If you have a duripan or hardpan you need to give the roots a chance to get
through it. I rented the biggest ditch witch trencher I could rent and dug
2 - 6" trenches as deep as she'd go (3-4 ft)right next to each other down
each row. The total width was mostly under 18" and we had no difficulty
doing 8 - 150' rows in one day.(no rock but pretty hard pan). Then I had a
neighbor rototill the whole thing and we planted in the trenches. It worked
great and now that the vines are establishe it is amazing how little
irrigation is required even in this desert climate. The roots go deep!
"PFS" > wrote in message
.net...
> I plan to start about 80 new vines next spring. In some books I've
studied,
> (such as Cox's Vines to Wines) it is suggested to have a backhoe dig and
> refill a 3' x 3' ditch in the fall, prior to spring planting. Other books
> have suggested you should do no more than roto-till the ground in the
fall,
> and that wholesale sub-soiling is unnecessary.
>
> Does anyone have thoughts on the issue? How do you prep your own new
> plantings?
>
> Thanks,
> Paul
>
>