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PJM 

VINEYARD CONSULTING

Grow Your Own Vineyard - Make Your Own Wine

For the Backyard Grape Grower…

Soil:

 Grapes grow on a wide range of soils, but ensure that there is proper drainage for grapes do not like “wet feet.”  Also, get a soil tests. The pH of the soil is critical for nutrient uptake and costs little to adjust.

Varieties:

 Avoid the vinifera grape varieties unless you are prepared to spray every 7 days during the growing season. French hybrid varieties like Vidal or Chamberson make good wines and are more cold hardy and less disease prone than the vinifera (i.e. chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon)

Location:

 It’s your backyard so you don’t have much of a choice!  Select the highest site possible with good sunlight. North to South row direction is the best depending on the lay of the land.

Disease:

 Use prevention in disease control. Spray prior to rain to be protected.  Vary chemicals to avoid resistance. Make sure you get thorough coverage when you spray.  The major diseases will be powdery mildew, black rot, downy mildew, and botrytis.

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