Vine Planting Guidelines

 This document assumes that all reasonable steps have been taken to best prepare the soil for the successful plantation of the vines which have been supplied. This refers to the following steps: 

  No living green matter (grass, weeds etc) has been ploughed down into the soil profile              during soil preparation

  Soils with a pH of lower than 6.5 have been corrected to be of at least pH 6.5

  Any soil nutrient corrections which have been advised have been carried out at least    
                  six weeks prior to vine plantation.

  Soil has been deep cultivated to a depth of 40 – 50cm.

  Soil has been finely cultivated so as to produce a fine tilth which can be used to back-fill the
hole / cavity that the vine is to be planted into. If this is not the case, soil with a fine crumb structure must be imported onto the planting site and used to fill the planting hole / cavity once the vine has been placed into it. This is so that the vine roots are not left in ‘pockets’ of air – as this will cause them to dry out and die off.
It is accepted that when planting ‘replacement’ vines, it is not always possible to carry out deep soil cultivation beforehand. In this case, a hole of 30cm diameter and 50cm depth should be dug out / augered out. This larger hole will give the roots room for an initial flush of growth.
The following steps must be taken in order to give the best chance of successful vine establishment after plantation:
Storage
Request delivery so that vines can be planted within maximum 1 week of arrival on farm.
If using a cool storage facility, temperature should be between +2 and +4 degree C.. Take out of cool storage at least 2 - 3 days before plantation, so that vines can acclimatise to natural air temperature
If you do not have cool storage facilities, keep the vines in a cool (as far as possible), dark and dry area. If opening the boxes to check contents, ensure they are properly re-packed and taped shut whilst in storage.
Removal From Cool Storage
Remove from cool storage approximately 2 – 3 days prior to planting, in order that they have time to acclimatise to the ambient outside temperature.

Do not remove the vines from their boxes. The boxes have been sealed so as to maintain a sufficient level of moisture between the time of cool storage and planting back into the soil. 

During Planting 

Planting depth – the graft union should be approximately 3cm – 5cm clear of the soil into which it has been planted 

Graft union 

Roots – sample some vines to check that the roots have been well dispersed in the soil, and are not ‘clumped’ together. It is essential to ensure that vine roots are well dispersed in the soil. 

Post Planting 

Ensure that the cavity into which the vine was planted has been properly closed, and that there is good soil : root contact. If there is not good contact, then this must be achieved via ‘healing in’ by foot or via ‘wheeling in’ with a tractor or similar vehicle. 

Continue to check soil moisture levels throughout the first summer season. One of the most common reasons for young vine failure is lack of available soil moisture 

Failure to control weeds and fungal pathogens during the first two growing seasons will greatly reduce the chances of successful vine establishment. Please seek advice on the most effective ways to control weeds and fungal pathogens in the vineyard. 

>>