Grapes are a kind of "berry of life". Its nutritional, dietary and even medicinal properties have been widely known throughout the world since ancient times. Grapes contain fructose and glucose, as well as many organic acids. Each berry contains 1.5% of valuable trace elements and vitamins. The harmonious combination of sour and sweet taste has forever provided grapes with one of the places at the top of the gastronomic Olympus, and there is no need to talk about wine connoisseurs. Today we will discuss the care of grapes in the Moscow region. Yes, yes, this most valuable product can be obtained practically in the Central zone of our country!
Basic Botanical Information
Part of the Grape family. "Grapes" is called not only the vine, but also its fruits - large, fragrant and sweet berries known to everyone. After planting the seeds of this plant in the soil, they quickly germinate and give quite large shoots, which are theoretically able to bear fruit in the first year. For the first time from sheetsinuses quickly begin to move away and side shoots develop, but by the end of the first or second year, almost 90% of the lower processes die off, forming the usual form of a vine. The vine blooms not too noticeable, the flowers are small and collected in "clusters" of inflorescences. The color of the fruit is highly dependent on both the variety and the conditions of a particular area.
General Growing Features
What should be the care of grapes in the suburbs? Firstly, one should definitely remember about the light-loving nature of the vine, about its tendency to freeze out on a site open to all winds. Simply put, grapes need a fairly warm, well-lit place, closed from the wind. Oddly enough, but it is these simple conditions that provide excellent results for growing this plant throughout the Moscow region. Remember that dark berry varieties require more heat than their lighter counterparts.
And therefore, in our area, it is light varieties that are most often cultivated, since they are easier to care for. For grapes in the summer in the Moscow region, you need to constantly look after, sheltering from possible early frosts, so black varieties rarely take root here.
About soil conditions and location of vines
In general, despite the myths cultivated by some, the vine is quite tolerant of many types of soil, but a couple of conditions must be met: firstly, the soil layer must be deep enough, drainage is required. The pH value is within 6.5-7.0. Also, do not plantgrapes on purely calcareous soils, as it is often affected by diseases. It is much more important and more difficult to choose the right place in terms of light and protection from the wind.
Ideally, you need a slope facing south or southwest: this way, caring for grapes in the summer in the Moscow region will be easier, since you only need to occasionally water the vine. In our conditions, the wall of the house, directed in the same direction, is suitable. Never plant a vine in small and closed yards, where snow accumulates for a long time and the soil does not warm up for a long time.
How to prepare a landing site?
We've already talked about drainage. At the slightest chance that the soil in the selected area may become too wet, it is mandatory. Grapes do not tolerate such conditions in principle. Approximately three weeks before planting the vines in open ground, it is necessary to dig up the ridges for two bayonets of a shovel. If the soil is acidic, add lime at the rate of 200 grams per square meter. It is very important to fertilize poor soil: about a couple of garden wheelbarrows of humus for the same area. Isabella grapes are especially sensitive to this. In the Moscow region, planting and care for this variety must necessarily include good fertilizer, since without this work nothing will work for you.
Please note that grapes must have vertical supports. When growing vines against the wall of the house, the ropes or wire should be placed at a distance of approximately 30-35 cm from each other. If it is possible to cultivate grapes onopen area, poles two meters long are taken, dug into the ground to a depth of 60 cm. The interval between them should be about two meters (up to three inclusive). Extreme supports are best placed on metal stepchildren or fill. Of course, if funds are available, it is better to immediately make the props "stationary", since in our conditions the pillars will not stand in the soil for a long time. You pull one rope at a height of 40 cm, above it, every 30 cm, transverse “crossbars” are stretched. Place a stake at each future hole: it will be easier to determine the place of digging and fertilizing.
About the right fit
In the southern regions, this crop is planted from October to March. Of course, in our conditions this is somewhat unacceptable … Therefore, we will plant grapes in early spring, before bud break. In any case, the earth at the landing depth should warm up to a temperature of 10-11 ° C. Note that it is desirable to withstand the vine all winter in a cold greenhouse, isolated from frost by a layer of snow. So it adapts better when landing in open ground. This condition is extremely important if you plan to grow Isabella grapes. In the Moscow region, planting and caring for this variety is quite difficult, and therefore it is worth taking care of obtaining stable and strong plants.
When planting near a wall, step back from it at a distance of 40 cm, and plant the grapes themselves every 1.3 m. In an open place, the distance between the vine should be at least one and a half meters. If there are rows between them, they also maintain a gap of one and a half to two meters. Be sure to check thatin grafted bushes, the grafting site was necessarily above the soil level. Don't forget to tie the grapes to the support. After planting, the vine is well watered and mulched with rotted humus.
