A step-by-step guide to properly preparing grapes for winter
Grapes are equally tasty both fresh and canned; its berries and leaves are added to various dishes. Grape juices, jams and wines add spice to any table.
Grapes are tricky to grow. To get a good harvest in the summer, they begin to prepare the plant in the fall. During the wintering period, the grapes must preserve flower buds for future berries. We will tell you about the types and timing of work to prepare grapes for winter.
Preparation time
Autumn vineyard care begins in September, immediately after harvest.. Work continues during the autumn months and is completed before permanent frost sets in by covering the bushes. Preparation times depend on the region and climatic conditions.
In the south, the climate allows you to care for plants until December. In the middle zone, work begins in September and ends in late November - early December. In northern latitudes, where the first frosts begin already in September, the time for care is reduced.
How to prepare grapes for winter
Preparation for winter consists of several stages. In order for the bushes to produce a good harvest next year, in the fall they are fertilized, pruned, provided with timely watering, treated against pests and diseases, and reliably protected from the cold.
Watering
Autumn watering is necessary for grapes to protect the roots. Moist soil that surrounds the root system will prevent freezing.
If you provide the plant with moisture-recharging watering in the fall, then in the spring it will begin the growing season earlier.
To make watering as effective as possible, first make a groove 10 cm deep around the plant, then pour water into it.
The volume of water is selected depending on the type of soil.
Light sandy soil requires 50 liters (about 5 buckets) for one bush. For chernozem and loamy soils, 25-30 liters (2.5-3 buckets) per bush is enough.
Important! The bushes are watered during the period after pruning and falling leaves and before the ground begins to freeze.
Fertilizing
By the time the harvest ripens, the grapevine gives all its strength, so nutrients are added in the fall. Timely feeding helps preserve flower buds and restore the plant's strength.
One of the most nutritious and safest remedies is humus. Rotted leaves are collected around the plant, mixed with turf, sprinkled around the bushes and dug up. Potassium fertilizers are added on top.
When planting new seedlings in the autumn, humus is first added to the planting hole.
Grape bushes love calcareous soils. Lime is quickly washed out of the soil, so it is applied regularly both in spring and autumn.
The vineyard is also fed with aqueous solutions of fertilizers. Take 10 g of aqueous extract of potassium fertilizers, 20 g of phosphorus fertilizers and dissolve in 10 liters of water. This mixture is poured into the soil around the bushes to a depth of 25 cm.
It is useful to add a solution of microelements to the irrigation mixture - iodine, potassium permanganate, boric acid, ammonium molybdate.
Wood ash is also used for feeding. Take 200 g per 1 m², scatter it around the bushes and lightly dig it up.
Nitrogen fertilizers are not applied in the autumn, as they promote the growth of green mass, and this leads to freezing of the plant.
Important! If you do not fertilize grapes in the fall, spring fertilizing will not be able to compensate for the deficiency of nutrients in the soil.
Trimming
Pruning is carried out after the leaves fall from the plant. It is allowed to prune the vine after the first frost, but always before the soil freezes completely. The optimal month for pruning is October.
Only the unripe parts of the vine are cut off, and the ripened areas are left. The shoots are cut off at the point where they transition to the dry part of the vine. You can determine the ripened and unripe parts by holding the shoot in your hand. The unripe part will be the cool, moist part, and the ripened part will be dry and warm.
Thin (less than 5 mm), damaged, diseased shoots and shoots that have borne fruit are also pruned. When two or three shoots grow from one vine, the strongest one is left and the rest are cut off.
It is also advisable to remove one-year-old shoots that grow from the soil.
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Protection from diseases and pests
In autumn, preventive treatment of grapes is carried out. It is necessary to protect the plant from wintering forms of infectious agents and pest larvae.
In September, after the harvest, the vineyard is sprayed with insecticides to prevent pests from settling inside the wood. Experienced winegrowers advise using the effective drug “Aktara” for these purposes.
Fungicides are simultaneously used to protect against diseases. Until the leaves fall, use mild means. One of the best is Bordeaux mixture.
When the foliage has completely fallen, the bushes are treated with urea, iron and copper sulfate.These products are applied only to the bare trunk.
All treatments are completed before covering the plant for the winter.
Shelter
Grapes are a heat-loving plant. A sharp and severe cold snap leads to the death of areas of young growth. If this happens, then next year the plant will produce a weak harvest or will not bear fruit at all. Therefore, grapes are covered for the winter before the soil begins to freeze.
Options for covering bushes
Cover the grape bushes with different materials. Some are suitable for regions with any climate, others for southern regions with warm winters.
