How often should i water my concord grapes?

Question

i bought two concord grapes plants a month ago and i live in lower michigan. they are in soil thats not too sandy and not too wet. How often should i water them??

thanks,

jon

Answer 1

Since this is their first year, I would keep them well watered until you get a little closer to frost.

Keep in mind that your goal is to get your grapes to root deeply so that in the future you won't have to water them except in extreme drought. This means it is better to give them a very long drink a two or three times a week than it is to water them every day. The deeper you can wet the soil, the more the roots will seek out that moisture down deep as opposed to reaching back to the surface for a bit of dampness (ie: being shallow rooted which can cause uprooting and drought stress).

The only way to tell how deeply you are watering is to stick your hand in the soil or dig down and see how far you have to go before the soil is dry. You want the soil to be wet for a good six to eight inches deep.

You don't want the soil to be WET all the time, - you don't want the plants to be sitting in water - but it sounds like you have a good mix of sand in your soil so it should drain well.  

For the most part, don't get the plant itself wet - water right at ground level. This will help prevent mildews and other diseases - particularly this time of year.

The best time to water is early morning between sunrise and 10am. Second best would be evening after 4PM. Don't water in the heat of the day.

Keep an eye on your weather forecast and try to water around that - save yourself time, water, and money!

Check out this Fact Sheet that might help you with some other issues like training, pruning and fertilizing.

http://www.extension.umn.edu/distributio...

Good luck!