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Vineyard in the Urals

An interesting practical experience of growing grapes in the Urals, described by Alexei Ivanovich Gusev. We think he will help all enthusiasts who grow grapes in the Non-Black Earth Zone of Russia - a zone of risky farming. Just do not forget about the conditions of each specific site and about the varieties zoned for each region.

This spring, eight years have passed since the time when I got acquainted with grapes as a culture in general, including six years as I dared to grow it in the open field. During this time, I have tested more than a hundred varieties - every year I planted a dozen other new varieties, and a year or two after the first fruiting, I replaced a good half with new varieties. The reason for such a rotation of varieties is absolutely commonplace - the best is the enemy of the good.

At first, I decided to buy only the most frost-resistant varieties (-32 ° C) and always very early ripening (90-105 days). These are: varieties of Shatilova, Sharova and others. However, we have to admit that the quality of the berries of these varieties, with all their advantages, is rather average. And I dared to buy varieties of an early ripening period (105-115 days) and less winter-hardy (-21 ° С ...- 23 ° С), but larger-fruited and incomparably more tasty. The very first wintering periods showed that the varieties of the Vostorg family, Arcadia white and pink, Aleksa, and others hibernate under the snow no worse than the old proven very early frost-resistant varieties. The ripening of the vine, the setting of fruit buds, their ripening and preservation during the wintering period were also at their best. The harvest was ripe by the end of the first decade of August, and inspired by the success, I decided on varieties of early middle ripening.

The fact is that for the period 2005-2006, the most large-fruited (1200-2500 g) and the largest-berry (15-25 g) available were just the early middle varieties (115-125 days). Dashing trouble began - such outstanding varieties as Nina, Monarch, Nizina, Talisman, FVR 7-9 and Kesha appeared in my collection. For the ripening of these varieties, spring stimulation is required (watering with warm water under the root) and the device in mid-April of a film tunnel for the early awakening of the bushes and the beginning of their growing season. These measures accelerate the ripening of the harvest of a variety of any ripening period by at least two weeks - in the Urals, with our August lingering rains, this is important.

In general, the division of varieties into early and early middle ones is rather arbitrary. Plant the early variety in the shade, overload it with the crop (leave all the bunches on the bush), overload it with shoots (leave all the shoots, including the weak and overgrown stepchildren), overfeed it with nitrogen and give it plenty of water, and here's an early variety for you. which the harvest will hardly ripen by the end of August, and the vine, at best, by 2-4 buds. But approach this question creatively: leave the ovaries on the vine with a slight underload, if the bush is weak, or slightly overload it to "slow down" the vigorous one. Water the grapes sparingly and only when necessary, in the spring when the shoots are actively growing and in early summer when the berries are being poured. Use nitrogen fertilizer very carefully and only at the beginning of the season, and phosphorus-potassium (I think wood ash is the best) "feed" the bush from spring to autumn, and the harvest on the early middle variety will ripen by mid-August. In any case, no later than the last days of summer, i.e. before frost, and the vine will have time to ripen by 8-10 buds by the time of harvest.

This short excursion into the past of my relationship with the vine and the statement about the timing of its ripening, I allowed myself with only one purpose - to anticipate future appeals that I hear from year to year: advise us such a variety so that it is the most winter-hardy, the earliest and most productive ... And my answer is also unchanged: all the varieties included in my collection grow and bear fruit beautifully in the open field.Your choice should be based not only on my empirically verified advice, but also proceed from real-life circumstances: the location of your site (is it a lowland or a hill, a southern slope or a northern one), and most importantly, on your soundly assessed capabilities. For example, several people who received seedlings from my farm have built huge greenhouses for grapes and grow exhibition super-clusters of early middle varieties in them, and a neighbor in the garden, a seventy-year-old pensioner, receives 300-400-gram grapes from his grapes in the open ground. bunches and satisfied with no less than the first.

