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Pruning Grape Vines

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Question: How do you prune a grape vine?

Answer: Many varieties of grapes grow well in Indiana, and pruning is a vital part of successful grape production. Below is a general introduction to pruning and some resources for more detailed descriptions of the process.

You should start pruning your grape vine in its very first year. You want to create a T-shaped vine, with one trunk and two canes trained along each horizontal wire of the trellis. So, if you are starting a new vine, trim so that there is one primary vertical shoot – the trunk of the vine. As it reaches the horizontal wires of the trellis, you will want one main shoot, or cane, for each direction of the horizontal wires you are using to train the vine.

Pruning an established vine is essential for grape production, since grapes grow on one-year-old canes. Your goal is to prune the old wood to make room for the new wood, and to limit the number of buds so that the vine produces quality bunches of grapes. Common pruning errors include pruning at the wrong time and not pruning enough.

Prune grapes each year in late winter. Pruning too early can cause damage from freezing, so wait until the worst of the freezing temperatures are over. In Indiana, this might mean around the middle of February. For each side of each horizontal wire on your trellis, choose one new shoot, or cane, from last year, and cut off the rest. The cane should be about the thickness of your little finger. If there are more than 8-10 buds on the cane, trim off the excess buds. It may feel like you are leaving only a skeleton of your grape vine, but that will give you the best grape production. Remember: grape vines grow quickly, so if you make a mistake, you can fix it next year!

For photos and descriptions of all aspects of grape vine care, see “How to Prune Grape Vines” from Gardening Wizards at https://gardeningwizards.com/prune-grape-vines/.

More advanced pruning techniques involve the concept of “balanced” pruning; that is, leaving a number of buds appropriate to the cane size. For details, see “Growing Grapes in Indiana” from Purdue University Extension at https://ag.purdue.edu/hla/pubs/HO/HO-45.pdf.

For a detailed description of pruning for a number of varieties see “Principles and Practices of Pruning Grape Vines,” also from Purdue University Extension, at http://www.foodsci.purdue.edu/research/labs/enology/Pruninggrapes08.pdf.

– Barbara

Tomatoes and Container Gardening

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Question: I am planning for my 2019 tomato garden already. What I want to do is grow 8-10 tomato plants in five gallon buckets. They will be “Beefmasters” and “Better Boys.” I plan to drill 5 to 6 1/2″ holes in the bottom of the buckets for drainage. I will fill the buckets about 2/3 full with a mix of potting soil and top soil and layer 2″ of mulch on the top of the soil. I plan to use seedlings bought at a local nursery and water every other day if there is no rain fall. Once the plants are tall enough, I will stake them with 1″  by 2″ treated lumber.
  •      Should I keep these buckets 36″ to 48″ apart, like a normal garden planting?
  •      Can the dirt be used for the next season’s tomatoes?
Answer: Thank you for your questions on container gardening.  First off, I admire your ability to plan one year out.  That is great. Please use the following guidelines when planting tomatoes in a 5 gallon bucket:
1.Drill holes in the bucket for drainage which is already in your plan.  Cover the holes with coffee filters or mesh to keep the soil in the bucket.
2. Either use a soilless mixture or a soil mixture.  Specific recommendations are made since soil compaction is a concern when growing in containers. A soilless mixture contains peat moss, vermiculite, and either coarse sand or a wood product.  A soil mixture contains peat moss, pasteurized soil, vermiculite, and cow manure.  If you plan on moving the buckets around, the soilless mixture is lighter.  However the soil mixture does a better job in holding water.
3. When fertilizing follow package directions.  You may not get the desired results if you use too much.  Start with a time release after planting.  In 2 weeks switch to a soluble balanced fertilizer such as 10-10-10.  When the blooms set, switch to a high potassium fertilizer like 9-15-30.
4. Keep the containers 3-4 feet apart as you mentioned.
5. Consider using light colored containers so they won’t absorb as much heat.  Plants may cook in a black container with hot weather.
6. Start with new soil each year.  Diseases and pests may multiply if you use the same soil each year.  It’s not worth the risk with all the planning and preparation you have done.
7. From what I have read Better Boy and Beefmaster should do well in containers.  You can also look at varieties that are tailored to container gardening such as Bush Early Girl, Patio Princess, Bushsteak, Super Bush Hybrid, and Husky Red, Gold, or Pink.

I hope this helps with your gardening plans for next year.  If you have any further questions, do not hesitate to submit your questions to Ask a Master Gardener.  Our goal is to make you successful in the garden.

– Bruce

Japanese Beetles

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Question:

What can I do about Japanese beetles? Is this just a bad year for them? This is our first year to have a garden at our new place and these little pests are flocking to my garden. My bean leaves are in shreds along with my pumpkin leaves. They are now starting on my okra.

Answer:

We feel your pain with the Japanese beetle outbreak this year. The past few years have been really tame and this year there are beetles everywhere. The life cycle of the Japanese beetle is 30-45 days. It lays its eggs in the ground a where it lives as a grub until next June when it will return to aggravate all us gardeners.

