I'm starting a new edible garden, and have planted three grape plants around a vinyl arbour (please see picture below.) Question 1: Are the distances I've planted them alright? They're about a foot from the arbour. On the side with 2 plants, they are about 3 feet apart. Question 2: How deep should I have dug the hole for the plants? Question 3: I read somewhere that I can put soil above the soil line on the stem to encourage roots to rise to the top? Question 4: Do I need to do any pruning now, and if so, how do I do it? The varieties of grapes are: Himrod and Interlaken on the same side, and Suffolk on the other side.
Welcome to the forums, Mikayla. 1. You can work with those distances. Grape vines are usually planted at least 6 ft apart, but that is for a whole row of vines. As long as there is nothing else crowding their roots, two vines can be planted very close together. I've planted grape vines inches apart, and they grew quite well. 2. You only need to go deep enough to accommodate the roots of the new plants. 3. That is an odd statement. You want the vines to root deeply so that they stay in soil that doesn't dry out. The only thing that I would put above the soil line is a good organic mulch. 4. Those look like recently planted vines. If so, the usual advice is to cut each vine back to just a couple of healthy buds. What you want next spring is to force all of the growth into a single vertical main shoot.
Thank you vitog for responding to all my questions! Shall I wait till spring to cut the vines back? With regards to mulching, does it matter what kind of mulch I use? Is there a particular brand that you would recommend? Are bark nuggets ok to use? I notice that they come in different sizes. Should I use medium or small? Thanks again!
Pruning is best done in fall or winter, before the weather starts to warm up in spring. The vines will bleed sap heavily on warm spring days and should be pruned before the buds start to expand. Just about any mulch is better than no mulch at all, but sawdust can become almost impervious to water when it dries out. Any mulch that insulates the soil should only be applied after the weather warms up in late spring. I think that the best mulch is nice, dark finished compost, which provides nutrients while absorbing the sun's heat.
Thanks again, vitog. Good to know. So rather than bark mulch, putting on compost when spring comes is your recommendation.
Compost can be applied at any time. If you apply it now, it will provide nutrients for root growth but will probably lose its nitrogen to leaching. You'll probably get the most use out of its nutrients if you apply it in the spring. That's assuming that it has some nutrients; compost left uncovered in our wet climate will have most of its nutrient contents leached out.
Thanks again, vitog, for the helpful info. Edited by moderator: question about planting out perennials has been moved to Is it too late to plant out new perennials?