And I can illustrate the fruiting of early middle varieties in the open field by the evolution of the same bunch of the Nizina variety. The first photo clearly shows that there are no peas in the bunch, all the berries are aligned in size, and the bunch has good development potential. The second photo shows the same bunch at the peak of its development - the berries have acquired the characteristic color, shape and size of the variety. The presented bunch (420 g) grew on a two-year-old bush after its first wintering and was the first signal fruiting.

In the spring of this year, the bush had four vines, of which only one of the strongest was left for fruiting. In total, the vines bore three inflorescences, two of which were smaller ones were removed. The bunch ripened and was removed from the bush on August 25, the fruiting vine by this time had grown to 1.5 meters, matured by one third of its length and had five ripe buds. But before the frost, the vine will have time to ripen at least half, and this is already quite enough for both successful wintering and fruiting. The remaining three vines had grown to two meters by the end of August and also matured by a third.

I think that the above is also the answer to a rather often repeated question: is it possible to allow a young bush to bear fruit?

Another problem that worries many novice winegrowers and does not find their understanding in any way is grape pruning. I will not repeat myself, because in the article "GRAPES - HARVEST RISING" I spoke in great detail on this topic, I will only note that many growers understand the concept of "short pruning" literally and cut the vine into three or four buds. Although it is known that the most productive fruit buds are located in the middle part of the vine, just the part that is removed with a short pruning. The answer is simple: prune the vine for at least 8 - 10 buds, and in the spring breakage of shoots, leave one at the very "head" of the bush (a replacement shoot, the vine behind it with fruiting shoots will be cut off in the fall) and 3-4 fruiting shoots in the very extreme part of the young sleeve. So much for a short cut. The remaining shoots will receive additional nutrition, which will have a very good effect on the replacement shoot and on the fruiting shoots, especially since large clusters will develop on them.

Now, although there is an opinion that there is no dispute about tastes, let's still argue. I often hear: "Please advise on your taste which variety to buy, we trust you."

- Well, here, for example, a nutmeg variety ...

- Ouch! No no! Just not nutmeg, they make wine from it.

Dear comrades, does any of you remember the taste of that Muscat grape that was on the shelves during our childhood? Can the taste of what "silicone" growers say, what we are buying for our children now, can it compare with it? It is not for nothing that they say: to gorge on grapes, you need to eat three hundred grams of nutmeg or a kilogram of simple grapes.

And more about taste, about "harmonious taste". They ask to clarify what it is. Let me quote from the book "Smart Vineyard for All" by N.I. Kurdyumova:

“The sugar content in grape juice is measured as a percentage, and the acid concentration is measured in grams per liter. For simplicity, let's designate this as a fraction: 16/7 - that is, 16% sugar and 7 g / l acid. For the perception of taste, it is not the sugar and acid content that is important, but their ratio.If it approaches 2/1, the grapes will be tasty regardless of the juice concentration. For example, table grapes from 12/6 are as tasty as technical grapes from 20/9 - this taste is called pleasant, harmonious. Table variety from 12/4 - frankly sweet, and from 17/10 - sour! If both sugar and acid are not enough, the taste will be flat. " Better, in my opinion, you can not say.

Now about grape seedlings... I inform those who asked to send the seedlings by mail this fall. I start digging the "school" only when the vine ripens on the seedlings - in time it is mid-October. At the same time, I send seedlings, trying to get into a frost-free period.

And more about seedlings - cases of selling seedlings under my name at all kinds of spontaneous agricultural fairs have become more frequent. The sellers introduce themselves as my relatives and sell seedlings, accompanying them with black-and-white photocopies of reference materials, which I always accompany my seedlings with. I would like to inform you that my materials have been printed in color with color highlighting important places and must be provided with my phone number for feedback. I declare that neither I myself nor my representatives have traded and are not going to trade on the street. If in the future you see such false relatives, then try to call me at the indicated phone number in front of them to clarify their powers, I think their immediate reaction will amuse you. In a word, as it is customary to say now: beware of counterfeit products and contact the manufacturer directly for seedlings.

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