There are a couple of methods you can use to lessen the effect from the beetles. The first is the safest for all the pollinators since it does not involve using chemicals on the plants. Take a bucket, pail, or plastic cup with soapy water and pick the beetles off your plants and drop them into the soapy water. If you hold the bucket right under the beetles and tap the branch toward the bucket, many of the beetles will fall straight down into the water. You may need to make three trips a day to control the damage to your vegetables.

The second method is using Sevin in a spray bottle. Give the beetles a light spray as you see them. It takes very little Sevin to eradicate the beetles. Sevin is lethal to pollinators so avoid spraying the vegetable blooms. Sevin dust will work but it takes time for it to take effect on the beetle. It may eat a couple of leaves before it dies. Sevin spray is effective in seconds. Unfortunately these are the best treatments available.

– Bruce

 

Fall Garden Tips

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The cooler temperatures of fall make this season ideal for working in garden and landscape. Fall is an excellent time for setting some types of plants and for preparing the lawn and garden for the coming spring.

Planting

Add fall color to your landscape with cool-season plants such as asters, pansies, kale, and chrysanthemums.

Autumn is an excellent time to plant trees and shrubs. The roots can become established before the heat of the summer begins.

Plan ahead for spring color by planting hardy bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Such bulbs require a cold dormancy before starting new growth in the spring. The best time to plant hardy bulbs is at least six weeks before the ground freezes.

Plant garlic cloves six to eight weeks before the first hard frost. The garlic will overwinter and be ready to harvest in late summer.

Preparing

Lift sensitive bulbs and tubers and store in a frost-free environment. For example, in Indiana, canna rhizomes should be lifted after the first hard frost and stored in peat or soil. Keep the soil barely moist and store in a temperature of around 45 degrees Fahrenheit.

Fertilize your lawn. September and November are the two best times to fertilize a lawn in Indiana. Fall nitrogen promotes good root development, enhances storage of energy reserves, and extends color retention in cool-season lawns. Most of the benefits from late fall nitrogen will be seen next spring and summer.

Clean up your garden. Bag any diseased plant matter and compost or bury any healthy plant matter. Remove weeds before they have a chance to seed. Many perennials benefit from a fall trimming, but research how and when to trim each type of perennial for the best benefit from trimming.

Cover your garden. Mulched leaves make a good ground cover. You can also plant a winter cover crop on your vegetable garden. These crops should be cut in early spring before they seed.

Remove and store garden structures such as tomato stakes and cages and vegetable trellises. Wood structures left outside will decay, and metal structures may rust. Examine structures for damage, and repair them or re-purpose usable parts.

Take an inventory of gardening supplies so you know what to purchase in the spring. If you have storage room, look for discounts at garden centers and buy ahead for the next year.

Quick Gardening Tips

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Vegetables do best when growth is consistent through the season, not slowing and speeding up due to environmental conditions. You can’t control the weather, but you can help provide consistent conditions by irrigating when rainfall is lacking. Most vegetables need 1-1.5” of water a week.

Side-dressing is an appropriate way to fertilize vegetables during the growing season. To side-dress a plant, sprinkle granulated fertilizer around the plant, about 6 to 8 inches from the stem, or put the fertilizer in a narrow furrow down the row of plants. Follow carefully the instructions on the fertilizer package. Too much fertilizer will harm the plant, and too little will not give you the desired results.

September and November are the two best times to fertilize a lawn in Indiana. Fall nitrogen promotes good root development, enhances storage of energy reserves, and extends color retention in cool-season lawns. Most of the benefits from late fall nitrogen will be seen next spring and summer.

You can plant vegetables in long slender rows, in squares, or in any other shape that makes sense in your garden. Tall plants should be on the north side of the garden so they don’t shade their shorter neighbors. The correct spacing will give your vegetables room to grow.

Pruning fruit trees is essential for healthy and productive trees. Not all fruit species grow the same way. Once the trees are mature enough to flower and bear fruit, apples, pears, cherries and plums generally tend to produce the best crop on wood that is 2-3 years of age. However, peaches tend to produce best on 1-year- old wood. So, the goal in pruning the home orchard is to keep a good amount of the appropriate-age wood for that particular species. Late March is an ideal time for fruit tree pruning, allowing time to assess the toll of winter, yet early enough to allow for fast healing of wounds, without pressure from insect pests or disease.

Trees can be chosen for energy efficiency as well as for beauty. In Indiana, the best choices for trees near the house on southern exposures are deciduous-canopy trees. Since deciduous trees lose their leaves in the autumn, these will provide shade in the summer but will not block out the warming effects of the sun during winter months.

When choosing annual or perennial flowering plants, pay close attention to the amount of sun needed. Sun-loving plants that are placed in the shade tend to be spindly, and shade-loving plants that are placed in the sun often become scorched by the heat.

Many plants found in Indiana gardens are not native to Indiana. Be careful not to introduce non- native plants that can spread aggressively. Such invasive plants eventually disturb the natural ecology. A list of invasive plants to avoid in Indiana is found at www.ppdl.purdue.edu.

Vegetables, flowers, and herbs may be annuals, biennials, or perennials. Annuals live for one year, and often produce seeds that can be planted the next year. Biennials live for two years, producing only leaves in the first year and flowers and seeds in the second year. Perennials live for more than two years.