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In the fall, gardeners literally work to create next summer's harvest. What do you need to know about the features of caring for grapes in the fall? Before wintering, it is necessary to carry out agrotechnical measures related to watering, pruning, fertilizing and covering the grape bushes for the winter.
As you can see, caring for grapes in the fall is not much different from the usual work on the plantation. Early and mid-ripening varieties are prepared for winter in August, and late-ripening grapes a little later. All grape care activities begin after harvesting. The task of caring for a plantation in autumn is to accelerate the ripening of the vine. The grapes must accumulate enough carbohydrates to survive the winter without damaging the eyes and wood.
Fall Activities at the Plantation
How to care for grapes in the fall, what work needs to be done on the plantation, and in what sequence. That's what we'll talk about.
Even a novice gardener understands that ripening a crop requires a high yield of nutrients from the plant. It spends all its energy on pouring grapes. Therefore, you need to ensure that the vine is not overloaded.Otherwise, the plant will go into winter weakened, which will lead to its freezing.
This is especially true for grape varieties with late ripening periods. After all, they have little time left to prepare for winter. Some of the bunches will simply have to be cut off if weather forecasters predict a sudden cold snap.
Features of watering
Grapes need abundant watering when the grapes ripen. But excessive zeal is inappropriate, as the berries may begin to crack. And this, in turn, negatively affects the taste and commercial properties of the grapes.
When ensuring proper care of the vineyard in the fall, it is not recommended to ignore watering, especially if there is no precipitation. The soil under the vine should be moist enough to the depth of the root system. In this case, the plant will be better prepared for winter.
Of course, the choice of irrigation timing and the amount of moisture during autumn work on a grape plantation will depend not only on precipitation. Here, the composition of the soil, the direction and strength of the wind, the air temperature in autumn, as well as the depth of groundwater are of great importance.
Plants should go into winter well saturated with water. In the fall, many gardeners encircle the grape bushes with grooves, then the water will go to its intended purpose - into the root system.
Each watering in the vineyard (in autumn too) should be accompanied by loosening the soil. This will provide oxygen access to the roots and allow moisture to stay in the soil longer.For the same purpose, the tree trunk circle is mulched in preparation for the winter of the grape plantation.
How to feed in the fall
It's no secret that grapes are grown in one place for no more than 6 years. But even during this time, if you do not fertilize, the soil is greatly depleted, the plants weaken, and stop producing crops. Even in one season, the grapevine extracts large amounts of microelements from the soil.
What needs to be done during autumn care to restore fertility when preparing grapes for winter and to form a future harvest:
- Firstly, autumn feeding of grapes is carried out to saturate the plants with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. To do this, use appropriate fertilizers.
- Secondly, in the fall, grapes also need to be fed with calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, boron, copper and other trace elements.
The autumn diet of minerals can be replenished in two ways:
- apply fertilizer at the root;
- carry out foliar feeding, that is, spray the plants.
Both activities related to plant feeding are mandatory when preparing the vineyard for winter. After all, at this time the harvest of the next season is laid. The better you feed the grapes before sheltering for the winter, the higher the yield will be, and the fruits themselves will be tastier and more aromatic.
They take care of the vine and fertilize it not only in the fall. They are performed periodically throughout the growing season. When carrying out foliar feeding, they simultaneously take care of pest and disease control. Feed the plants in the evening when the air temperature drops.At this time, the stomata on the leaves are open, and the grapes better absorb nutrients. In addition, the absence of sun protects plants from possible burns when feeding by leaves.
Last foliar feeding grape harvest is carried out in the fall after harvesting and carrying out trimmingsso that plants feel protected in winter. Nutrients accumulated in the root system of the grapevine contribute to the formation of buds and rapid ripening of shoots.
Autumn pruning
First, let's figure out why grapes are pruned in the fall:
- Firstly, the bush is rejuvenated, therefore, the yield will be higher.
- Secondly, the juice circulates better on young shoots.
- Thirdly, the plants are perfectly prepared for winter.
- Fourthly, thinned vineyards are easier to care for and there are fewer diseases and pests.
Beginner gardeners interested in the peculiarities of care are concerned with the question of when to prune grapevines in the autumn. Let us immediately note that the care procedure must be performed when there are no leaves left on the grapes, that is, the time of rest begins. This means that sap flow stops, as does photosynthesis.
Not a single experienced gardener can name the exact timing of the grape operation. Everything will depend on the region, climatic conditions and the time of winter. The main thing is to have time to carry out autumn pruning of grapes until the first frost and night temperatures drop to 0 degrees. Otherwise, during operation, the vine will break due to fragility.
How to prune
- first you need to clean the bark;
- remove shoots with the slightest damage, especially those that are diseased and have not had time to ripen;
- remove mustaches, stumps, old shoots (four- and six-year-old) from the sleeves, leaving young shoots and replacement horns;
- There should be at least 16 eyes on each arrow, and 4-7 on the bottom.
You need to work with sharp pruning shears to avoid the formation of splits and bites of the bark. After pruning, all cuts must be treated with garden varnish to avoid infection of the grapes.
Protection from diseases
Caring for grapes in the fall should be comprehensive. In addition to pruning, watering and fertilizing, plants need to be disinfected and spores of fungal diseases and pests destroyed. Otherwise, after winter dormancy, the grapes may experience an outbreak of diseases and an invasion of harmful insects that overwintered under cover.
You should not neglect chemicals when caring for grapes in the fall, since biological treatment alone will not give the desired result.
Preparations for sanitation of grapevines during autumn care:
- Bordeaux mixture to cleanse fungal diseases;
- Bordeaux mixture for soil and hose treatment;
- Dimethoate – destruction of pests when washing grape bushes;
- Fitosporin, Trichodermin, Gamair, Glyokladin;
- for processing grape plantings, in the form of mixtures that work at the biological level in the autumn;
- Oksikhom, Actellik against ticks and itches.
Shelter of grapes
When the leaves have fallen off the plants and all the necessary measures have been taken to care for the grape plantings in the autumn, it is necessary to take care of covering the plants for the winter. Typically, these works occur at the end of September - beginning of October, depending on climatic conditions and the degree of cooling. The design of the shelter should provide protection for the grapes from precipitation.
There is no need to rush to cover the plantings “tightly”. Otherwise, the root system will dry out. Be sure to leave vents for air circulation. At first shelter works to maintain more or less stable temperatures around the root system. The fact is that during this autumn period warming often returns. Therefore, in the fall, a light shelter is first installed over the grapes. But the structure must be mobile in order to reliably insulate the plantings in the event of a sudden cold snap.
What to do with seedlings and first-year plants
Young grapes especially need shelter for the winter: planted in autumn and annual plants. We will try to briefly tell you how to protect them from freezing. Here's the easiest way:
- A ditch is dug around the young grapes to a depth of about 30 cm. The tied shoots are placed in it.
- dig a ditch 30 cm deep across the entire width of the grapes;
- pour earth, humus and earth again on top: the height of each layer is at least 10 cm.
For recommendations from experienced gardeners on autumn work in the vineyard, watch the video:
Conclusion
It is impossible to say that autumn work in the vineyard brings many difficulties. After all, before taking up any crop, people study the features of caring for them. This also applies to grapes.
Of course, at first it will not be possible to avoid some mistakes when caring for grapes in the fall. Even experienced gardeners have failures. If you seriously decide to start growing grapes, you will have to study special materials. We hope that our article will be useful.
