Grapes drying up

[Linden]

Hi, is anyone having problems with grapes drying up, my vines in my garden where they get watered slightly are fine but most up the allotment where there is no water have thinned themselves out, a few to the extent where the bunches have completely disintegrated. I know it’s been very hot lately but vineyards in Italy are hotter and I’m sure they are not watered

[Jay-ell]

I haven't a clue but my first thoughts would include
Age -

how old of the vines? Some of the established vines in Italy are older than some of the members of the vine and would have a deep root system.

Variety -

different varieties have been bred to cope with different conditions. I guess if its a European, American or Euro/American hybrid would also have an impact

Rootstock -

if it's a grafted vine hen the rootstock sold to home gardeners might be a less vigorous variety and therefore not have such an extensive root system

Soil -

are you on clay or sand? Sand drains quickly and heats up more, where as clay keeps water and stays cooler. Acid or Alkaline - as the water levels drop the pH might change.

Precipitation and moisture -

it might be hotter but how much moisture do they get? Does it rain in the summer? Are there morning mists which will condense out? Is there dew in the morning?

Planting -

rather than growing so that they get the full sun all day, are they angles to give each other some shade at the hotter times of the day?

[nickdub]

depends on the age and size of the vine mostly - if its a big old one and the roots go down a long way, then it will be fine - younger ones need water - I'm watering a couple which have been in the ground for about a year.

[Ocelot]

I'm watering mine every day, when I do the pots, although it is about 12 years old. The grapes were quite slow to get going this year, but seem to be normal size now, and there are loads of them. They came on when I started watering.

Might be best to give it a soak if you can.

[bikermike]

are you covering the soil?

I think lots of vineyards in southern france cover the exposed soil with stones to limit losses

[the big lebowski]

why not water them everyother day for a week or so to see if they pick up ? im not an expert at grapevines but never watering them seems abit strange to me tbh ,cheers gl

[Linden]

These are wine grapes(dornfelder,rondo & Bacchus). I planted 100 of them 3 years ago, this year is really their first crop. Perhaps I should have been watering them maybe once a week from flowering to mid berry size. The problem is there is no water onsite, I only have 6 barrels which I have to try to keep topped up. Oh well time to ask a neighbouring garden to borrow their hose pipe!! In exchange for a bottle of wine next year

[Deltawhiskey]

Hi Linden,
By this time the roots should be far enough down that they should be reaching moisture. They should also be far enough from the surface that apart from hours of soaking the water will not reach them. In sandy/gravel soil the roots can go down 4 metres. I have my vines in their second year on clay soil in the south and have no problems. You didn’t say what your soil type is. I do have weed control fabric as a mulch which may have helped. Like the rest of us pray for some good rain.

David

[Linden]

Hi David, I am in north west Kent. My soil is quite stoney loam with good drainage. Soil type is similar at home but the allotment is well sheltered, and is in a great position, but almost too good as it is so hot lately and I have no water there(only butts),I was sort of comparing the site to vineyards in Italy where I know they are not watered.

[the big lebowski]

hhhmm this is rather strange tbh,sounds like you have a really good set up ,good soil and everything ,when you say good shelter ,what do you mean ? not in a tunnel i take it ? can you take some photos for us pls ? i was talking to a freind up the plot today and they said that the uk wine makers are having a great year ,do you have a vinyard near you ? might be worth giving them a call any seeing if you can get some tips ,be interesting to find out whats going on ,cheers gl

[Deltawhiskey]

Hi Linden,
I am quite surprised with the soil you have that your vines are suffering so badly as the roots should be really deep by now. I spray mine fortnightly with liquid seaweed which apart from feeding also toughened the leaves. It may also reduce transpiration leaving more water for the grapes. My vineyard (60 vines in the garden) was flooded in spring with all the rain we had and I was worried about the roots rotting.
Do you have grafted vines? If so perhaps the rootstock does not cope well with drought. I have SO4 which luckily copes well with badly drained soil. Don’t loose hope because next year will probably be a normal English summer with plenty of rain.
Just another thought, how many bunches have you left on each vine? Mine are producing their first crop and I have only left three bunches per vine. Too many bunches on young vines will need more sustenance and could also weaken the vines for next year.

David

[Linden]

Hi David, mine also are on so4 rootstock. They are in their 4th year, last year I only let them have 2 bunches per vine, this year I’ve left 2 bunches per vertical shoot. I have been spraying with a fungicide for powdery mildew which I bought in Italy last year, now I’m wondering if it could be this,. Tried uploading some pictures but not happening, going up there in a minute before football kicks off take some more pictures and try to upload again

[Jay-ell]

Remember that you need to shrink the size of your photos first.

There's several threads about uploading photos
https://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gr...oid_94344.html
https://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gr...one_94345.html

[Deltawhiskey]

Hi Linden,

I have been spraying with a Dithane, wettable sulphur, Epsom salts and seaweed mix. If the problem was the fungicide I would have thought it would have damaged the leaves first before the fruit. With the lighter soil you have it is probably a water shortage which would probably indicate a hard layer preventing the roots getting deep. I know that the loss of your grapes is really hard but remember that we have not had a dry summer like this since the 70s. Another thought. Is it the first bunch on the vertical shoot or the second or both. You might be able to save some of your crop by removing some of the bunches.

David

[Linden]

No tried everything still can’t upload pictures, I can WhatsApp, email or text if anyone can post on for me