month before their dry season and as soon as they are ready, they will “kickstart” the vine by start watering and feeding the vine again.
Growing grapes in the tropics is not easy, I promise you, so Razak is doing a fine job!
Well done my friend!!
Did you know it is actually possible to have to grape crops per season in the tropics!


Here is the email he send me:

“Dear Sir,

1. I would like the express my gratitude and thanks for
being able to get informations and guidance about
grape growing from your blogs.
2. Actually sir,I am from Malaysia, a peninsular
country between Thailand and Singapore. We are in
such a pure tropical atmopheric country and never have
been experiencing grape growing. It is just for the
fun in planting fruit trees in the garden that led me
read a lot of articles on viti culture.
3. After 3 years I began to see the bunch on my
vines. Yes those are my grapes but not as sweet as
what I use to buy at the supermarkets – the imported
grapes.
4. You can see my vines which I grow on the belcony
of my small house with the backdrop of coconut and
banana trees. MY TROPICAL GRAPES.


Your articles have been most helpful.
Thank you sir.
http://www.my-grape-vine.com
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New growing season – at last!

On October 8, 2007   /   grape vine, new grape vine growth   /   Leave a comment

Thought I share some pictures with you. Our growing season started a bit later than normal because of the abnormal cold & wet winter winter we had.

The early varieties has about 20 – 30cm (7 – 10 inches) of new growth so we will be securing the shoots to the trellis wire probably next week. Will keep you updated and show you some pictures how we do that.

Three inches of growth and already some bunches visible!

4 inches of growth
Removing suckers
During this time of the year, we mainly prepare the vineyards for flowering – a very important stage of growing a grape vine!
What we want to achieve BEFORE the vines go into flowering, is to reduce the number bunches on each grape vine. Why? During the process of flowering, the grape vine is under tremendous stress and could influence the growth of the grape vine. And if the grape vine’s growth is under stress, it will not have a enough vegetative growth when cell division starts (a few days after full bloom). Off course you want your grape vine to be in tip-top condition when this happens, because it will have a huge influence on the berry size.
One of the methods we use to reduce the number of grape clusters at this stage of growth is to remove suckers. No what on earth is a sucker?
If you look at the picture below, you will notice two shoots developed from the same bud on the cane – one on the side and one straight up.
We will keep the one that is growing straight up and remove the other shoot by hand (where the red line is). You can see the bunch on the shoot that we will keep (red arrow)
VERY IMPORTANT
  • Count the number of bunches on the grape vine, BEFORE you sucker. If you don’t have enough grapes on the vine, do not remove the suckers with grapes on
  • Don’t wait until the vine flowering to sucker – do it beforehand
  • Remove suckers ONLY if you have an established vine – 3 years and older (it will influence the amount of pruning wood you will need for a younger vine)
  • The earlier you do suckering, the more effective it will be. By removing the suckers at an early stage of growth, will improve the vines growth because more nutrients is available to the shoots you want to use on your vine.
  • The earlier you do suckering, the smaller the “wound” where the sucker was, will be.

OK that’s all for now …

Danie

PS: Will upload the temporary “Grape Coaching Program” web page this week – sneek peak :-)

http://www.my-grape-vine.com
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