How to grow grapes in the Urals?

Grapes are one of the oldest cultures known to humanity.Since time immemorial, these sweet and healthy berries have been grown in the southern countries, since this plant was considered to be thermophilic. Nevertheless, in recent decades, the situation has changed dramatically.

Domestic and foreign breeders did a great job and eventually cultivated varieties resistant to the unfriendly climate of northern latitudes. This led to the fact that today it has become not only possible to grow grapes in the Urals, but it is also quite realistic to collect solid harvests every year.

The history of viticulture in the Urals began about fifty years ago. Of course, the first attempts were made earlier, however, the cultivation of grapes here became widespread not so long ago - at the beginning of the last decade. As practice shows, varieties with an early ripening season and good winter hardiness are best adopted. However, even now, with the availability of such varieties, not every gardener knows how to properly grow this southern plant.

This situation is primarily due to the fact that grapes require special care and certain conditions. Before planting it on your site, it is necessary to carry out preliminary work and carefully calculate each step. Fortunately, with the right approach to harvest the grapes will not be as difficult as it may seem at first glance.

Among gardeners, grapes are always considered agricultural crops, which are very demanding for heat. For this reason, growing the plant at a temperature typical of the Urals or Siberia was not very promising. As you know, the Urals is located in two climatic regions: the temperate and subarctic. Therefore, there are very specific climatic conditions that need to be considered in more detail.

During the winter, temperatures in this area range from -15 ° C in the Southern Urals to -25 ° C in some parts of the Subpolar region. Summer in the Urals is less predictable, sometimes it is hot and dry, and at other times it will be cold and with a lot of precipitation. This circumstance dictates its own conditions for farming and, accordingly, for growing grapes.

There is a fairly large number of varieties that are successfully grown not only in the Southern Urals, but also in Siberia. If this is the first experience in growing this plant in the Ural climate, then the best solution would be to plant several bushes of different varieties at once. This is due to the fact that it is much more profitable to have plants that have a different taste, ripening time and other characteristics.

Purchase of seedlings today is not particularly difficult - they can be purchased at specialized fairs, in nurseries or simply with friends and acquaintances involved in viticulture.

Before buying one or several varieties for planting, you need to decide what kind of berry is needed: table or technical. The first option is suitable for eating, the second is optimal for making wine. It should also be remembered that zoned varieties intended for cultivation in a particular area, take root with a much greater probability.

When buying, you also need to pay attention to the condition of the sapling: the best will be those who have several shoots in their presence. The main requirements for growing grapes in the Urals - the ability to withstand temperatures up to -40 degrees and the ripening time is not more than 130 days, and therefore the best varieties will be:

• "In memory of Dombkovskaya" - a fruitful variety, even in the conditions of a rainy and overcast summer, ripens in approximately 90 days;

• Olga - consistently early variety, the maturation period of which usually does not exceed 110 days;

• "Aleshenkin" - fruits well, even when the summer is cold, the crop is harvested after about 115 days after planting;

• "Samokhvalovich" - A good variety for novice growers, ripening for 110 days;

• "White Muscat Shatilova" - Another type of grape, which belongs to the medium early, begins to ripen after 130 days;
• "In memory of Shatilova" - early grapes, for which bad weather is not a hindrance, the berries will be ripe already after 100 days;

• Zilga - sweet and sour berries of purple color, ripen four months after planting.
• "Negro" - deservedly considered medium early variety, the time of maturation reaches 125 days;

Regardless of the variety, the grapes growing in the Urals will be quite picky, he needs a proper fit and proper care. However, with proper labor, time and good care, the result will surpass all expectations.

How much a grape bush will be fruitful depends to a large extent on the place where it is planted. It must be chosen so that it is in open space, while dry and sunny. The soil should be quite loose and nutritious. If the grapes are planted near the road, it must be protected from dust and representatives of the local fauna.

Still need to consider the distance to groundwater - they should not flow too close to the soil. Practice shows that it will be most appropriate to plant bushes on the south or southwest side of the site.

