Proper planting of grape seedlings in autumn

You do not need to be a professional agronomist to determine the importance of the vine in private gardening. Such a plant has been cultivated for hundreds of years, but every year new unique varieties and hybrid varieties appear in the world. And when choosing the timing of placing seedlings in the ground, you should give preference to the autumn season. After all, planting grapes in the fall has numerous advantages.

general information

Growing vines in a private area is a very popular area in modern gardening. And today people manage to enjoy not only the abundant green mass of the bush, but also delicious berries placed on heavy and large clusters. The abundance of varieties that bear fruit well in the central regions of the Russian Federation and Ukraine allows us to find a suitable option for any climatic conditions. In addition, intensive breeding work is ongoing to this day in order to expand varietal selection. For this reason, the number of winegrowers is growing steadily.

And if you talk with more experienced agronomists who have been caring for culture for decades, you will notice that they give preference planting grapes autumn seedlings. Naturally, an inexperienced beginner will be interested in why this particular season is a priority and what are the advantages of autumn landing.

Benefits of Autumn Planting

Many gardeners may think that autumn planting of grapes with seedlings - a dubious action that is doomed to failure. After all, it’s hard for a beginner to believe that planting material can take root, gain vitality and withstand prolonged winter cold. There is no doubt that there are still risks of freezing the vines, but any possible disadvantages are justified by numerous advantages. They include the following items:

1. Despite the risk of frost, with special equipment, you can successfully plant a vine at the beginning of the fall season, without thinking about maintaining the bush until the heat returns. Moreover, not every agronomist can provide seedlings with suitable storage conditions until spring.
2. The cost of planting material in autumn is much lower than in spring, so this method of planting is beneficial from an economic point of view.
3. If you follow the instructions and follow the basic rules of planting, autumn grapes will successfully survive the winter, and will also develop strong immunity that can withstand numerous diseases and virus attacks. First of all, such a plant will not be afraid of frequent temperature periods during the growing season.
4. Waking up from hibernation, seedlings will receive much more minerals and vitamins, which will positively affect the growth rate and intensity of the vegetative mass gain. But when warm time returns, there is no need to rush to bare stems with shoots, because in early spring return frosts often occur, and sometimes they are so strong that they can destroy the culture.

Basic features

If the gardener bought the planting material late in September, do not despair, thinking that the option of planting grapes in autumn in Ukraine or the Moscow region is already out of the question.In fact, not everything is lost, and the success of rooting the future vine now depends on the correctness of actions and compliance with the rules.

Before choosing a planting technique, it is important to take into account the climatic features of the area and current weather conditions. Residents of the northern regions must have time to complete planting work long before the onset of cold weather, which occurs in such latitudes 2-3 weeks earlier than in the south. In the southern regions, the event can be held even in early December, as this is facilitated by a comfortable climate and the absence of frequent frosts.

Gardeners from the Moscow region, Vologda or Yaroslavl regions should not be planted later than the end of September, because this can lead to freezing of seedlings before they form a strong rhizome.

Seat selection

Every caring agronomist knows how to plant grapes in autumn with seedlings and what rules to follow. And one of the most important stages of such an event is the choice of a place for the garden. We must not forget that the homeland of the vine is the southern regions, in which there is constant heat and plenty of sunlight, so the selected site must meet such criteria.

It is possible to plant culture at a high fence or wall structure, but on condition that it is the south side. This rule allows the plant to get the right amount of heat even at night, because the nearby wall or fence can warm up during the day, and then give off heat at night.

As for the soil at the planting site, it must be nutritious and enriched with various minerals. And although the vine cannot be called too capricious, when grown on nutritious soil, it shows higher yields. This point needs to be taken care of even at the stage of arranging the landing pit.

The bottom layer of the landing pit should consist of good drainage. The following materials are used in its quality:

1. Brick.
2. Clay shards.
3. Expanded clay.

When choosing a promising site three rules should be followed:

1. Good lighting conditions.
2. The presence of high ground.
3. High nutritional value.

Rules of Procedure

After successfully selecting a site for the future vine, you can proceed to the next, main stage - planting seedlings. As already mentioned, the landing pit is prepared in advance, and its dimensions are 80 x 80 x 80 cm. When digging a depression in the soil, it is necessary to separate the upper soil layer from the lower one, and then separate them on different sides of the pit or in containers.

