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seabass78

old vineyard revival

16 years ago

Hi I am new to this sight. New to farming also. Just bought a house in the sierra foothills, that has about three acres of an old vineyard. A fire went through there a few years ago and did alot of damage to the vines and drip. Some were burned back to stumps, however I see that new suckers have grown, without any care or training. Other vines are well esablished, but also abused, due to lack of water from damaged drip. I have a few questions on how to procede. There are no fruit or nut trees, besides the caber. grapes. I would like to replace the grape vines that are dead with fruit and nut trees. Are there compatibility issues with mixing. Any advice on how to handle the grapes would also be appreciated. Thanx

David

Comments (4)

  • 16 years ago

    There are no particular problems in resurrecting the vineyard. First rebuild the drip system. If it is like mine, damaged pipes can be disconnected and new ones put in place, leaving the surviving system untouched. The trick (if it is like mine) is to heat the new pipe end to make it pliable enough that it can be inserted. You may also consider digging a shallow trench and bury the pipes a bit, perhaps in gravel. Then, they will survive fires and UV radiation a lot longer.

    Vines are particularly able to live within the root system of other trees, so I expect no compatibility problems. You must make sure that the new trees do not grow so as to shade nearby vines. In practice, you probably need dwarf varieties of fruits that can be espaliered, or you need to clear blocks encompassing a few rows if you want to plant larger trees. Even a small tree like a fig will eventually encompass 4 rows.

    The trellis needed for an espaliered tree (or a kiwi vine) is substantially larger than the trellis needed for a vine. So, you could consider planting only fruit bushes, something like goji, hazelnut, blackberry or sea buckthorn. Then they will have sizes similar to the vines, and no new infrastructure is needed. Choose varieties well adapted to your climate.

  • 16 years ago

    Before I start in with the fruit and nuts, I need to figure out how to handle the current grape vines. Should I cut all but one of the suckers back per vine? If the suckers snap, should I consider it dead? If it is plyable should I consider it alive? I figure I need to make my move while it is still winter, before new growth. Any advice?

  • 16 years ago

    yes, one main trunk per vine. It should be easy to distinguish dead from alive, as you say. You have time until the sap starts running, but even after that time, the cut vine will bleed for a while (several days) and then recover. The sap starts running in late March in Michigan. The generally accepted practice for pruning is as late as possible, just before the sap runs (late February to early March around here).

  • 16 years ago

    I don't think it would be a good idea to mix in trees, they will shade nearby vines. If you really want some trees in your vineyard, can you plant them along the northern border of the vineyard? That way, they will not shade the vines.

    In my opinion, you should visit the winepress forum, there is a lot more info over there about growing grapes. It is the best site I have found for grape-specific info. With 3 acres to manage, you are going to have a lot to learn...

    Here is a link that might be useful: Winepress grape growing forum