Lapnik
If there is a coniferous forest near the area where the grapes grow, then pine and spruce branches will be an excellent shelter for the plant. The vines are covered with spruce branches on top, the layer thickness is 30-40 cm.
This method of shelter has many advantages:
- rodents do not live in spruce branches;
- it is breathable;
- no mold or mildew;
- The procedure requires little time.
Straw
Straw is an environmentally friendly, breathable shelter. The grapes are covered with straw twice.
The vines are laid on boards and covered with a layer of straw 20-25 cm thick. The same layer is laid after 2-3 weeks.
To prevent the straw from being blown away by the wind, it is secured with arcs or spunbond.
The straw is also covered with snow on top. Straw has one significant disadvantage - rodents often live in it.
Snow
This type of shelter is convenient in regions where heavy snow falls. The vines are first laid on plywood or boards and secured with metal staples.
The height of the snow cover should be at least 50 cm, so snow is added during the winter. To prevent the snow from being blown away by the wind, it is lightly compacted.
Snow covering is one of the easiest and fastest methods, but it also has disadvantages:
- if severe frosts (up to -10°C) occur before snow falls, the plant may die;
- winter thaws lead to snow melting and shelter disappearing;
- alternating thaws and frosts lead to the death of the plant.
Earth
The grapes are covered with earth or turf when frost sets in. First, a layer 10 cm thick is poured, and after 3 weeks another similar layer is poured.
With this method, containers with dry soil are prepared in advance. The disadvantage is the possible freezing of the ground cover.
Ruberoid
This material is used in regions with mild winters where little snow falls.
The vines are wrapped in burlap and placed in grooves prepared on the ground. Then roofing felt is laid on top. Since it is airtight, it is periodically removed for ventilation.
Important! If grapes grow on sandy soil, you cannot dig them in - such soils freeze in winter.
Film
An effective way to cover grapes in regions with mild winters. The plant is laid on the ground and iron arches are placed on top without securing them. The arcs are covered with film and sprinkled with earth along the edges. On one side, gaps are left for air access. With the onset of cold weather, the cracks are securely closed.
Features of preparation depending on the grape variety
Features of preparation for winter depend on the grape variety and the age of the plant. In any climatic conditions, proper care is the key to a rich harvest.
Depending on the region
Climatic conditions in different regions allow the cultivation of early and late grape varieties. Each region has its own characteristics of growing crops.
Ukraine
Ultra-early, early and late frost-resistant varieties are grown in Ukraine.Thanks to the warm climate, grapes overwinter without shelter or with minimal protection with film.
The peculiarity of Ukrainian winters is the differences between plus and minus temperatures. This contributes to the appearance of ice and leads to the death of the plant, so winegrowers prefer to cover even winter-hardy varieties.
Central Russia and Moscow region
For the middle zone, breeders have developed varieties that are resistant to the variable climate of the region. In a relatively short summer, varieties with a short growing season of 95-120 days have time to develop and produce a harvest.
To survive the winter in this climate zone, grapes must withstand temperatures of -20°C.
Another feature is resistance to fungal infections. Humid, cool summers promote their spread. Special attention is paid to the prevention of infections during the autumn preparation period.
Before covering, the grapes are buried in soil.
Ural and Western Siberia
Hardened and frost-resistant varieties adapt well to the climate of the Urals and Siberia. In these regions, they begin to prepare the crop for winter earlier than others. Particular attention is paid to reliable shelter of the grapes. With any covering material, another 50 cm layer of snow is poured on top. The shelter is removed no earlier than April.
Nuances for young grapes
In autumn, young grapes need to ensure the ripening of the vines.
As long as the soil is still warm and has a lot of nitrogen, the plant will continue to grow shoots in length. After the soil cools, the bush begins to ripen. To speed up the process, the top is removed. The stepsons are also pinched so that the bush does not waste energy on the growth of shoots. At the same time, buds may awaken for next year's harvest. This is not dangerous on young bushes, since they do not yet bear a large harvest.
Treatment of a young plant against pests and diseases is carried out in the same way as all other bushes.
They are sprayed several times with a solution of potassium fertilizers.
Young vines do not need to be pruned. The remaining foliage is removed from them, treated with iron sulfate and laid on the ground.
Cover the young plant before the onset of the first frost. The materials used for covering are the same as for the rest of the grapes.
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Conclusion
Growing grapes is not easy. The main condition for the future harvest is proper preparation of the plant for winter. If you feed and prune the grapes in a timely manner, protect them from diseases and reliably protect them from the cold, in the summer they will delight you with an abundance of tasty, juicy and beautiful berries.