grapes

[StrawberryMan]

hello any tips and adice on how to plant a grape vine on my allotment thankyou

[Paulottie]

A grapevine?! Table grapes then? not enough for wine really.

Choose your variety carefully many won't ripen most years in this climate, really they are better undercover but hey...provide framework. loads of methods from pergolas(provides you with shade) cordons (ideal for vineyards) to little bushes(easy to cover/work)

Choose the sunniest spot you can. I always plant a dead rabbit under a vine... but definitely a good jollop of bone meal. After that my advice is prune hard...don't be afraid. long wait for a crop

[bobleponge]

I would try Boskoop, but you could also consider Mueller-Thurgau.
Both of these are hardy outdoor vines that should do ok in the Midlands.
I know they are for your lottie, but if there is anyway you could somehow get them onto a south facing structure, shed wall or anything, it would help them no end.
Grapes DO grow in the UK, but Paulottie is right, you may well get years of no crop, or grapes that dont ripen due to the weather, but Boskoop grows in Scotland so should be fine where you are.

[zazen999]

Surprisingly, here in the Midlands, our Vine which was put in 2 summers ago [ie 2007], has ripening grapes on it - it is in a courtyard and not under cover. I sneaked one yesterday and it is halfway there to being sweet......we are both very chuffed at this after reading that they won't ripen and we'd have to wait years for a crop.

[Dottie]

I've only had my lottie for 2 years, so I think my white grapevine will have been planted just over 15 months ago. I have the root system in the ground with a tyre placed on top, which is positioned half way under my bench for shade, and added warmth and it makes it really easy to feed/mulch/water the vine. There are flagstones all around the tyre, as this is my seating area facing my pond, the vine then grows up a large and very solid wooden arch which is facing away from the bench, as in the bench back is against the opening arch with the vine growing up criss cross wire I used to close off the opening.

It had grow well last year and I cut it back hard earlier this year. This year the arch is totally covered (approx 10' high & 2' wide side panels, and to my delight and surprise there are about 6 bunches of grapes on the lower sections of the vine. The fruit is growing on the opposite side of the bench, which is more sheltered by the 2 side arch panels and also the sun comes up that side in the morning.

Last week I took off leaves that were shading the grapes, so hopefully the sun will make them nice and sweet. The bunches are not large 15/20 grapes on each, so not a lot, but I think it's great to get any so early after planting. I had no experience of growing grapes, just read up on how to plant, feed and prune. The tyre idea came about because I was putting flagstones down and I just thought it would be like an extra blanket and that it would also hold in anything/everything I might need to add throughout the year.

So success has come about with very little knowledge from me, I just did my best to give it the best start in life, as once planted it will be there for years.

[BFG]

I've got an ALDI £2 one stil sitting in a pot waiting to go out. Do grapes climb themselves, or do they need tieing in etc? I can't usually be bothered with climbers that need help.

I guess the vine in the name sounds promising.

Will they climb a tree without killing it? It's either that, or train it along my back fence, which would probably be better, but more work.

[StrawberryMan]

thanks for the advice i liked the idea of the tyre once again many thanks

[Dottie]

I've got an ALDI £2 one stil sitting in a pot waiting to go out. Do grapes climb themselves, or do they need tieing in etc? I can't usually be bothered with climbers that need help.

I guess the vine in the name sounds promising.

Will they climb a tree without killing it? It's either that, or train it along my back fence, which would probably be better, but more work.

Climbs all by itself, but you need to have something for it to climb up. I just did a large zigzag with a spare bit of wire I had, not really expecting it to grow so much the first year. However now that my grapevine has shown itself to be very happy and growing madly, I shall add some chicken wire up the central section of my arch (what would be the opening/walk thro bit of the arch), once I cut it back. No extra support needs to be added to the sides of the arch, the vine just searches out and finds it.

What's really cool is that I have a pathway between my arch and rhubarb and blackberry bed (net fence supports my many blackberry plants), but this year a blackberry stem has leant over towards the arch. The grapevine has caught hold of the blackberry stem, which has now created another natural arch over the pathway. Grape and blackberry are companion plants too, so nature just took it course.

So as far as you doing as little work as poss, then you could just attach some chicken wire or similar to your back fence. Job done.