Hi my grape growing friends.

Wow!  It’s middle June already; can you believe it!  For you guys in the northern hemisphere, your grape vines should be well developed by now, with some varieties already in flowering.  

Here in South Africa, we are preparing for pruning the early varieties by the end of the week. 

But this is not what this article is about!  I received an email from one of the members, who joined My Grape Vine in first year we went online, way back in 2006. 

Here is her email:

“Danie, I’ve been a member of My Grape Vine since who knows when? And I’ve been following your grape growing techniques by the book.  I must admit, I still need to learn allot, but your program and emails (and blog updates) are simply amazing.

I know you get allot of email questions and I will understand if you do not reply to this one, but what I would like to know is; what are five most important things to do, to make my grape vines stand out above the rest?”

Thanks for your time and effort

Chantal

 

The five most important things?  Mmmmm, okay the first thing that comes to mind is, and that is probably the most important is:

 

  1. Choosing the right grape variety:  I would say 40% of your success depends on what variety you choose.  This is particularly important if you live and a cold climate where winter temperatures drop below freezing or if you live in a tropical climate, where rain often occur during the growing season.  Remember, some varieties are more susceptible to cold damage and diseases, than others.
  2. The second thing that comes to mind is; pruning.  Without pruning your grape vine, you will never be a successful grape grower – period.  Now, pruning a grape vine is a complex and often hard to understand subject for new grape growers, but once you’ve done it like it is suppose to be done, you WILL see a huge difference in the way your grape vine grows and you WILL have more fruit for sure!
  3. Training and developing the structure (framework) of your grape vine.  Forming a correct framework of your grape vine will improve the overall performance of your grape vine tremendously.  A properly developed grape vine, will ensure good sunlight and air penetration into the vine.  This is particularly important for disease control and fruitfulness.  DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE IMPORTANCE OF PROPERLY TRAINING YOUR GRAPE VINE!
  4. Keeping diseases under control.  Now, this is easier said than done, especially if you try to grow your grape vines organically and you live in a hot, humid climate.  Although there are excellent fungus and pest control products on the market, the timing of your spray application, as well as managing the canopy of the vineyard is more important.  Remember that prevention is better than cure!
  5. The last but not the least is; summer treatments or growing season treatments for your grape vine.  Growing grapes of good quality, all comes down to managing the grape vine canopy.  After choosing the right variety, I would say that this is the second most important aspect of growing grapes.  Things like removing water shoots, leaf pulling, suckering, tying down shoots, crop size management and cluster thinning are all part of this process.  Without managing the canopy, your grape vine will not stand out above the rest!

Okay, so now you have my opinion what the five most important aspects of growing a grape vine is.  I see you frowning; what about fertilizing and watering?  Yes, they are important, but the above is more important. 

Take care and happy grape growing

Join the Complete Grape Growing System Today and learn how to make YOUR grape vine stand out above the rest!

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NOTE:The Complete Grape Growing System is an online product and you will not recieve a physical product.  All the information is available for download from the membership site.

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Filed under: growing grapes • how to grow grapes

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