Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
year, you can buy some; alternatively, you can buy a rooted cutting from it and
grow your own.
Although some varieties of grape are hardy enough to grow outside in the UK, all
of them are more successful if grown under cover, provided that they can be
looked after properly. This means spending time watering, feeding, pruning,
training and ventilating, but so long as you are willing to put in the work, it is
quite possible to have a good harvest of your own grapes year after year. Be clear
whether you want to buy either a 'dessert' (or 'table') variety for eating, or a vari-
ety that's better suited to wine making. Whichever you choose, make sure it has
good disease resistance and will ripen well without heat.
Preparation
Vine roots need to stay cool, whereas above ground the vines need warmth and
sunlight to do well. This is why vines that will not be container-grown are often
planted just outside a greenhouse and then trained to grow inside - the Great
Vine is an example of just how well this works. In the context of a polytunnel
where the cover is secured at ground level with a base rail, you can dig a trench
under the rail and position the plant so that its roots are at least partially outside,
then backfill the trench with light gravel.
Polytunnels where the cover is trenched in are trickier, because you have to pro-
vide a hole in the cover to pass the young plant through. To minimise the risk of
tears starting at the hole, make it circular using a sharp Stanley or craft knife,
and use overlapping strips of polytunnel repair tape to reinforce the edges (see
diagram). Work fairly close to ground level (say 10cm), and when you next
replace your cover, use a base rail rather than a trench to secure it - any good
supplier will help you work out what you need. On the grapevine side, the base
rail will probably still need to be a little higher than ground level, but this is not
a problem: don't trim off the excess
film below the rail but bury it in a
shallow trench instead, so that the
tunnel is still held down firmly by the
weight of the soil. You will need to
cut a slit in the 'skirt' where the vine
passes through (again, reinforce the
top of the cut with repair tape), but
the base rail will prevent the wind
getting to the cut. If you decide this
is not for you, you can plant inside,
provided you insulate the roots from
heat with a heavy mulch of rocks or
other material that can store a lot of
warmth and provide lots of water.
Strengthening the hole with cover repair tape
 
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