> From: " >
> Organization: http://groups.google.com
> Newsgroups: rec.crafts.winemaking
> Date: 7 Feb 2005 19:01:34 -0800
> Subject: google group for grape growing
>
> did you amend the granite before planting? the local nurseries told me
> that DG is essentially sterile even alkaline and wouldn't support the
> vines. they also said to chicken wire each vine. did you hardware cloth
> each vine?
>
> i will build the owl house. they are interesting birds. thanks for the
> information.
>
The area I planted in is at the top of the slope with about 30" of a
gravelly topsoil before it hits the rocks and clay. According to the Jeff
Cox book, you should have 36"-70" of topsoil before you hit any hardpan or
solid rock since the grape roots don't go down much past that.

Wine grapes in general like "difficult" soil and seem to do best with
infertile, slightly alkaline soil with lots of rocks for drainage. The goal
here is not to grow lush, happy vines but to grow stressed vines which will
cause smaller berry size and concentrated flavors. Your local nursery might
have been refering to table grapes which need different conditions since you
want large berries in that case.

I recently had the luxury of traveling to Southern France and some of the
vineyards appeared to be planted in gravel with a little soil. I think your
site sounds perfect for wine grapes as long as there is some moisture
retentive material among the rocks. I would not add amendments unless you
talk to a local vineyard owner and he/she says it is necessary. Local
nurseries will not have enough expertise in this specific area.

According to the Jeff Cox book, you should prepare you planting area by
digging a trench 3 feet deep by three feet wide just to loosen the soil. No
amendments needed. Let the area sit over winter and plant in the spring.
This is the ideal case but not feasible in some situations. I just dug
holes about 2.5ft. deep and about 2 feet wide. The vines came about a week
later and I was ready to go. I am just experimenting at this stage so don't
follow my example. I would recommend you purchase some of the good books
out there for more expert advice.

Yes, I put hardware cloth around each vine with about an 18 inch
circumferance. I can guarantee you the chicken wire WILL NOT WORK! My
nursery recommended the same thing to me and my garden lasted two seasons
and then the gophers came and started working an area outside the fence. It
took them about two weeks before they were able to push through the wire and
then it was all over. No more garden. It is a lot of work to put wire down
two feet deep and then have it last only two years. Hardware cloth is the
answer. Talk to LUM on this one. He has a vineyard and can tell you what
he has found to be a cost effective gopher deterrant. I only have 6 vines
at present so this was an easy solution.

I can't stress enough how important it is for you to contact a local
winegrape grower. I went to Temeculah, did some winetasting, and asked lots
of questions to the owners. Since you are about to plant a significant
number of vines, a proper start now will save you many headaches in the
future. The link that LUM provided will put you in touch with the local
experts and, perhaps, you could pay one of them to come to your site and
give you advice?

One last word on gophers, they dig everywhere but they don't kill
everything. Some of my perennials survived like iris and statice. It may
be the case that gophers will dig around grapevines but not eat the roots of
the grapes. Gophers typically stay in the top 8" of soil eating tender
roots. Your grapes will root very deeply and have tough roots that may not
be to the liking of gophers. Gophers will also aerate the soil and increase
water penetration which will benefit the grapes. So I don't know how much
we really need to worry about them. Only time will tell! Happy growing.