Your Month-by-Month Guide to Vineyard Management | Mossy Oak Properties California Farm & Ranch

Whether you’re growing table grapes or grapes for wine production, having your own vineyard is a satisfying farming experience. After you establish your vineyard space, set up your trellises and get your grape vines in the ground, proper management of your crop will keep your vines healthy and in a prime condition to bear fruit for every harvesting season.

In addition to the chore of providing a gallon of water per day for your new plants, here are the maintenance tasks you can use as a guide year after year for your vineyard:

January: Weed Management Leave grass and ground covering between the rows, but root out anything that could begin to strangle vines. A weedeater can be too harsh to use near the delicate plants and trellises, so this should be a manual process.

February: Vine Training Vines tend to have a mind of their own, which is why you should invest some time in training them early on. Beginning the selective pruning and tying before leaves have sprouted will make it easier once the vines become weighty with produce.

March–May: Fungus Fighting Fighting fungus is a struggle every year, but is something to stay on top of extra vigilantly after a particularly wet winter. Spray vines every 10 to 14 days with a fungus fighter especially designed for powdery mildew—a vineyard’s arch nemesis—to protect plants.

June–July: Vine Pruning Prune back leaves and unhealthy growth so budding grapes have access to plenty of sun, and continue the vine training process as well.

June–August: Suckering Suckers—also called water sprouts—grow from the old wood at the base or the head of the vine. These will start to pop up throughout the summer, draining valuable nutrients away from your grapes. Snip these off as soon as you can to keep plants healthy.

September: Selective Pruning Remove or thin out fruits that are too close together in order to keep healthy fruits growing. While some crowding can protect fruit on the hottest of days, too much will result in lackluster grapes.

October–December: Harvest and enjoy your successful growing season!

If you’re interested in having the perfect plot of land to start your own vineyard, contact Mossy Oak Properties California Farm & Ranch today!