Gardeners love to grow grapes. Its berries are a storehouse of vitamins and minerals. Today, many are still just discovering a new variety - Sphinx grapes. It will become an adornment of your vineyard, will always delight you with a delicious and fragrant crop.
Grapes "Sphinx": variety description
This is a table grade. It was obtained as a result of selection, by crossing varieties "Timur" and "Strashensky." It was brought by the breeder Zagorulno V.V. This is an early ripening variety (100 days).
The bushes are large, the leaves are streaked in the middle. Shoots ripen perfectly. Grapes "Sphinx" has bisexual flowers. The clusters are large, cylindrical, large, their weight reaches one and a half kilograms.
The berries are oval, dark blue, large, size - 30 x 28 mm, weight - up to 10 g. The pulp has an amazing aroma, juicy with a pleasant taste.
Productivity is high. Sphinx grapes (reviews of the owners confirm this) can withstand frost up to -23 ° . Many people think that bunches do not have a sufficiently attractive presentation, this in no way affects the popularity of the Sphinx variety.
Grape Advantages
They undoubtedly exist. Gardeners of our country fell in love with this variety for:
- excellent taste;
- quite early ripening;
- high productivity;
- frost resistance.
disadvantages
There are some minor flaws:
- Sphinx grapes are susceptible to damage by oidium and mildew;
- clusters have an average presentation.
Landing
To get a good harvest, it is important to know how to plant grapes of this variety. You can do this in the spring and autumn. When planting in spring, you need to choose the time from April to mid-May. Landing in autumn is carried out in October.
How to plant grapes correctly? First, dig a hole 80x80x80 cm. The bottom layer (15 cm) contains fertile soil, which should be well leveled. To it is added 7-8 buckets of humus, three hundred grams of potash fertilizers and three hundred grams of superphosphate. Mix the resulting mixture thoroughly and condense. You should have a hole, the depth of which will be about 50 cm.
Seedling preparation
For this, a young plant needs to be placed in water for two days. After soaking, the annual shoot is removed, but no more than 3 eyes are left. The roots need to be shortened a little.
In the center of the hole, form a small mound and put a seedling on it. Spread the roots evenly over the cone. Then pour well-fertilized soil into the pit so that a small hole remains near the seedling. Its depth should be no more than 10 cm. Compact the filled earth. Pour water into the hole at the rate of three buckets per seedling.
Plant care
The Sphinx grape variety loves moisture, so it is important to water the bushes regularly with plenty of water. Waterlogging does not like grapes.
Water the bush should be no more than once every three weeks. You can use the drainage system or pour into the holes located on the periphery of the bush. They can be made somewhat in a circle (radius - 0.5 m, depth - 20 cm). 4 buckets of water should be poured onto the bush.
Especially after winter, the soil needs to be saturated with moisture. Therefore, in early spring, all bushes must be well watered. If the winter was wet, then the amount of water can be reduced.
Sphinx grapes need watering before flowering, in about 15-20 days. In summer, bushes are watered for the first time only after clusters have formed. During this period, grapes need moisture as never before. Therefore, water consumption should be increased to 60 liters per 1 square meter.
Late autumn should be recharge irrigation. This is done when the leaves from the bush have already fallen. 60 liters of water per 1 square meter are introduced.
Mulching
This operation must be carried out regularly so that the moisture in the soil lasts longer. The first time this procedure is performed after planting a seedling so that it is reliably protected. Further as necessary. You can use peat, humus, straw, fallen leaves, grass. Now there are many modern materials suitable for these purposes. Polyethylene is also suitable.
Shelter for the winter
In many regions of Russia, the Sphinx grape (in the Moscow Region, for example) needs shelter for the winter. This must be done before the onset of cold weather - at the end of October.
The signal for creating shelter for the gardener should be the shedding of leaves. The bushes are tied, laid on pre-bedded material. They can serve as wooden boards. Gently secure the vines to the ground. Then an arch of metal arcs is installed over a row of grape shoots. A durable plastic film is stretched over them. On the side of the film, the earth is poured or fixed in some other way so that it does not blow off by the wind. During the thaw, you can open the ends of the film so that the shoots can breathe. Some gardeners cover the bushes with earth. They are also laid on the ground, covered with earth, and then the fallen snow will cover them.
Pruning
Sphinx grapes are cut once a season - in the fall, when the bushes begin to prepare for winter. 4 sleeves should be left. They will still bear fruit. At least 4 eyes should be left on the shoots. When pruning young bushes, prune the mature vine first. Then the shoots can simply be shortened.
Fertilizers
Grapes are in great need of additional fertilizer. This is necessary for regular and abundant fruiting. During the vegetative period, top dressing is performed 3 times with an interval of a month.
Young seedlings should not be fertilized, since fertile soil with fertilizers was applied to the lower layer (in the pit). Grapes need nitrogen fertilizers to increase growth power. Nitrogen can be added with organic matter. Before the flowers bloom, add potassium and zinc salts, as well as superphosphate. This will increase the quantity and quality of the crop.
In late autumn, you need to add potassium and superphosphate, so that in the cold season the roots have additional nutrition.
Fertilizers are introduced into small depressions around the bush (30 cm deep). In addition to mineral fertilizers, the plant needs organic fertilizing. It can be compost or humus (15 kg). This type of feeding is carried out once every two years.
Protection against diseases and pests
Sphinx grapes are predisposed to defeat by oidium and mildew, therefore it is necessary to spray bushes with phosphoricides as prophylaxis (and not just as a treatment).
If gray dust or yellow spots appear on the vine leaves - the plant is infected, emergency measures should be taken. Vines are sprayed before flowering, and again after flowering.
Grapes "Sphinx": reviews of gardeners
This variety was appreciated by the winegrowers of our country. What is especially important - he was loved not only by experienced gardeners, but also by beginners in this matter.
Today, Sphinx grapes are quite widespread in our country. In the Moscow region, for example, gardeners note that with proper care up to 10 kg of aromatic grapes from a bush can be obtained per season. They are also attracted to simple plant care.
This variety is also popular in the northern regions of our country. Gardeners are pleased with the early ripening of grapes and its frost resistance.
It is only important to observe the rules of planting and caring for the plant. The variety is quite suitable for beginner winegrowers - with minimal physical effort they can get an excellent harvest.