We moved into a house recently and it has a grapevine in the back yard. We aren't sure what to do with it. It started producing little pea size grapes, some are turning purple. We are in the South (Alabama)and have been and will continue to be in a heat wave (106 and up) We water it last night. Do we need to keep on watering or is it too hot for it? There is also a sticker bush, maybe blackberries mixed in, what should we do with it? I am attaching a picture (or trying). Thanks Amy
You could cut the blackberries about a foot up so you can get rid of them by digging the roots out or using "Round up". I would not pull them out of the canopy at the moment. The grape I would prune and re tie runners to yr trellis in early to late winter. At least when leaf fall is over. Not sure re yr. weather. Here the vinyards are being or have just finished pruning and it is late winter. Right near the bottom is info on grapes http://www.baag.com.au/fsg_pruning.html http://www.greengold.com.au/greengold/CARENOTES/CARENOTES/grapes.htm
Liz has some very fine points to follow. Water yes, Add a cover mulch to keep the moisture in the ground for the grape vine if you find the ground way to saturated with moisture then cut back water to avoid blight. Although I like the Idea of a multi-berry garden, Dig out the black berry as soon as leaf fall has passed and you are in the rest period for the grape vine. Follow the basic grape vine rules for north america/Southern California. For the life of me I cannot remember what site that is at, at the moment. Heat is a killer for grape development, But too much water will cause the berry to burst also. So just balance it out. I wish I had more to tell you
I'm not sure about my blackberry advice after having another look. Are these cultivated blackberries? if so you will have to wait till winter and prune them as well and try to separate your grape and blackberry a bit so each gets sun. I think you can tip prune grapes if they go into run away mode while fruit is setting. I seem to remember it was so the fruit got sun to ripen. I am sorry if I misled re Blackberries it is just that here they are a total pest and are rarely allowed to flourish in a cultivated way. There are plenty of wild noxious pest thickets all introduced and into total runaway mode. My goats keep mine under control in the paddock. I had Logan berries and another called American blackberry and rasberries. These all took off like the wild blackberry so goats got them as well. :) From this map you can see how invasive it is here http://www.weeds.org.au/docs/WONS/maps/cur9.pdf
Thanks for all the advice. I am totally clueless, so any advice is good advice. I do think we will completely get rid of what we think are blackberries because my 4 yr old son just barely rubbed up against them and got the stickers in his arm and immediately each spot swelled up, so no matter how I have to get rid of them, they will be gone. I noticed the birds eating the little grapes this morning, but I think we will just leave it until winter which is about 3 months away and then prune the grapes back almost to nothing and try again next year. :)
