Four Steps to Successfully Grow Your Own Grapes

The great Galileo once said: The sun with all those planets revolving around it and dependent on it can still ripen a bunch of grapes as if it had nothing else in the universe to do. Grapes are perhaps one of the most delicious foods that we mortals have ever encountered during our sojourn here. Have you been thinking about growing grapes? If so the next question should be, what is the best way to grow grapes? The aim of this article is to describe the four major steps to a successful vineyard: selecting the grape variety, choosing the vineyard site, preparing the soil, and constructing a trellis.

1. Selecting a Grape Variety

The first step is to find a grape variety that will produce wine to your taste, and that will ripen properly in your climate. Ninety nine percent of the world's wine comes from a species known as the Vitis vinefera or the common wine grape. Vitis vinefera is the ideal grape for wine making because of its tight and thick skin. Since the fragrance or aroma in wine comes from the skin, one can understand why Vitis vinefera is so pleasing and enviable. The Vitis vinifera species have the potential to make the perfect wine.

Finding the perfect grape variety for wine making is one thing, but finding the perfect climate for your grape is another. The success to growing grapes is to grow grapes that will flourish in your climate. For example, you need to find out the duration of the growing season where you live. A growing season is nothing but the average number of frost-free days in the region where you live. So, if you live in a region where the growing season is short, you can only cultivate the hybrid grape varieties for the best result possible. However, if you live in a region where the growing season is long, you should breed a different grape variety. Hybrids of vinifera and American grapes are often used. You should also select a variety that is disease-resistant. How would you know that? Here is the secret that many grape growers don't know: it's better to grow grapes with seeds. Unlike seeded grapes, seedless grapes have not been bred with disease-resistant as a priority. When choosing grape varieties, also consider whether you want to eat the grapes fresh, make juice or jam, or try your hand at raisins or wine. That way you will find a variety that is suitable to your needs.

2. Choosing the Vineyard Site

After selecting a variety, the next most important step in growing grapes for wine is the selection of a site. One of the many mistakes that novice home growers make is to plant the right variety in the wrong place while 100 feet away lies the site that would have ripen the grapes to perfection. Believe it, it happens all the time. You need to ensure that the area is exposed to sunlight and have good drainage. The best way to ensure that is to analyze the area after a good rainfall. If there is any standing water, this is a good indication that the area is not properly drained. You can avoid this problem by planting your vineyard on a slope which is also beneficial in reducing the grapevine's exposure to heat or cold. Next, you have to decide how big your vineyard should be. But if you are a novice, it is recommended that you plant only ten vines. That's exactly how many vines it takes to make homegrown wine. Each grapevine should produce approximately one gallon of wine.

3. Preparing the Soil

Now that you have selected your site, the next most important step is to prepare the soil for grapes. To accomplish this, you need to get a backhoe and dig a trench three feet wide and three feet deep and refill it with the soil. Then let it sit over winter. The logic behind this is if the topsoil is underlain by poor subsoil, vine roots will tend not to grow across the interface. Therefore, preparing the soil for grapes by loosening, breaking up, and mixing soil layers well below ordinary cultivation depth, will break apart man-made compaction layers in the first two feet caused by foot traffic, as well as wheeled vehicles. This large zone of loosened soil allows the vine roots to grow well the first year.

4. Constructing a Trellis

Now is the time to build a trellis for your grapes. Growing grapes on a trellis is of utmost importance. Since grapevines cannot carry the burden of a complete crop all by themselves, it becomes necessary to build a trellis system to support them. It takes about three years for a grapevine to produce its first fruits; therefore, the trellis system designed to support them must be durable and sturdy. To accomplish that, many grape growers use an assortment of different components such as stainless steel, iron, aluminum, and PVC pipe. If you live in a cold climate, it is important to construct a short trellis because of its ability to endure winter weather. Consequently, many use posts that are about three feet tall, whereas those who live in a warm climate use taller trellises that are about eight feet tall.

