How and What to Grow in a Kitchen Garden of One Acre (10th Ed)/Grapes
GRAPES.
I grow grapes between the rows of berry bushes, half way from each row, which are twelve foot apart. The vines are eight feet apart in the row; at every vine is planted an old fence rail, the ends squared off, and the bottom coated with coal tar before planting; these stand six feet above the surface, and from top to top runs a light pole or single strand of wire The vines are tied up to the posts and out along the rail; this gives a clear space underneath for keeping the ground worked, and it bears the crop in the most convenient position for gathering. The vines should be trimmed early in February, that the wounds may contract and harden before the sap flows. The vines should be tied up with fresh rope; do not depend on any old tics, as, though they may look strong, the birds will pick them to pieces to make nests of. Trim the vines to long canes, two to four to each post, and divide them at the top, carrying half out the top pole or wire in each direction; cut the side shoots back to two eyes each, as these are the spurs that will furnish the fruit branches. If fruit is desired in finest condition a two-pound paper bag should be tied round the neck, to the stem of each bunch, placing the bunch inside, when the berries are about half grown; this preserves the grapes from mildew and, what is more destructive, the ravages of bees and birds.