To get a quality and rich harvest of grapes in the coming year, it is necessary to make all necessary agrotechnical measures, including pruning and shelter, in the fall. Pruning will increase the yield and improve the taste of berries, and shelter will protect the vine from freezing.
Preparing grapes for winter
Since grapes are a plant that does not tolerate strong frosts and can perish from them, it is necessary to properly warm it to winter. Preparing the vine for winter is in a number of activities, including:
- loosening of soil and qualitative watering;
- pruning of vines;
- fertilizing with fertilizers;
- warming of plants.
Feeding of grapes in autumn
When you have collected grapes, pruning in autumn and shelter for the winter should be made after other important preparatory activities. At the end of the period of active growth and fruiting, the plant needs to renew the spent energy and energy. There are a number of recommendations, according to which it is desirable to carry out the fertilization of grapes in autumn:
- The first top dressing is done in early September. It is designed to accelerate the ripening of the vine. It uses superphosphate and potassium salt. You can supplement this compound with boric acid, zinc sulphate and manganese sulphate. If the soil in the vineyard is sandy, it will be useful to additionally make potassium iodine.
- The second feeding is performed in a later period of autumn. It is necessary to introduce potassium and phosphorus into the soil.
Necessarily all top dressing should be accompanied by copious watering. This moistening of the vineyard is called vlagozaradkovym, and spend it on trenches. If the soil is left dry for the winter, the frost penetrates into it to a great depth and causes tears and the death of part of the root system. Exception - rainy autumn in combination with loose soil in the planting area. In this case, watering can be reduced.
Processing of grapes in autumn from diseases and pests
To preserve the health of the berry crop, in autumn it is necessary to carry out treatment for various diseases and pests. To do this, first conduct a visual inspection of the vine and leaves for mildew - the most common disease of the grape. If lesions are found, remove diseased leaves and shoots and treat the vineyard with one of the following:
- "Amistar";
- Strobi;
- Kuproksat;
- "Efal";
- "Folp".
Probably, you will need to process the grapes in autumn from defeat by the oidium. In this case, you should apply sulfuric preparations:
- "Mikal";
- Fundazol;
- "Topaz";
- "Vectra";
- Impact.
Similar drugs are used as a prophylaxis and fight against fomopsis and anthracnose. For the prevention of cercosporosis apply "Fundazol" and "Polychrome". With such a pest as a greenberry leafworm, infusions are infused on the basis of tobacco, chamomile, or a ready-made "Rovikurt" preparation. All treatments are important to produce in dry and windless weather and use personal protective equipment.
How to properly cut grapes in the fall?
Pruning helps to form bushes of grapes, not allowing them to grow chaotically, thus making it difficult to harvest and care for the plant. In addition, it increases not only the yield, but even the size of the grapes themselves. For autumn grapes, pruning is mandatory, as it helps to securely cover it for the winter to protect against frost. In spring for the cut grapes care is much easier, and by autumn more berries ripen on it. Here is the final result of how to trim the grapes in the fall - a scheme. In more detail, we will return to it a little later.
Terms of pruning of grapes in autumn
First of all, timely pruning is important. Knowing when to cut grapes in the fall, you will not harm your vineyard and do it right. So, produce pruning in two stages:
- Immediately after harvest. As soon as all the bunches are collected, the branches are cleaned of frail shoots, spinning tops, which hinder the development of the bush, as well as the links that have been harvested.
- Two weeks after falling leaves. This pruning is basic. By this time, part of the carbohydrates has time to go to the roots and other perennial parts of the bush. It is important that the air temperature is not below -3 ° C.
How to cut grapes for the winter?
There are absolutely no problems with how to prepare young grapes for winter: you simply annually remove excess shoots on it and form a bush, leaving 3-8 sleeves growing at an angle from the ground. They will give the harvest. Another thing is the perennial bushes, especially if they have never been pruned before. Such plants require more laborious work, but even in the most neglected cases with proper pruning, you can achieve order and increase yield.
It's time to return to the diagram above. This is how the pruning of the grapes should be done in autumn before sheltering for the winter:
- In the first days of September, it is necessary to remove all the one-year-old shoots on perennial old sleeves, which are below the 1st wire, stretched half a meter from the ground.
- In shoots grown on sleeves above the 2nd wire (30 cm above the bottom), it is necessary to cut off 10% of the length of the shoot and cut off the side stepsons.
- In the middle of October (after the leaf fall), select the two most developed and strong shoots at the height of the first two wires. The lower shoot, grown from the outer area of the sleeve, must be cut off, leaving 3-4 eyes on it. This way you will form the so-called replacement knot.
- Escape, located on the other side and higher, it is necessary to cut off, leaving on it 5-12 eyes. It will be your fruit arrow.
How to hide the grapes for the winter?
A lot of vineyards without proper shelter are destroyed due to winter temperature changes. Especially destructive are severe colds for young crops. Therefore, you must know how to prepare for the winter grapes of the first year. For him, the method of shelter, called hilling, is suitable. This method is not labor-consuming and not costly and can be used as a vine cover in autumn for beginners. You need to fill the bottom of the shoots with a layer of ground in the form of a slide up to 25 cm in height.
However, you will only protect the roots of the grapes, and the plant buds will remain outside and may not withstand severe frost. Therefore, it is additionally recommended to cover the grapes with one of the covering materials. Such a shelter is called complete and is the best option if you are an inhabitant of the middle band. Unlike the half-hood, which involves the protection of only a part of the crown of grapes, complete shelter guarantees the safety of the entire bush.
When to cover the grapes?
It is recommended to begin work on shelter not before the onset of the first frost. When unprotected so far the vine will stand for several days at a temperature of -5 ... -8 ° C, it will pass a kind of hardening and become light brown. Such a hardened vine is considered ripe, it will be very well preserved until the spring. If you cover the grapes earlier, it can break up, and the onset of frost will affect it extremely negatively. The specific period when to cover the grapes for the winter will depend on the region of your residence. On average, the time for shelter comes in the second decade of October.
Than to hide grapes for the winter?
There are many options than you can hide the grapes for the winter:
- spruce lapnics;
- straw;
- reeds;
- agrovolokno;
- film.
Grapes on their own site are not only delicious colorful berries, which are adored by adults and children. This is also a great way to revive the landscape, create an islet of vertical gardening in your garden. Grow this valuable plant is not so difficult, if you follow all the recommendations and observe the technology, the most important point of which is the preparation of the vineyard for the winter.