Growing Grapes... how long before I get a vine?

[r4eboxer]

So a few years ago DH and our family moved to his homestead. The old grapevine had seen better days and died off before I got to enjoy grapes. DH put 4 grape vine poles in the ground and I bought 4 plants. I did not know about trellising them and they pretty much died the first year.

There are new grape vines growing where the old vine died off. I guess from the old vine dropping seeds all those years. They are down over the bank but I think I can train them back up. Since I have the other 4 posts I am going to buy new plants and put in a trellis system and do it right this time. Or instead of buying new can I transplant some of the vines to where the other trellises will be?

I'm just wondering how long will it take for me to get grapes. It seems like grape vines take so long to get started.

 

[ducks4you]

Please baby those young vines. I haven't been able to replace the one vine that died--still have 5 old, and established vines, though.

 

[MontyJ]

You will be well off to contact the county extension agent for your area to best determine the growing style for your grapes. There are many ways to train them and some ways work better than others depending on where you live. Most purchased grape plants should start producing in their third year from transplanting, but again it depends on many factors. For example, I purchased two vines from a nursery in 2-gallon pots. They started to bear in their second year. However, I also took pity on a bag of grapes vines I found at Walmart. There were five vines in the bag, all bare-root. They looked so dried up and pitiful I figured what the heck, they were marked down to $1. I put them in intensive care and after about 5 months 4 of them surprised me by sprouting roots. I transplanted them and three years later they all beared fruit. I later dug two of them up and gave them to my neighbor. Even after being transplanted, they fruited the very next year. However, those are growing over an arched trellis and are more for appearance than fruit so they do not bear as heavily as mine do.

 

[Mickey328]

We put in a Concord grape a few years back and while it's growing like crazy, we've not seen a flower or fruit. I just recently discovered that they have to be pruned to produce! Not just pruned, but pruned hard. Of course, it's different for different kinds of grapes, but I discovered that I need to cut mine back to just 1 or possibly 2 vines. I'm not sure of the terminology, but as I understand it from the main stalk coming out of the ground, they produce several vines and if left, they just keep growing bigger and more of 'em. The plant sees no need to set seed if it can keep going. So when you trim everything back it's encouraged to flower and fruit.

As I understand it, they're also very easy to start by simply cutting off just below a bud and planting. Roots will form from the bud and before too long, you have a whole new plant. In another month, it'll be pruning time so we're going to try to start another 3 or so plants. Our primary intent with them is actually for shade. Our deck is south facing and for much of the time it's just too dang hot to be out there. Our thinking was that if we grow deciduous vines all around it we'll get the shade in the summer, but with the leaves gone, the sun/warmth will come through in the winter. The fruit is just a sort of "bonus" LOL. We'll use some for fresh eating, but I really want enough to make a batch or two of grape jam, which we much prefer to jelly.

 

[r4eboxer]

You will be well off to contact the county extension agent for your area to best determine the growing style for your grapes. There are many ways to train them and some ways work better than others depending on where you live. Most purchased grape plants should start producing in their third year from transplanting, but again it depends on many factors. For example, I purchased two vines from a nursery in 2-gallon pots. They started to bear in their second year. However, I also took pity on a bag of grapes vines I found at Walmart. There were five vines in the bag, all bare-root. They looked so dried up and pitiful I figured what the heck, they were marked down to $1. I put them in intensive care and after about 5 months 4 of them surprised me by sprouting roots. I transplanted them and three years later they all beared fruit. I later dug two of them up and gave them to my neighbor. Even after being transplanted, they fruited the very next year. However, those are growing over an arched trellis and are more for appearance than fruit so they do not bear as heavily as mine do.

I live in WV too so according to your results my grapes should grow by leaps and bounds right?? ha ha. Well your post does give me hope. I'm going to try my best and see what trellis system is good for my area.

 

[r4eboxer]

Please baby those young vines. I haven't been able to replace the one vine that died--still have 5 old, and established vines, though.

Wonder how to baby them? They are on the bank of the small stream that runs North to south on the property, they are surrounded by grass. Should I trim around them and mulch? They are just shoots at this point, but there are quite a few. I guess the fruit dropped down into the bank area and just seeded there. I really wish something would have seeded closer to the trellis.


Mickey: I'm hoping for some decorative appeal in a few of my vines too. I have three trellis's started, one with two posts, and two with three posts. I'm hoping to make an archway out of the three posts over the foot bridge going across the stream. Maybe I should let them just grow and grow and not try to get fruit. Then again it may be better to grow hops over that foot bridge. I hear they grow super fast.

I like the idea of having shade in the summer and light in the winter. Ingenious on your part I say!

 

[majorcatfish]

when we use to grow grapes, we used the two wire trellis system one at 5' and other at 3' with one branch going each way on the wires. keeping them well pruned and in the summer they produced quite heavily. we purchased the bare root from millers nurseries.
but after years fighting black rot, Japanese beetles and feeding the deer. we gave up


a couple good books to get are...

the backyard berry book.....by stella otto

fruits and berries for the home gardem.....by lewis hill

grape leafs are great for making dill pickles, my wifes grandmother made the best dill pickle. when she passed so did the recipe.

anyway good luck on your grapes...mc

 

[MontyJ]

Take a look at both of these links. They both discuss grapes in WV. They also show the double T kniffen trellising system (aka the four arm kniffen).

http://www.wvagriculture.org/images/Literature/Grapes No. 1.pdf

http://www.wvu.edu/~agexten/hortcult/fruits/grograps.htm

This is also a great one to have for diseases and spraying for grapes and small fruit. I have an older version so I downloaded this one to see if anything has changed:

https://ag.purdue.edu/hla/Hort/Documents/ID-169-2013.pdf

What part of WV are you in?

 

[r4eboxer]

Take a look at both of these links. They both discuss grapes in WV. They also show the double T kniffen trellising system (aka the four arm kniffen).

http://www.wvagriculture.org/images/Literature/Grapes No. 1.pdf

http://www.wvu.edu/~agexten/hortcult/fruits/grograps.htm

This is also a great one to have for diseases and spraying for grapes and small fruit. I have an older version so I downloaded this one to see if anything has changed:

https://ag.purdue.edu/hla/Hort/Documents/ID-169-2013.pdf

What part of WV are you in?

Wow, well no wonder my grapes died. I just dug a hole and planted them :/. Thanks for the links, I've got my first post set but we did not angle them at all. I wonder how important that is? I'd hate to pull all of those posts up, they are set in concrete I think.

I am North in Marion County, Fairmont. Just 11 miles south of WVU. Were are you?

 

[MontyJ]

The posts do not have to be angled if they are solid enough. The vines will get very heavy though. My posts are vertical and are buried over 2 feet deep. I didn't use concrete in case I ever wanted to remove them. I'm in Follansbee, north of Wheeling.