Growing Grapes

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Terryd1963
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Growing Grapes

Postby Terryd1963 » Sat Nov 23, 2013 10:55 am

Hi Guys,

I wonder if you could help me, I am looking to grow some grapevines, but not to harvest the grapes only to use as shade protection over my pergolas, so we can get a bit of respite from the summer months.
My questions are.1. when is the best time to plant them 2. How fast do the grow. Any help appreciated.

TerryD

olive
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Re: Growing Grapes

Postby olive » Sat Nov 23, 2013 11:58 am

Not wishing to sound negative but whilst they look lovely there are a few negatives.
1. It is hard to get 100% cover but the dappled effect is lovely
2. Birds nest in them
3. Wasps thrive on the fruit and any that drop on the ground
4. leaves fall off in the autumn and need endless tidying up
5. They need hard pruning back each winter or late autumn which means getting up there
6. You may find you need to spray them contra pests/disease. The garden centre will advise.

We planted a new one three years back and this year it provided reasonable cover for a section.

Now is a good time. They need to be in for the growing season.

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Enrique
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Re: Growing Grapes

Postby Enrique » Sat Nov 23, 2013 12:24 pm

I'd go along with olive on points raised , but they are manageable without much effort......... :D
For shade we pruned out all the flowers so 3. dosen't apply

As we are on the side of a mountain the air flow is good so no need to spray.
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gerryh
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Re: Growing Grapes

Postby gerryh » Sat Nov 23, 2013 12:37 pm

When is the best time to prune vines?
I usually do mine in Jan/Feb but my Spanish neighbour asked me for some cuttings when I prune them this month.
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Gerry
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Terryd1963
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Re: Growing Grapes

Postby Terryd1963 » Sun Nov 24, 2013 8:33 am

Thanks for the responses, is there a better type of vine that offers a good shade?

Cheers TerryD

masterob
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Re: Growing Grapes

Postby masterob » Sun Dec 01, 2013 3:49 pm

I also agree with what olive wrote.
If you need some shade why not use bamboo or the stuff that is formed from dried sprigs, not sure what it's called, maybe something like Brezo (?) It looks reasonably in keeping with a garden and provides adequate shade in the summer..

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chrissiehope
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Re: Growing Grapes

Postby chrissiehope » Sun Dec 01, 2013 5:46 pm

Yes, it is called Brezo - it's made from heather :D
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masterob
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Re: Growing Grapes

Postby masterob » Sun Dec 01, 2013 5:55 pm

Thanks Chrissie. I was fairly sure of the name but hadn't realized it was made from heather. I use it for lightweight fencing, the stuff I bought is about 5ft high. Don't think I've seen heather growing that tall but then I've never seen it growing in Spain.

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Enrique
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Re: Growing Grapes

Postby Enrique » Sun Dec 01, 2013 6:43 pm

Hi,
Over the years we have tried all of the above mentioned......even that green stuff you see round fences, and plastic sheets....... :oops:
The best so far are Grape vines that we currently have............ :D

Gerry:: The local trend up this way is to prune now but don't cut back , leave the final prune for Jan/Feb after the frosts. This area is 800+ mtr above sea level.
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gerryh
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Re: Growing Grapes

Postby gerryh » Sun Dec 01, 2013 6:56 pm

Enrique wrote:
Gerry:: The local trend up this way is to prune now but don't cut back , leave the final prune for Jan/Feb after the frosts. This area is 800+ mtr above sea level.
Thanks for the reply.
I'm a lot lower than you so don't get many frosts.
So pruning some for cuttings for my neighbour now is OK and giving it a proper prune in Jan/ Feb, as I normally do, is also OK. :thumbup:
Cheers
Gerry
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