How to care for grapes in autumn: proper preparation of the vine for winter

Sooner or later, all gardeners come to the idea that for a more successful cultivation of a grape plant, it is necessary to know more about how to properly care for it in the fall and prepare it for winter. After all, not only spring, but also autumn is an important period for caring for a fruiting vine. It is during this period that it is required to qualitatively prepare the bush for wintering, and specifically in such a way that not a single vine is lost during the frost period.

Therefore, in this article you can find useful information on how to skillfully care for grapes in the autumn: properly feed, water, prune, treat diseases and pests, and cover for the winter.

Activities for autumn care and preparation of grapes for winter

Timing! Depending on which variety you have planted, respectively, on the timing of its ripening, as well as the climatic characteristics of your region, autumn care and preparation of grapes for wintering begins from late September to early November. Most often, October is the month of grape care.

In order for the grapes to winter well, they need to be properly prepared for winter, namely, to perform the main stages of autumn care for the climbing berry bushes after harvest:

By the way! At the same time, usually planting seedlings of new vines, or transplanted to a new place.

• top dressing;
• watering (autumn water-charging);
• pruning;
• harvesting cuttings;

By the way! About, how to properly cut grapes in autumn read here.

• vaccination (yes, some even vaccinate in the fall);
• treatment against diseases and pests;

Important! About, how to spray grapes in the fall in front of shelter described in detail in this material.

• bending the vine to the ground (this must be done before frost so as not to damage the vine, because in subzero temperatures it will already “crackle”);
• shelter for the winter.

Detailed information about how to cover grapes you'll find in this article.

Top dressing of grapes for the winter

Advice! Fertilization can be combined with watering.

After abundant fruiting, the grapes must be fed, because he spent a huge amount of energy and was exhausted. In order for him to successfully endure the winter, and in the spring went into an active growing season, for the rest of the autumn he needs to recuperate and be nourished with useful macro-and microelements.

Fertilizers during this period should be applied exclusively phosphorus-potassium.

If you allow the introduction mineral fertilizers, then as phosphorus fertilizer should use superphosphate (30-40 grams), potassium fertilizer - potassium sulfate (potassium sulfate), or potassium magnesium (20-30 grams), and it is most convenient to usepotassium monophosphate (20-40 grams). Wet root dressing will be most effective, that is, these funds should be diluted in 10 liters of water and poured at the root.

If you are a supporter organic farming, then as potassium-phosphorus feeding will suit you wood ash (100-200 grams). It can simply be brought in for digging, or you can make a solution.

Also effectiverotted compost or humus (10-15 kg per one bush), which can be added to the near-stem circle, namely, you need to dig in fertilizer at a depth of 20-25 cm (for example, you can dig a near-stem groove) at a distance of about 40-50 cm from the base of the bush.

Important! No nitrogen fertilizers (urea, ammonium nitrate) should never be added. Plants require nitrogen in spring, but not in autumn.

Video: feeding grapes in autumn and spring with organic fertilizers

Autumn processing and spraying of grapes

Before sheltering the grapes for the winter, it is imperative to treat the bushes with one of the fungicides.

Advice! A separate detailed article appeared on when and how to properly process the grapes before sheltering.

As a rule, for spraying they use inkstone, which destroys all fungal misfortunes to prevent the development of mold under the shelter during temperature fluctuations.

Note! It is necessary to spray the bushes only after the foliage has fallen and the buds are completely closed (so that they do not burn out after spraying).

You can before trimmingto cut yourself already processed cuttings, but in this case you will need much more solutionthan when spraying after pruning, thereforeoften thrifty summer residents do the processing after the autumn shortening of the vine.

A solution of ferrous sulfate is suitable for processing 3-5% (300-500 grams per 10 liters of water), or rather 3% - if the grapes were not sick, 5% - if they were sick. For young plantings, it is better to use a 1% solution of ferrous sulfate (100 grams per 10 liters).

Important! The vine will darken (blacken) after a while, but this is not scary, do not be alarmed. It should be so.

By the way, in a solution of ferrous sulfate also (optional) you can add 100-200 grams urea.

Worth knowing! What is urea for in the autumn, if it is nitrogen fertilizer, which is used only in spring?

The fact is that urea has burning properties, so the larvae, which were deposited by various insects, will burn after such spraying.

By the way! It is necessary to process not only the vine itself, but also the ground under it in order to destroy all the hidden spores of the fungi.

Important! If your grapes are seriously ill this season, for example, oidium (powdery mildew) or mildew (downy mildew), then it is necessary to carry out treatment with special means and formulations against these diseases (so that the outbreak does not recur in the new season), all information about which you will find in the relevant articles.

Pruning grapes in autumn

When all the leaves have fallen, the bushes will be completely ready for autumn pruning.

Note! Pruning is a very important process both in preparing vines for winter and for growing them in general, therefore carefully familiarize yourself with the rules and techniques of autumn pruning of grapeswhich are detailed in this article.

Advice! While trimming, you can along the way (at the same time) prepare cuttings for propagation of grapes.

Watering the grapes before wintering

Another activity that must be held for the winter (after leaf fall and pruning, but before soil freezes) - This is a plentiful water-charging watering of grape bushes in late autumn.

It is necessary for the plant to receive a sufficient amount of nutrient moisture before wintering. Such saturation with moisture prevents the freezing of the root system in winter, since the soil saturated with water freezes much less. In addition, the nourished vine wakes up earlier in the spring.

When watering, it is important to take into account the characteristics of the soil. So, if you have sandy soil, then you will need to pour about 50-60 liters of water under each adult bush (or along the trench), but on loams and black soil - 2 times less (25-30 liters).

Advice! To effectively conduct the moisture charge, you need to dig a small depression in the form of a groove (10 cm deep) around the base of the trunk. Thus, water will flow only to the root system, not spreading over a vast area. Or, if you planted grapes with a pipe, it will be even easier.

By the way! In this case, much less water is required.

Video: water charging grapes before wintering - methods

Shelter grapes for the winter

Some growers believe that shelter for the winter is the most important moment in caring for grapes, on the correct implementation of which the harvest of the next year directly depends.

note! About, how to properly cover grapes for the winter, very, very detailed in this article.

What to do if the vine does not ripen in any way

If the vine is still green, and winter is close (it is time to cover), then it is necessary to carry out activities aimed at its forced ripening.

Important! There is no need to delay the harvest, otherwise the vine will simply not ripen. If the variety is late ripening, and the branches are still overloaded with clusters of immature fruits, then it is recommended to cut them off as soon as possible. It is better to lose some of the harvest than vines.

You can accelerate the ripening of the vine in the following ways:

• Stop watering at the end of fruiting (the second half of August-September), or only combined with potassium-phosphorus dressings (if there is a heat at the beginning of autumn).

Note! Moisture-charging watering is carried out at the end of fruiting and ripening of the shoots.

• Conduct foliar feeding (in September): spraying on a leaf phosphorus-potassium fertilizers also well improves the ripening of the vine (it is necessary to dissolve 20-30 grams of each fertilizer per 10 liters of water).
• Provide increased amount of heat (in October)... To do this, you need to remove the grapes from the trellises, lay them on the ground and cover them with one of the insulation materials, for example, spunbond or lutrasil.

Thus, the quality of the work on the care of the grapes in the autumn period and its preparation for winter, so effectively the efforts of the grower in the next year will be rewarded. And this requires a very responsible and thoughtful approach to the issues of fertilizing, watering, pruning, treatment from diseases and pests, as well as sheltering grapes for the winter. Rich harvests!

Video: what to do with grapes in autumn