Grapes

• How to choose the right area for your vineyard…
• 5 good reasons to start your own vineyard…
• Essential points (4) in growing grapes – know what grape-growing entails so you know what you’re embarking on…
• The 5 biggest US markets that are in dire need of grapes year-round…
• Growing grapes for consumption vs. growing grapes for wine – pros and cons…
• The success formula in the grape growing business…
• General guidelines when selecting viable land for your vineyard…
• 5 things a grape vineyard needs to thrive…
• The ideal soil for a vineyard – 4 characteristics of a great soil…
• 2 bad things that can happen to your grapes yield and vineyard if you use soil with poor drainage…
• Soil preparation tips – how to obtain neutral to alkaline soil when the pH level of your soil is too acidic…
• The ideal chemical properties of a good soil…
• Soil analysis – how often should you do it, and how to obtain a core sample for lab analysis…
• – Table – Organic fertilizers – breakdown of the nutrient content of common manures…
• Added benefits of using organic manure to fertilize your vineyard…
• Grapes growing tips and cautions – tobacco stalks and leaching…
• Ideal pH ranges for:

– American hybrids
– French-American hybrids
– European grapes

• When to adjust the reserved acidity of the soil…
• Adding nitrogen – how much should you apply to your soil, and when is this nutrient most needed…
• When is magnesium needed?
• The establishment phase – what it is, and why it matters…
• – Tables (3) – Application guidelines for potassium (K), magnesium (Mg) and phosphate (PO43-) fertilizers…
• – Tables (3) – How much ground limestone is needed to attain a pH level of 6.4, 6.6, and 6.8 after soil sampling…
• The 3 major phases of vineyard preparation – classification, description and reasoning…
• 18 known perennial weeds that are considered pests to grapes…
• What propagules are; 5 common propagules you might find in your vineyard…
• How, and when should you deal with weed pests?
• The 2-way importance of a cover crop…
• Temporary vs. permanent cover crops…
• Last minute preparations before planting the grape vines…
• Vineyard designing goals (5)…
• Tips for designing your vineyard…
• The 3 decisive factors of proper row positioning…
• Row positioning tips for raisin vineyards…
• Row positioning tips for windy areas…
• Marketability tips – how to retain the juice quality of your grapes…
• The maximum and the optimal numbers of grape buds for one foot of grape vines…
• Spacing tips for American and French-American hybrid cultivars…
• Spacing tips for European cultivars…
• How many grape vines per acre of land yields a bountiful harvest…
• Numbers in your vineyard – know these numbers so you can get the best possible harvest for your area, soil and climate…

– row spacing (in feet) for each type of cultivar
– grape buds per vine per type of cultivar
– vines per acre of land for each type of cultivar
– optimal length of rows

• Square layout vs. rectangular layout – which layout can save you time and money, and why…
• Sprinkler vs. drip irrigation system – pros and cons…
• The Trellis system, or how to train the vines to grow in a particular direction – step by step guide (18 steps with detailed instructions)…
• Annual vineyard maintenance, broken down by month, March to October (checklist)…
• March – initial pruning + 5 other tasks…
• – Table – Pruning practices that should be used depending on the number of dead primary grape buds…
• The 2 most common pests to watch out for…
• April – installing vine protection (3 methods) and 3 other tasks that should be carried out this month…
• Cane borer, phylloxera, cane gallmaker and cane girdler – the 4 most common vineyard pests: how to identify them…
• Shoot thinning (suckering) – what is this and how to do it?
• Cluster thinning…
• 8 vineyard maintenance tasks for the month of May…
• June & July – it’s all about pests (9 pest management tasks)…
• How to estimate how much you’ll be harvesting for the year…
• How to deal with water sprouts…
• 7 great benefits of thinning shoots…
• How to maintain a narrow single canopy…
• Botrytis (aka. botrytis blight or gray mold) – how to spot it and how to deal with this pest?
• When is the right time for leaf thinning…
• How to tell when your grape cultivar has fully matured…
• Your main concerns during the month of August, and the 2 pests that you’ll have to deal with…
• Post-harvest tasks for September – watch out for the powdery mildew!
• Tips for choosing the right cultivars for your vineyard…
• Vitis vinifera – strategies to prevent the mass die-off of the (non-adaptable) Vitis vinifera species of grape vines…
• 7 cultivars – 2 for consumption, 5 for wine making – that are adaptive to Midwest regions…
• – Table – Grape species and their main characteristics…
• Tips for ordering the stocks and planting the grapes…
• Tips for pruning and storing the stocks until you have time to plant them…
• The importance of organic mulch in storing grape stock…
• Mechanical planting vs. manual planting – which is best, and why?
• Easy methods (2) of keeping the root systems of the cuttings moist…
• Tips for digging holes, and preserving the root system (very important)…
• Spring planting vs. fall planting – when is the best time to plant grape cuttings, and why?
• Important reminders for fall planting…
• Vine disease – one of the biggest obstacles to maintaining a healthy vineyard…
• 2 great American species with solid resistance to grape diseases caused by fungi or bacteria…
• Disease management – natural methods for controlling pests vs. fungicides and herbicides…
• Tips for choosing organic methods of growing and maintaining grapes…