Hey Chuck and Jim,

I don't normally butt in very much since I'm not in Texas but I do have a
success
story from the land of clay up in northern N.B., Canada.
I was lucky if the water dropped two inches in two days up there and I ended
up
digging trenches 4 feet wide by 4 feet deep and I filled up the bottom foot
and a half
with branches and put the soil back in with the topsoil first and gravelly
bottom soil
last so it ended up on top. I then planted vines in these new rows. The
vines are still growing there even though there are
spruce trees about 20 feet tall surrounding the vines and blocking the
sunshine. They
are growing up in the trees in a cold area where no vines were supposed to be
able to
grow. Zone 4...

Riesling talk sure makes me miss the Mosel river in Germany! I preferred the
sweet Auslese types to the dry ones though...
Michel in Atlanta

wildtrout@... wrote:
Chuck > Been awhile since I posted however this got my attention - if
you really have black clay for soil - don't bother trying to grow grapes. To
verify your soil is a true black clay do the following -- dig a hole 6" x 6" by
1 foot deep. Clean out all loose material and fill half way with water. Cover
with a board. Wait one hour and measure the water level. If it has dropped more
then 1 inch your on the border line of workable soil. If it has dropped more 2
inches things arelooking up. If the water is completely gone - good new you
don't have
black clay. Now think about this you plant your vines, get one good heavy rain
and the vines will end up drowning since the clay provide little drainage. Now I
have found that Riesling and Villard Blanc do grow very well in a Black Clay
soil ( water drops 2" in one hour ). However you will need to rip the clay up to
a depth of 3-4 feet and add a sand/humus mix to help with drainage. Wish you the
best of luck.

Hey, thanks. I will try your experiment.

I admit to being a little surprised by Riesling. I love the dry Rieslings of
Alsace and New Zealand -- but both are cool climates. What kind of fruit do you
get growing Riesling in a warm climate?

My original question was why (other than my black clay) wouldn't a warm-weather
European vinifera do well in north Texas? It seems to make sense that if you
could find analogous weather -- parts of Spain come to mind -- then you might be
able to grow say a Tempranillo.

Thanks again.

Jim Swayze
www.fireholecanyon.com






Mr. Michel White
Grape Grower Solutions
Buy and sell grape growing products and learn how to grow grapes with us.
http://www.grapegrowersolutions.com

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