Grape Vine Growing – A Fun And Rewarding Hobby

Before you buy grape vines, you have to consider what will be their use. Are they for eating, for making juices or jellies, or to ferment a good wine? Then consider the seasons in your community. Are the winters too cold or the summers too hot? The most important consideration is your backyard. Does it have enough space for planting grapes? Is the backyard sloping? Do you have a reliable drainage system? And is there enough sunlight to pass through? The nursery man will assist you in choosing the right variety for your specific ideas.

After you get grape vines at the nursery, it's time to plant them. Dig under the soil, plant the grape vine and carefully cover back the soil. Add a pole nearby and tie it to grape vine to provide a sturdy frame for the plant. Plant the grapes 8-10 feet apart from each other. Water the plant everyday to help the grape vine establish itself in the soil and grow.

Then after some time, set up the trellis. Use wires, ropes, or poles and set them horizontally three feet from the ground. Train the grape vine when it reaches the trellis. You need to constantly work on this to make the plant grow as you like. When you are successful, the grapes will grow steadily. Prune your grapes every autumn or every winter.

The fruits will appear after the second or third year. Take care not to  harvest when you see the fruit, for grapes cannot ripen on their own unlike apples. Wait for the fruits to color, and then wait a few more weeks to let them ripen further. Use a sweetness-measuring device or taste one to test its sweetness. If it is sweet, then you may harvest the grapes.

Growing grape vines can be tiring and sometimes stressful. To care for the plants continually, you must have dedication for your hobby. But after the harvesting, you can taste success. Make sure to do your research before you get started growing your grapes to avoid costly mistakes and learn some time saving tricks from the experts.

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Herb Garden Design First Considerations

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Herb Garden Design First Considerations

When looking at the design my first consideration is always to ask why and what am I doing this for. a simple question but necessary as we often forget why we are thinking Herb Garden Design.

Most of us will be looking at our garden and thinking we could put some herbs in there, but think what do we want to use them for?  What herbs do we use in our cooking and will we get some benefit   from growing them here.

No point using up our garden space on a Herb Garden if we are not going to use the herbs, I do realise that a herb garden can in itself look quite stunning and also have some magnificent  flowers and fragrances but the point is to use the herb in some practical fashion, mostly cooking but perhaps medicinal.

Once we know what kind of herbs we use in our cooking and want in our garden we need to find out if they will grow in our climate.

Local Garden centres will normally only stock those varieties of herbs which grow in the local area so this is an added safeguard to ensure  your project is not a disaster by planting herbs that will not grow.

A practical herb garden design will provide the right amount of the right herbs for you in a short period of time and will provide growth for years to come.

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