City Cottage | Page 19

For planting outdoors

Choose a sunny spot!

Do not prepare holes in the ground too far in advance of planting, as the ground will dry out making it more difficult for your vine to establish itself properly. Vines can be planted into the ground at all times of the year unless the ground is frozen solid, but if you can get a spade in the ground then you can plant (ensure that the roots are properly planted into the hole to protect them from frost).
Vines like a well-drained position so ensure the area you plan to plant your vine does not sit wet (puddle) at any time of the year. Take out a large planting hole – ideally a minimum of 2 x 2 x 2 feet (60 x 60 x 60 cm). Fork over the base and sides of the hole to loosen the surrounding soil. Then part fill the hole back with a mixture of the soil that was removed from the hole and organic matter such as well rotted manure, leaf mould or similar; if the soil that came out of the original hole was in ‘good heart’ then adding well-rotted organic matter is not necessary, however if your soil is poor then adding well-rotted organic matter will certainly benefit your vine but never use more than 50% as this will make the plant ‘lazy’ in rooting into the soil.

Under no circumstances should you use any bonemeal or similar stimulants at the time of planting as these can easily cause burn and damage to the roots. The hole should be part filled and gently firmed to a level where the compost of the root ball (if potted) will sit just below original ground level – or in the case of a bare root vine roots drape freely just touching the filled soil level and sit so that the graft is approximately 2 – 4” (5 – 10 cm) above the original level.

Now back fill the hole (spreading the roots if planting a bare root vine) with more soil / organic matter mix and firm well – checking that the vine is planted at or just below its original level. In light soils gently tread in to ensure firm planting.

Water the vine well, regardless of the time of year – and ensure that the vine is kept watered for the first full growing Season. Just as when watering anything else, it is best to water heavily but less regularly as opposed to lightly every day – the old adage of a “bucket a week instead of a tea cup a day” – as the deeper penetration of the water will encourage deeper rooting as opposed to surface rooting. Vines planted within greenhouses, polytunnels and similar will of course need regular watering indefinitely.