Red Globe, Menindee Seedless, White Muscat and Black Muscat- just some of the grape varieties which are available from September each year, perfect for Spring planting.
When considering the best position to plant grapes, think of the Italian hillsides. Grapes love full sun all day and it’s really important to have well-drained soil that is free of weeds. Grapes grow best on a vertical trellis or arbour and look very effective hanging down from above – it makes picking them easier too!
The most important thing to do for grapes is quality pruning. While it feels severe at the time, grapes benefit from heavy cutting back during their dormancy. Using quality secateurs, cut the branches back to where the buds begin. These will begin to produce several shoots which will then grow leaves and flowers, and in turn fruit.
It’s important to thin out the fruit if the vines are over-producing to ensure higher quality fruit. Remove any flower clusters that look oddly shaped and any fruit that is poorly developed.
The hardest part is to not be too eager to harvest your fruit. Grapes will not continue to ripen once they are picked from the vine, so test the fruit every couple of days until it is fully ripe and then harvest your bunches.
Whether you are eating them as table grapes, using them for jams and jellies or attempting your own wine production, growing grapes in your garden is lots of fun and very rewarding.