In autumn, you need to start preparing the vine for wintering, and also, create optimal conditions for laying the buds of renewal. In autumn, the prolific vine becomes weak, since a lot of resources have been spent on ripening berries. Therefore, immediately after harvesting, be sure to feed the bushes and continue to care for the vineyard. Pour and loosen the soil, treat with drugs for diseases and pests, cut and heat for the winter.
Each of these procedures will improve the fruiting of the vine next year. And if you make it a rule to do this every autumn, then your vineyard will develop intensively, and the berries will be large every year, and the harvest will be plentiful.
Processing the vines with drugs against diseases and pests after harvesting can be carried out using chemicals, since there are no berries on the bushes. If you find pathology on the vine, immediately treat this place quickly to stop the propagation of pests and the spread of infection to the entire bush.
Watering and spring fertilizer
If the weather is not very hot, then, immediately after harvesting, grapes can not be watered. But in October, be sure to thoroughly water once. This will help prepare the bushes for wintering. In this case, be sure to water abundantly so that the roots receive enough life-giving moisture.
You can even dig grooves or stick tubes near the bushes. This will prevent water from spreading over the surface, and it will go straight to the roots. Do not allow soil compaction. To do this, loosen it regularly, this will help to preserve moisture, and as a result, it will be easier to overwinter the bushes.
For autumn top dressing, use organic fertilizers with the addition of wood ash. But do not apply too much fertilizer right away. Better to just mulch the soil at the very base of the trunks with a layer of overripe manure or compost.
Autumn pruning of grapes
Autumn is the best time for the formation of vine bushes. Pruning begins a couple of weeks after the leaves fall. It is not recommended to shorten the shoots before, since immediately after the leaf fall the photosynthesis processes are still taking place in the vine. Premature pruning will disrupt the accumulation of nutrients in the shoots, trunk and rhizome. But pulling with this procedure to the frosts themselves is also not worth it. As soon as the cold starts, the vine will become very fragile, and any operations in the vineyard will lead to breaks of shoots and other injuries.
Remove diseased and old shoots. Leave only the full and healthy ones. Moreover, their number should be one third more than required for the formation of the bush. This is in case the wintering is unfavorable and some shoots can not withstand the frost. If the winter is not too harsh, then the excess can be removed in the spring.
We shelter grapes for the winter
It is far from always necessary to cover grapes for the winter. Only if the variety is not cold-resistant or severe frosts are expected, then appropriate measures will have to be taken. Start preparing for insulation even during the pruning period. Shape the bush so that the vine is easy to bend to the level of the soil. If you are going to cover the vine in an upright position without removing it from the trellis, then form a bush arbitrarily.
Although warming the vineyard with ordinary film is not a good option. With warming, the temperature under the film rises significantly. There is also high humidity, and this is an ideal environment for the development of fungi, mold and the occurrence of rotting processes. Shelter from sawdust and foliage gives about the same result. Therefore, warm the vineyard with spruce branches. It is well ventilated and retains snow. That is, the conditions for wintering the vines will be ideal.