Many modern summer residents manage to grow delicious berries even in the harshest conditions. However, it is necessary to provide a reliable shelter for the grapes for the winter in the Urals and other similar regions. Young vines have a weak root system, which means they are prone to freezing, drying out, or, conversely, damping out if stored improperly during the cold season.
Features of Ural viticulture
An excellent way to shelter the vines for the winter is considered a dry method, it allows you to completely protect the plant from the adverse effects of climate. Agrotechnics of grapes in the Urals involves the use of both special protective structures and ordinary snow cover to prevent the vine from freezing. Light frosts are easily tolerated by local varieties and even make plants more hardy. But in the second half of October, it is necessary to provide shelter for the grapes for the winter. This procedure is usually carried out when the night temperature drops below-5oS.
The essence of the dry method is that immediately after the autumn pruning of grapes, all existing vines are bent to the soil and pinned with wire or special garden arches. It is necessary to ensure that the shoots do not touch the ground, but are 10 cm from it. Sheltering grapes for the winter in the Urals involves the use of special materials. The main condition: under such a structure it must be dry, otherwise the roots and vine will dry out and rot.
Prepared shoots are covered from above with ordinary plastic wrap: it will prevent moisture from getting on the plant. The uppermost layer of the "fur coat" is fixed with ordinary stones, boards or an earthen rampart. At the same time, it is necessary that vents go to the vine, supplying fresh air inside the structure.
If groundwater approaches the site close to the surface, or there are floods in the spring, you need to take care of drainage outlets. A good shelter for grapes for the winter in the Urals also depends on the amount of snow that was collected on the protective structure. Interestingly, the vents should also be under a layer of fluffy "quilt".
As soon as night frosts stop happening in spring and the temperature is guaranteed to be higher than -5oC, all protective structures are removed. It is best to do this on an overcast day so that bright sunlight does not damage the young shoots that make their way from under the autumn mulch. Shelter of grapes for the winter in the Urals will no longer be needed until the new season, but it's time for another important process- cuttings of vines. It is necessary to remove all withered, old leaves, remove all damaged areas and cut off dry shoots.
To improve air circulation near the roots of the grapes, you can loosen the soil with a chopper. However, you need to be careful, it is very important not to damage the plants that have weakened from wintering. Before tying the vine to the trellis, you need to wait for the appearance of new buds and young shoots up to 5 cm long. Then you can fix the vine and remove all excess shoots. When the first inflorescences 15-20 cm in size appear, it will be possible to pinch the shoots. And the last rule: there can be no high yields without high-quality autumn pruning!