Such manipulations are necessary to prepare a good drainage layer of broken brick, expanded clay or clay shards. Further in the center of the pit is fixed stake, which is intended to tie the vine.

The topsoil will be used in the preparation of the nutrient substrate. It is mixed with such nutrients: rotted manure, potassium salt, superphosphate, ash. The optimal proportions are as follows:

1. Manure and humus - 3 buckets.
2. Potassium salt - 100-150 grams.
3. Superphosphate - 200-250 g
4. Wood ash - 2.5 kg.

After mixing the components they need to fill 1/3 of the pit.Ultimately, the soil is additionally watered so that the soil sags.

The following actions are aimed at arranging a hill in the center of the pit, which will be needed for convenient bedding of the root system. The peg is fixed in the ground so that the root neck is at the level of the soil. After that, using the remains of the soil, you need to fill the hole around the vine and densely compact it to prevent the formation of voids. Then it remains to re-water the seedlings using settled water of a comfortable temperature.

It should be noted that the optimal distance between seedlings is at least two meters. This distance is maintained in order to maintain normal lighting, to obtain nutrients and moisture. Caring for such grapes is much easier than for overgrown shoots. Any work vine care and processing will be effective.

Shelter for the winter

After a successful grape planting in the fall, beginners may have a logical question: is it necessary cover the vine for the winter. In fact, such a procedure is considered mandatory for mid-latitudes, because the young landing specimen has not yet had time to take root and develop immunity resistant to frost. Luckily, ways to shelter a plant a lot - it remains to choose one of them and get to work.

First of all, you should use the method of mulching. Application under the root of the mulch is a good protection of the young seedling from intense cold. Various materials can be used as this layer, including peat, sawdust, hay or dry grass.

Some agronomists have learned to equip a shelter from a plastic bottle, which is fixed on an additional peg. The bottle must be cut off and then put on the stick with the neck. A seedling is placed in the cavity of the container, and its edges abut against the soil. On top of the entire structure is additionally sprinkled with a layer.

Thus, a small hillock is formed, which will perform the function of the natural protection of the culture from freezing. As an additional shelter, you can use spruce branches, which can prevent the death of a plant in severe frosts.

There are other methods of sheltering - with the help of roofing material, polyethylene and other waterproof materials, acting as a tent, where the vine will winter. Above the shelter, a spruce, straw or burlap is also set.

During the first two years of life, the vine needs abundant shelter, as its root system is not yet sufficiently developed, and the immunity is too weak. As the culture grows, only mulch is used as a warming layer.

Heat Recovery Actions

But at a good shelter of grapes for the winter, work does not end. It is important for the gardener to be in time remove the insulation layer in time in springOtherwise, the plant will simply dry out and suffer seriously. In order not to miss the moment of removing a kind of "blanket", it is necessary to monitor temperature changes, avoiding unexpected surprises that can ruin the culture.

Naturally, there is no unambiguous timeline for such a procedure, since it all depends on the regional and climatic features of the area where the vine is cultivated. But experienced agronomists recommend adhering to a general rule that is relevant for all regions: if during the daytime snow melts actively, and night frosts are no more than minus 5 degrees Celsius - you can think about the next opening of the culture. However, the probability of return frosts, which threatens to freeze the plant, cannot be ruled out.

When removing the shelter, you need to follow the sequence, starting with the upper layer, passing after a few days to the middle and lower.And only when the first green shoots appear through the soil, the culture can be fully opened.

No need to do such an action on a bright sunny day. Being exposed to intense light, grapes can become seriously ill, which will negatively affect its yield. It is better to postpone the event in the evening, so that the culture adapts to new growth conditions.

If the arrival of the spring season does not please with special warmth, but instead the weather often brings “surprises” in the form of severe frosts, wind and precipitation, you still need to get rid of the winter shelter. But it will have to be replaced with a lighter alternative, for example, dense lutrasil.

And although autumn planting has numerous advantages, many beginner growers are still wondering when to plant grapes: in autumn or spring. In fact, the first option will be successful only if the gardener takes into account all the rules and instructions. Under such conditions, the culture will be able to give the first crop in a year. It remains to choose a good variety and follow the recommendations of specialists.