Many modern summer residents are able to grow delicious berries, even in the most severe conditions. However, it is necessary to provide reliable shelter for grapes for the winter in the Urals and in other similar regions. Young vines have a weak root system, which means they are susceptible to freezing, drying out, or, conversely, aging when improperly stored in the cold season.
Features of the Ural viticulture
The dry method is considered an excellent way to shelter the vines for the winter, it allows you to completely protect the plant from the adverse effects of the climate. Agricultural technology of grapes in the Urals involves the use of both special protective structures and ordinary snow cover to prevent freezing of the vines. Light frosts are easily tolerated by local varieties and even make plants more resilient. But in the second half of October it is necessary to provide shelter for grapes for the winter. Usually this procedure is carried out when the night temperature drops below -5 ° C.
The essence of the dry method is that immediately after the autumn pruning of grapes, all available vines are bent to the soil and pinned with wire or special garden arches. It is necessary to ensure that the shoots do not touch the ground, but are 10 cm from it. Shelter of grapes for the winter in the Urals involves the use of special materials. The main condition: under such a design it must be dry, otherwise the roots and vine will be rotted and rotted.
Top prepared shoots are covered with ordinary plastic wrap: it will not allow moisture to fall on the plant. The uppermost layer of the "fur coat" is fixed with ordinary stones, boards or earthen ramparts. At the same time, vents supplying fresh air into the structure should go to the vine.
If groundwater is suitable on a site close to the surface , or there are floods in spring, drainage outlets must be taken care of. A good shelter of grapes for the winter in the Urals also depends on the amount of snow that was collected on the protective structure. Interestingly, vents should also be under a layer of fluffy “blankets”.
As soon as nighttime frosts stop happening and the temperature is guaranteed to be higher than -5 ° C, all protective structures are removed. This is best done on a cloudy day so that the bright sunshine does not hurt the young shoots, breaking out from under the autumn mulch. Shelter of grapes for the winter in the Urals will no longer be necessary until the new season, but there comes a time for another crucial process - pruning of vines. It is necessary to remove all wilted, old leaves, remove all damaged areas and cut off dry shoots.
To improve air circulation near the roots of grapes, you can loosen the soil with a chopper. However, you need to be careful, it is very important not to damage the plants weakened from wintering. Before tying the vine to the trellis, you need to wait for the appearance of new buds and young shoots up to 5 cm long. Then you can fix the vine and remove all excess processes. When the first inflorescences of 15-20 cm in size appear, it will be possible to pinch the shoots. And the last rule: there can be no high yields without high-quality autumn pruning!