Feeding and watering
The calendar of grape care in the Moscow region begins in early spring. At this time, the introduction of complex mineral fertilizers is mandatory. In the same period, mulch the soil with rotted foliage. The thickness of the mulch layer should be at least three centimeters. You should know that grapes are extremely sensitive to a small amount of magnesium in the soil. With its lack, the vine can not only not produce a crop at all, but also die, since in this case the plant is very quickly affected by various pests and diseases. To prevent this, take 250 grams of magnesium sulfate, dissolve in a bucket of water and spray the vine. Repeat in two weeks.
Remember that caring for grapes in the spring in the Moscow region involves weekly top dressing with liquid mineral fertilizers, performed before the berries ripen. If you grow a vine near the wall of your house, be sure to water it regularly. However, you should not get carried away and swamp the soil, as in this case the roots of the plant quickly begin to rot and it dies.
How and when to harvest?
Remember that even when the berries are fully colored, they are not yet fully ripe. Fruits need to accumulate a certain amount of sugars, as a result of which they acquire a familiarall delicate taste and aroma. For early varieties, this period is about five weeks, but late varieties can ripen up to two months. Keep in mind that harvesting grapes with bare hands destroys the protective waxy film, which leads to rapid spoilage of the product. Therefore, be sure to work with gloves, try to hold the bunches by the “stump”, and cut them off with a pruner.
Berries collected in this way can be stored for a very long time, ripening along the way. The latter is extremely important in the conditions of the Moscow Region and the entire Middle Strip, since grapes do not ripen everywhere. Planting and care (in the Moscow region) is very important to do correctly, but if you can make a mistake when cultivating, then poor pruning will put an end to the vine!
Cutting rules
Pruning is an extremely important moment in the care of grapes. Remember that the shoots left on the vine must meet several important requirements at once:
- They should not have any mechanical damage, signs of damage by diseases and pests. In addition, it is recommended to leave only shoots of normal length, with a uniform green color.
- It is desirable to leave new shoots if their diameter is 6-12 mm. Of course, in a young vine they can be thinner. If the stem is too thin, then it simply did not have time to accumulate the required amount of nutrients, and therefore is weak and can die at any moment. In the case of excessively thick shoots, there is also nothing good: they do not bend well,have too short internodes and age earlier.
- Very important! When pruning and other activities (especially when harvesting), we strongly recommend that you protect the stems from damage, cuts and chips with all your might, since such defects on the vine do not overgrow and are not covered with resin.
If the yield and taste of the resulting berries are really important to you, we advise you to leave no more than 10-12 eyes per square meter of the space occupied by one vine. Try not to confuse the bushes and cut the vine completely. In the case when one of the vines, for some reason, overwintered poorly and weakened, it is still necessary to reduce the number of shoots left on it, but on neighboring bushes their number can be increased. What else can care for grapes in the suburbs involve?
Pruning after freezing (unsuccessful wintering)
Damage to grapes by winter frosts is not uncommon in our area. Before eliminating the consequences of the elements, it is necessary to at least visually assess the extent of the damage.
If freezing of the eyes occurred, how to care for the grapes? In the Moscow region, pruning is the only way to save the situation. At the same time, they try to leave more eyes on young shoots. Of course, you should not get carried away especially, because otherwise, multiple sprouts will simply pull out all the juices from the damaged bush. In the case when the entire upper part of the vine has suffered due to frost, it is cut off, trying to form more shoots from the remaining stump. If enough is formedtop shoots, there will be no particular difficulties with this.
By the way, is there any grapes that are most resistant to freezing for the Moscow region? Varieties for which non-covering care is possible: "Alpha", "Foxberry", "Kay Gray".
How to prune grapes?
Remember one important thing: a successful pruning can only be done if you use a new and sharpest secateurs, giving an even and clean cut. The older the shoot, the straighter the cutting angle should be. This will minimize the area of damage received by the plant, which will favorably affect its survival in the winter. If we talk about young shoots, then it is customary to cut them strictly above the eye, stepping back three centimeters from it. This is how you get excellent grapes: planting and caring in the Moscow region, pruning and fertilizing are quite hard work, but they are worth it!
Main plant diseases and pests
Be aware that grape diseases are difficult to diagnose, as different pathologies can show similar symptoms. So in order to accurately determine the misfortune, you need to carefully observe the pathological process and notice the most characteristic signs. All diseases of the vine are usually divided into two varieties:
- Chronic variety.
- Seasonal type.
The causative agents of the "chronicle" include: esca, excoriosis, eutypiosis, as well as diseases of a bacterial and viral nature. All of them are extremely dangerous in that they are practically not amenable toexposure to standard pesticides and can remain completely unnoticed for a long time, being in a latent state. Most often, infections are spread during care, with the help of tools. Insects should not be discounted, and in some cases the disease can quickly cover the entire vineyard, falling along with plant pollen on the grapes. Planting and care in the suburbs (the photo is in the article), all this hard work can go to waste if at least one pest takes root on the vine!