As you can see, growing grapes requires accurate knowledge and earnest effort. The above information should be done prior to planting and is best completed the fall before new vines are planted. Happy grape growing!

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How to Grow Zinnia Flowers

Zinnia (Zinnia elegans) is an annual plant with long stalk grown ideally for flower arrangement and flower vases and other decorations. It comes in a wide variety of colors you can choose for your flower arrangement purposes from white, red, rose, pink, multi-colored, yellow, and orange. It's easy to grow and you can them in your garden with a combination of all the different colors to add beauty and attractive landscape in your flower garden.

Before starting your gardening activities, you've to set the requirements to succeed in your zinnia flower garden venture.

Soil. The best soil for Zinnia is a well-drained soil rich in organic materials. They also thrives well in a poor soils but you should put some amendments to improve your soil conditions and much vigorous plants and flowers.

Propagation. Start sowing your seeds in your prepared seed box or germinating tray or directly into the flower plots. But, for best result, sow your seeds indoors in your germinating tray and plant them later in the plots to have a better spacing distance between plants.

Once the seedlings are ready for transplanting, set them in the plots after the last frost and maintain the water supply to the make soil moist during the plant's growing period until the flowers starts to bloom. Planting distance varies with the size of varieties you planted. For miniature varieties the distance should be four to six inches between hill, while those giant varieties should be spaced one to two feet between hill.

Plant Management. When the plants are already set in the beds and fully established, place some mulching materials around the base to ward-off weed interruption and maintain soil moisture. To have your Zinnia produce more flowers, apply with a general purpose fertilizer at least once a month or as the need arises. Your Zinnia will start to bear flowers during the mid-summer period until the start of the frost.

When you see some dead flowers, remove them to encourage some new blooms to grow. For giant type, prune those branches that are long to induce some new branches to grow.

Pest and Disease Control. Zinnia is a hardy plant and resistant to pests and diseases attack. If you observe some minor pest and disease infestation, just simply treat them with a homemade insecticidal soap, or plants along side with plant or insect repellents. Fungicide also helps controlling some disease that may attack the plants.

Make your garden filled with lots of Zinnia different color of flowers for your ready to use in your flower arrangement projects, for special occasions like weddings, birthdays, re-unions and other gatherings that needs flowers to beautify the affairs.

Happy gardening!

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The Facts About Vineyard Grapes

We all know what grapes are. They are used for wine making, eating or even making juices. In reference to botany, grapes are referred to as berries. You can easily grow your own vineyard grapes in your backyard or even a small garden area. Though most vineyard grapes are grown commercially in large vineyards.

Vine and yard make up the word vineyard. Since grapes are created from vines, which is the reason they are referred to as "vines". When it comes to growing grapes, they require a large amount of space that is usually classified as a "yard". That is why a plantation of grapes is typically referred to as a vineyard. You can use vineyard grapes for the production of raisins, eating, juice, wine, etc.

When it comes to selecting vineyard grapes, you will want to do so carefully. If you pick the wrong type, you can lose an entire crop, which can be rather disappointing. If you lose an entire vineyard, it can be devastating to both the grower's emotions and pocket book. Since they are not cheap to grow, you can lose a lot of money when yours fail. To avoid this, it is essential that you select the right varieties.

The condition of your land and climate will greatly affect what variety you should select. There are some varieties that can handle colder climates, while others will only thrive in warmer climates. No matter what your climate is, you will need to ensure that you provide enough drainage for your grapes. If your grapes are forced to sit in standing water, you will be sorry to see them not grow very well.

Along with land and climate, pruning is an essential step in caring for vineyard grapes. By pruning you will maximize the quality and quantity of grapes in which you grow. Pruning will also show that you take great pride in your crop and want to ensure its health for the long-term, rather than a season.

No matter what type of variety you are growing, they all require a special amount of attention. Be sure that you provide the proper environment, nutrients and attention to your crop in order to watch them thrive.

