Grape Propagation

Our family has just bought a new home and although initially it will be a rental property it is likely that we will eventually live in it. The land is around 1/3 of an acre (1500 m2 approx), so not only will there be a little grass, a play area for the children and an outdoor entertaining area, we will be able to afford to (finally) have a properly organized vegetable garden, fruit orchard and a chicken run.

From a sustainability perspective, I don’t think that we’ll be entirely self sufficient, but I do think that we can substantially reduce our need to purchase quite as much fresh produce from the supermarket. Plus, I will probably be able to experiment a little more than I have been able to previously. When you’ve only got minimal space, you need to go with what works. On this new property, I’ll be able to try out a few different things just for the fun of it.

First up will be a bit of a trial vineyard. And by vineyard I mean growing a few grape vines! I know a guy locally who runs quite a successful winery, so I’ve been able to get hold of a few different varieties of wine grapes, and will have a go at being able to propagate them.

In all, he’s given me 5 varieties: Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Merlot. While I’ve got four cuttings of each, I’m really not sure what number will actually take successfully. I’ve got in mind one area in the new home that I will probably grow them, but I’ve decided to start the propagation process now. That way if and when we move in, I’ll know how many vines I’m dealing with.

To propagate grapes is pretty easy and straightforward. I’ve taken some cuttings from the pruning that the vineyard goes through at this time of year. Every vine needs to be cut back, so it provides plenty of opportunity to get cuttings.

The cuttings need to be trimmed to where the buds grow from. The two or three buds planted under the soil will grow roots, while leaves and vines will grow from the buds above ground. Or at least that’s the theory. I've used a fairly basic store bought potting mix this time around, purely to make my job a bit easier!

While I’d prefer for the garden to have little non-organic input as much as possible, because I only have a four of each variety, I have used a powder that is supposed to help the cuttings take root. If I was growing off my own vines, I’d just plant a truckload more and be happy with a lower success rate.

I’ve then put the pots (labeled with their variety as I would never be able to tell what is what variety) beside a north-facing wall (which gets most of the winter (Southern Hemisphere) sun. It’s a bit of a micro-climate that seems to be providing a bit of warmth to our strawberries, so it should provide a bit more protection to the new vines.

I doubt I’ll ever get enough grape juice to actually make wine, but I figure when we move in that I’ll probably have a few table grapes as well, so hopefully these will complement those grape vines. Failing that, I know our old chooks loved eating grapes so they can always be chicken food!