This is interesting stuff. I had considered doing a little experimental vine or
two in my backyard here in the same type of black clay soil. Wonder what
european growing region is the slightest bit analogous to north texas if any.
Always thought you might get, say, a Tempranillo vine going around here.

Jim Swayze
www.fireholecanyon.com


> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: Re: [texasgrapes] where do i start
> From: Big Soy <bigsoy@...>
> Date: Sun, January 14, 2007 9:35 am
> To: texasgrapes@yahoogroups.com
>
>
>
> well, i don't have any experience with the classic texas black waxy clay
> soils you've got, but grapes can thrive in a variety of soils at a
> variety of pH's, provided the soil has a decent microbial life going.
> Your best bet is to learn to graft, as the grapes you probably want to
> grow (decent wine grapes) will struggle in your soil. Grafting is quite
> easy, though, and there are numberous books that describe the process.
> My favorite is called The Grape Grower, by Lon Rombough.
> Basically, you're going to want to use a grape like Champanel as a
> rootstock, with whatever winegrape you prefer on top, such as cabernet,
> merlot, etc.. You'll also want to try out some French-American hybrids,
> such as Baco Noir or an old Texas favorite, Black Spanish (Lenoir) on
> their own roots. This is what i typically do, as the european varieties
> tend to be very suceptible to disease.. You'll need about one vine per
> gallon of wine you intend to produce, although it will take 4 or 5 years
> to get to that point. You'll need a reliable irrigation system, too,
> preferrably drip (which is easy to install), and of course some sort of
> trellis system.
>
> Here are some pertinent sites:
>
> http://www.bunchgrapes.com
> this is Lon Rombough's website. he sells cuttings at a reasonable rate.
> he can also answer a lot of questions better than i can.
>
> http://www.rakgrape.com/
> double a vineyards in new york. good prices on cuttings.
>
> http://www.tandjenterprises.com/productslinks.htm
> this is Thomas Giannou's organic products website. he can be a huge
> help in advising how to prepare soil over the winter and have a
> successful planting. His BioVam is a blend of live micorrhizal fungi
> that do wonders in helping grapevines adapt to a variety of soil types
> and effeciently use available soil nutrients.
>
> Good Luck!
>
> Adam
>
> knikki wrote:
>
> > i live in crowly just south of fort worth. what r the best grapes to
> > grow for wine produciton. i have a 3/4 acre yard and black dirt. dont
> > they like acid soil? is there a point in growing any? my brother lives
> > to play around with wine making and im the gardener. how many vines
> > does it take to get a decent amount of grapes?
> >
> >
>
>