Seasonal diseases include mildew, oidium, gray rot, anthracnose. Rubella and white rot are also included in this category. Such pathologies are called seasonal because they appear at the very beginning of the growing season. Their appearance is predetermined by improper agricultural practices and the negligence of the grower, when the latter does not carry out high-quality autumn harvesting of the vineyard, leaving a lot of garbage. The causative agents of diseases of the vine, as well as the larvae of pests, winter well in it. Thus, caring for grapes in the fall in the Moscow region provides for mandatory cleaning of the territory, followed by burning garbage.
Downy mildew
Mildew (downy mildew). It is dangerous because it develops throughout the growing season, and it affects almost all green parts of the plant. Infection occurs very quickly in damp and rainy weather, at an ambient temperature of no higher than 13 degrees Celsius. A sign of the onset of the disease is the appearance on leaf bladesoily spots of various shapes. Gradually, they are covered with a well-marked mycelium, resembling white threads. Lydia grapes are especially sensitive to this pathogen: in the Moscow region, planting and caring for this variety is relatively simple, but you should never forget about this circumstance!
As soon as such a raid appears, we can assume that the entire bush is affected. At the site of the lesion, the leaf tissue quickly crumbles, drying out, and with a strong lesion, the entire leaf blade simply disappears. The same fate befalls young shoots, berries and buds. Older sprouts are far behind in growth. Practice shows that at the first outbreak of downy mildew, up to 80% of the entire crop is lost, many bushes die. In wet and humid weather, the development of the disease occurs almost instantly, killing almost all grapes. Growing and caring for him in the Moscow region is complicated by the unstable climate!
Information about the pathogen
The disease is fungal in nature. Peculiar "capsules" containing many spores of the pathogen are formed in late autumn, being attached to the lower leaf blade. They are perfectly preserved not only in the upper layer of the soil, but also on its surface. In the spring, these formations germinate and give rise to a mycelium that falls on young leaves during heavy rains, which "throw" the vine with soil particles. Note that the spores at the first stage are completely unaffected by the action of antifungal drugs, as they are covered with a thick and very dense shell. Generally, the incubation period is notexceeds a couple of weeks, after which the same spots appear on the leaves.
Note that cases of infection are recorded only during wet, rainy weather. Since fogs often occur in some areas of the Moscow region, downy mildew produces real devastation, “knocking out” entire plantings of grapes. To prevent such a sad outcome, it is necessary to create the best conditions for airing the bushes, without narrowing the gaps between rows and individual vines. We remind you once again that Isabella grapes are especially sensitive to this. In the Moscow region, caring for it involves double treatment of the plant with a Bordeaux mixture or its substitutes. You need to do this at least two times. If it is not possible to purchase or make your own Bordeaux liquid, you can use its substitutes, the range of which is extremely wide in modern gardening stores.
Powdery mildew
Also called "Oidium". As in the previous case, it can hit all the green parts of the vine in the shortest possible time. Primary infection occurs long before flowering, as the pathogen "sits" in last year's shoots. It is very simple to determine their harmful nature: infected sprouts quickly become covered with a whitish, powdery coating. As for the leaves, the mycelium, as a rule, develops on the upper part of the leaf blade. If the degree of damage is very strong, the entire leaf is involved in the process, which falls off very quickly. Almost all affected shoots do not have time to accumulate the required amount of nutrients, and therefore in winterthey freeze.
Affected berries are literally torn apart from the inside so that the seeds become easily distinguishable. A characteristic sign of this disease is the disgusting smell of rotten fish, which is clearly noticeable near the affected bushes. The disease not only leads to a significant percentage of freezing of vineyards, but also to a very low commercial quality of berries, which become small and sour. Unlike the previous disease, oidium develops best without precipitation, but this pathogen also likes the high humidity of the surrounding air. The incubation time is only five to seven days, and during this period more than 80% of the entire crop is irretrievably lost.
How to counteract infection?
As in the previous case, try to create conditions that are most conducive to the ventilation of row spacings and spaces between bushes. In order to reliably destroy the pathogen, all foci detected on plants are treated twice (with an interval of about a week) with Bordeaux mixture. Two more treatments - before flowering and immediately after it. During the growing season, it is necessary to carefully monitor the grape bushes. If the symptoms of infection reappear, the vine is sprayed again. It can be recommended to use specialized compounds that are available in gardening stores.
If you follow our advice, which you could read about in this article, then the vine will always delight you and your guests, bringing a bountiful harvest of juicy, fragrant andsweet berries! This is how grapes are cared for in the Moscow region.