Landing pits begin to prepare no later than two months before disembarking, that is, in March or April. To do this, dig a hole of not less than 1 m2 in size, after which it is watered so that the soil has settled down and compacted, and sand, drainage, humus and, if necessary, fertile soil with the addition of fertilizers are placed on the bottom. After two months, a sapling can be planted in such a pit, the soil is compacted and watered abundantly.

Between grapes planted in a row, you need to make a distance of at least two and a half meters, so that they do not intertwine during growth, just as you need to follow the interrow distance, the optimum value will be about two meters. The grapes should grow no closer than a meter from the fence in order for the plant roots to develop well.

The stalk is planted in a pit at an angle of forty-five degrees with an obligatory slope to the south. The pit is watered as it dries, since grapes are a crop that does not tolerate excess moisture. Each vine should have one male branch, which can be distinguished by longer internodes.

Grapes is a climbing plant that necessarily needs support. Experienced winegrowers make supports with a height of at least one and a half meters with the lower horizon at a distance of fifteen centimeters from the ground level, and subsequent ones approximately every thirty centimeters. A good solution would be to install a double support - so the bushes will be between the rows of supports. Such a measure will also facilitate the creation of shelter, which will be needed in any case, even if the grapes do not grow in open ground, but in a greenhouse.

After planting a sapling, it should be watered no more than once a week, and then, depending on the appearance of the shrub, it is watered every few weeks. Watering is usually done in the evening, warm water is poured under the root of the plant. It must be remembered that even though an adult bush of grapes and endures dry weather is somewhat easier compared to young ones, watering should still be regular, since the plant may simply not have the strength to fruiting. To grow good grapes, one should not allow stagnation of moisture - the roots will rot from this, and various diseases can affect them.

One of the most popular methods of soil care in the Urals is black steam. In this way, the soil can be kept loose and weeds can be easily removed. The need for such care depends on the state of the land and the frequency of irrigation, that is, if the soil is compacted quickly, loosening should be done more often. Also, care for the soil can include mulching, due to which erosion processes are nullified, and moisture is effectively retained. It is best to mulch suitable mowed grass, compost and sawdust, which are laid out between rows of grapes.

To carry out the feeding of grapes, fertilizers such as nitrate, potassium and phosphate preparations, as well as natural organic materials are best suited. For the first time, fertilizers are applied in spring, namely at the beginning of May, and then at the end of the month. Manure will be an excellent fertilizer, as it contains a large number of active trace elements, due to which not only the plant roots are strengthened, but also the soil is loosened.

Grape leaves perfectly absorb beneficial chemical compounds. In order not to appear extra ovaries, and the flowers do not crumble, the leaves are treated with a special solution, before the plant begins to bloom. This procedure is carried out two more times: during flowering and when the berries ripen. Due to such feeding, the crop improves, and the plant gains strength before the cold season.

In the summer care of grapes includes pasynkovanie and pinching. Thanks to this treatment, the food of the vine, its ventilation and the degree of light are regulated. To enhance the growth of shoots tops pinch. The procedure for removing the tops is made during the flowering of the grapes.

Growing grapes also includes pruning to improve yields, create a bush shape and adjust its size. The first pruning is done shortly after the end of wintering, in the spring, in the process of opening the grapes. In order to avoid wounds at the time of pruning, before opening the grapes and removing the shelter, it is recommended to perform the cordon formation according to the Belikova method. Pruning is carried out in the fall, with the exception of the first year of plant life. During autumn pruning, the weakest shoots are removed and only strong branches are left.

Due to the harsh climatic conditions in the Urals, for the successful cultivation of grapes it is necessary to shelter during the cold weather. Plants are covered with plastic wrap or other non-woven material. If the weather is warm and sunny, then the shelter can be removed for a while, so that the place where the vine is planted is dry and its roots are not rotted.

