Grape growing advice sought

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Rikkitic

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#311775 14-Feb-2024 00:31

Are there any grape growers here? I have some vines (both purple and white) that were planted against the house 20 or so years ago. I don’t know much about grapes. I have had a few good harvests from the white ones but lots of problems with mildew on the purple ones. The main stalks of both are quite large now.

This year the problem is that leaf growth has exploded, grape growth not so much. The vines have turned into a jungle covering the house, but bunches of grapes seem rare, especially compared to the past. I did trim the vines back last year, but probably not as much as I should have. But I don’t really know. I’m just guessing at it.

Is there any way to reduce future leaf growth and improve the grape yield? Any advice welcomed.

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tehgerbil

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#3194902 14-Feb-2024 08:31

Grapes are very prone to botrytis at this time of year: https://www.kiwicare.co.nz/problem/botrytis/

From my knowledge they love frequent watering as they tend to have shallow root structures.

You should also feedthe plant: https://tuigarden.co.nz/how-to-guide/grape-growing-guide/

And lastly pinch off errant growth to stimulate fruit production, you want the fruit to breath and also avoid moist fungi conditions.

Perhaps this year snip fruit growth, fert and water and allow the plant to grow well, then next year prepare for fruit growth by getting on top of fungi and disease early.

DS248

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#3194925 14-Feb-2024 10:08

"This year the problem is that leaf growth has exploded, grape growth not so much."

A very similar situation for one of our purple grape vines. Loads of grapes last few years (~8-10 year old self-sown vine), but very few bunches this year. And prolific leaf growth the last month or two. Were pruned (semi-) properly, or at least no different to how done previously. So far not really any mildew problems though, perhaps even less so than normal

My guess would be perhaps something about the odd weather last year (Auckland Hibiscus Coast N rural - wet all year, with mild winter temperatures).

Have a couple of other ones of similar age, grafted ones bought from a nursery that ironically have never done well so hard to judge from them.

Can't offer much advice on vine care though. None of ours looked after properly due to work and other commitments 🙁.

nova

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#3194930 14-Feb-2024 10:17

Grapes fruit on new wood, prune it back in late autumn (after leaves have fallen off), some good advice here:

https://www.ediblebackyard.co.nz/how-to-prune-a-grape/

Bung

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#3194933 14-Feb-2024 10:23

tehgerbil:
From my knowledge they love frequent watering as they tend to have shallow root structures.

I'd look for a 2nd opinion on that. While most roots are in top 1m some can go 10m down. That's why old river gravel flats like Martinborough are good sites for vineyards.

If these are intended as table grapes have you tried them? We have some that are just for show as they are quite bitter.

tdgeek

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#3195015 14-Feb-2024 11:32

I'd add potassium sulphate pellets and hoe and water in. Potassium is good for fruits and flowers. You could roughly grind them for a faster benefit

neb

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#3195075 14-Feb-2024 14:59

+1 to the person who blamed the weather, if everything's been more or less OK until now but this year things went pear-shaped then you may not need to do anything, the saturation-level amounts of rain through much of what should have been a dryish summer followed by several weeks of baking-hot weather are doing strange things to various fruit and vegetable plants. And in particular those conditions are perfect for mold and fungus infections, I've been battling them in various plants that normally aren't affected much.

That also means that you need to be very careful with pruning at the moment, since there's increased risk of infections getting into the pruned ends of branches.

Rikkitic

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#3195311 14-Feb-2024 20:47

Thanks for the tips everyone. When there are grapes, they are delicious, especially the purple ones. I will prune vigorously this autumn and hope for the best next year.

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panther2

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#3195321 14-Feb-2024 21:32

Our grape vine is loaded this year maybe 3 years old also very little to no fruit flies so might actually get some grapes to eat.