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| Malbec vine; early June 2010 |
I am just over a month into an experiment to grow Vitis Vinifera, also known as “Wine Grapes”, and I’m sorry to report that it’s not going well.
In June I planted two dormant grapevine root cuttings, one of Cabernet Franc and the other Malbec, in an attempt to see what they might do in my well tended garden.
I followed the instructions posted at mypersonalvineyard.com meticulously:
- I dug an 18 inch hole for each rooted cutting.
- I filled the hole (and buried all but 1 to 2 inches of the top of the cutting with herbicide free moist soil, and packed the soil to remove air pockets) and
- I used a planting sleeve, fashioned out of two translucent plastic carving sheets.
With all my precautions against desiccation, I fear that my vines may not have survived.
Here is what my Cab Franc planting looks like as of this morning:
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| Photo of Malbec vine on July 23rd |
Pretty dismal, eh? I suspect that my interpretation of the planting instructions and use of the planting sleeves was incorrect and that I probably killed my vines…but there’s still hope (though slim).
First off, it may be that the cuttings are still dormant, in which case they may “spring” to life with some kind of foliage growth in the next few weeks or months.
Secondly, it could be that I need to try to re-replant these, following the instructions more closely and taking the advice of the good folks at mypersonalvineyard.com.
Third (and lastly) this experiment is not a failure: even if I have killed the plants. I’ll figure out what I did wrong and try again next year…learning from this possible failure.
I’m not a quitter, and I’m not going to let this set-back (if indeed it is a set-back) prevent me from trying again.
Because if I’ve learned anything from my attempts at breaking four hours in a marathon, after having run over twenty-one of them: If at first you don’t succeed…try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try again!
Salute!
- Steve