It is also necessary to cover the remains of the vine, which are often used by growers as bedding. This is necessary so that it does not absorb excess water during snow melting. It will be enough to cover it with roofing material or polyethylene - these materials are able to provide reliable protection from wetting.

In the spring, the grapes must breathe, and therefore the coating is removed so that fresh air can flow to the plant. However, with the beginning of the active movement of the juice, the grapes must be covered for the night, because the kidneys, in which a lot of juice, are most exposed to low temperatures. Thus, the shelter must be removed before the start of sap flow and after the spring frosts are completed.

After the snow melts, the grapes can be opened for airing, after which it closes again.Even if the plant is frozen, it can still recover, as the roots are preserved. This means that the next growing season will give new shoots.

Like other crops, grapes are susceptible to various diseases and pests. Diseases of the vine are conditionally divided into seasonal and chronic. In order to prevent the defeat of the bush, it is necessary to carry out preventive treatments in time, otherwise it will be very difficult to achieve a high yield. If you start a disease or do not destroy the pest on time, the bush, which until then had been consistently bringing in the harvest, may simply die.

Preventive measures are usually carried out in five stages.

• Immediately after the spring pruning of the vine, primary treatment begins with the use of iron sulphate.
• The next time the shrub is processed by the special tool “Actellic” during sap flow and active swelling of the kidneys.
• The third preventive treatment of the plant is carried out at the turn of April and May, most often with Horus.
• Then you need to wait until the plant blooms and use Topaz, Ridomil Gold and Aktellik.
• The final, fifth preventive treatment of the grape bushes is performed while the berries are in the pea stage. It uses the same means as last time.

One of the specific characteristics of grapes is that plants in most cases form significantly more buds and brushes than they can support. If all the buds and hands begin to ripen, then the bush itself will quickly wither, and the berries will be small and tasteless. And in the conditions of the cold and short summer of the Ural, the berries simply do not have time to ripen.

Experienced winegrowers advised to remove part of the brush from the bush, most often it will be enough to leave three or four ovaries. The technique is simple - among two brushes growing nearby, they leave the one that is larger and stronger.

In the summer, the bushes are subjected to intensive treatment, which includes watering, pasynkovaniya, mulching and pinching tops. Watering the grapes must be strictly under the root, always with enough water so that the earth is saturated and wet. In hot weather, it will be a blunder to water the bush over the leaves, as they can simply burn.

A good solution would be to sow the siderata grapes next to the bushes, and after the grass has grown, you can mow and leave it for mulching. In mid-summer, most of the work in the vineyard is aimed at ensuring sufficient protection of the shrubs from the fungus, as well as other diseases and pests, and complex fertilizing of fertilizers will not interfere.

Pruning of the grapes is never done in the first year after planting, and in some cases in the second, since the seedlings must increase the root mass, and at the same time they must have at least one vine per meter long. To ensure proper growth of the grapes, the strongest shoots are selected, and the remaining ones are simply removed. Sometimes, until autumn, an additional reserve escape is left, but with the onset of cold weather, the weakest vine is broken out. Be sure to leave on the plant at least one male shoot, because it is a prerequisite for pollination of grapes.

The first fruits of the grapes begins to bear in the third year. In order for the bushes to be in good condition by this time and give a bountiful harvest, in the first two years it is necessary to properly care for the seedlings. One of the most common mistakes is overflow, because the grapes do not like excess moisture, it will be enough for two buckets of water under one vine even in dry summer conditions. As the roots grow, plants turn into full-fledged roots, which are able to independently and effectively extract moisture from the bowels of the earth.

With the observance of a number of simple rules and due attention, growing grapes in the Urals is not as difficult as it may seem. This culture is not so demanding on the composition of the soil, such as apple trees.

No other berry contains as many nutrients and vitamins as grapes. It is possible to grow grapes both with benefit and with pleasure even in northern latitudes, the main thing is the right approach and enthusiasm.

For more information on how to grow grapes in the Urals, see the following video.