Do I Have to Do Prune or Anything to Grape Plants This Spring?
I planted some globe grape plants last spring in the San Jose, CA area. Do I need to prune them or fertilize them this spring?
Thank you for the advice. The internet sites I went to were not nearly as good as your concise direct description of what to do. Thanks Professor. I am not near the bay but in south SJ so it gets hot here.
NEVER PRUNE FRUIT TREES,PLANTS BEFORE THE SPRING…YOU’LL MESS UP THE THE FRUIT…YOU DO THAT IN THE FALL….
FERTILIZING THEM IS ALWAYS GOOD…
You do not have to prune grape plants unless you want good grapes. (Smiles)
You may cut them back when they are asleep, as in the winter. Spring is too late because you may overly stress the plant.
Provide nutrients in early Spring. The plants awaken to a good meal.
Think of a capital T. Cut back the vine so that it grows a strong, thick ‘trunk’. Your plant will get taller and taller as the trunk builds each year. When the trunk is about chest high (if you are going to pick the grapes), force the plant to grow left and right from the thick trunk. Remember that image of a capital T? You are trying to get the plant to look like a capital T.
What happens, we trust, is that the water is drawn in by the roots. The water goes up the truck. Since it goes up a good length, the fruit of the plant will be, one can hope, sweet.
Note when the grapes themselves hang down in their respective bunches, you can employ another technique: When those beginning grapes are very young, pinch off the bottom third of each bunch. The remaining grapes may then grown large and tasty.
Return those tiny, pinched off grapes to the soil.
When harvesting, remember to pick leaves. Grapeleaves are almost a delicacy. The Internet has many recipies for those leaves. For starters, you can do a Yahoo Search for ‘dolma’. The danger of feeding dolma to your family is they may continually request more dolma…even out of season!
If your part of San Jose is up against the bay, temperature may not get hot enough during the summer. If you do not have very warm summers in your part of the city, try placing mirrors – securely fastened and off the ground – near the plant(s).
You could use a small greenhouse. Or you may get four, five, or six discarded sliding glass doors. Encase your plants with the doors. Heat rises, so please lay one at an angle above your plant(s).