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How to Spot Hazardous Trees

In most cases, trees provide beauty and shade around our property. But there may come a time when one of those trees is set to fall and can cause property damage, or worse, bodily harm. That is why it is wise to be able to identify visible signs that a tree may become a hazard before it happens. Here are a few things to look for:

Dead Wood

Dead wood is one of the most serious concerns and must be attended to immediately. It is unpredictable, and can come down at any time. You can identify dead wood by its dry and brittle appearance. It also doesn't bend in the wind like healthy wood. Dead branches that are already broken, also referred to as "hangers" or "widow makers," are especially dangerous.

Cankers

A tree canker is not unlike the canker sores people get in their mouth. It is an area on the stem or branch of a tree where the bark is sunken or missing. If you see a canker, this increases the chance of the stem breaking in that area. A tree with a canker that encompasses more than half of the tree's circumference is hazardous, even if the underlying exposed wood looks healthy.

You should take action if one or more cankers affect more than half of the tree's circumference. You need to also take action if a canker is connected to a crack or other defect, weak branch union, or cavity.

Cracks

If you see cracks that may extend from the bark into the wood, this poses a danger as well. You should take action if you see multiple deep cracks in the same area of the wood, if the branch in question is big enough to cause injury, or if a crack is leading towards another defect in the tree.

Weak Branch Unions

A branch union refers to the area where two or more branches connect to the tree. The branches are usually similar in size and upright. Bark grows between the branches and inside the union. Since bark is, of course, weaker than wood, the support is weaker. Contact a tree removal company if you notice a crack in a weak branch union.

Decay

A tree usually decays from the inside out, leaving a cavity inside. And while decay can be a hazard, that alone isn't a sign of a hazardous tree. In these cases, it is usually wise to have a trained arborists examine the tree to see if it is dangerous. If advanced decay is also associated with other defective parts of a tree, take action sooner than later.

Additional Hazards

Other things that you need to be concerned with are root problems and poor tree architecture. For instance, if you notice a tree leaning with root exposure, this may foretell a tree falling.

Poor architecture refers to a tree's growth pattern that may indicate a structural imbalance. While a leaning tree may pose a danger, that is not always going to be the case. Again, it is best to consult a professional arborist if you have any doubts.

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Grape Growing Information You Need To Know

Grapes are the most noble and challenging of fruits. Its history dates back as early as 2400 B.C. in Egypt. This beautiful fruit is also synonymous to wine-making. If you are interested in growing grapes, it's better first to know more grape growing information to help you out with the process. One thing you need to look into is the different varieties to choose from. Some are good for making wine. Other varieties are more suitable as food like raisins or jam, and some are for ornaments and beautification of the garden. You can choose the variety that you want depending on your purpose.

If your purpose is for food consumption, then you need varieties that belong to producing table grapes. These varieties have more flavor but have lower sugar content as compared to grapes for wine-making. Most people prefer table grapes to be seedless. One seedless variety is Thompson seedless, which is sensitive to cold weather.

Now if you love wine and want to plant grapes for this reason, you would want to find a variety suitable for wine making. These varieties will be smaller, have thicker skin, and are very sweet. Wine grapes have high sugar content great for wine-making. Chardonnay (white wine) and merlot (red wine) are examples of grape wines.

Grapes usually required a climate that is hot and dry but there are also varieties that can withstand cold climate. It is also important for grapes to have lots of sun so make sure to plant them under direct sunlight. The soil should be well drained and make sure to also check the ph level of soil; grape growing information to take note is that table grapes develop well in soil with a pH level between 5.0 and 5.5.

Most gardeners' problems is that they lack sufficient grape growing information on a particular variety of grape. As a gardener, each grape variety should be treated differently. Grapes vary in growth and ripening habits -- some fruits ripen after 170 days, and some take longer. It is important that a gardener knows all this information before planting grapes to make the process much easier.

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