The Western Cape is well-known for its beautiful vineyards and growing grapes. In addition, many people who establish food gardens choose to grow grape vines for their delicious fruit and aesthetic beauty when trained to grow on a trellis. Let’s look now at the planting requirements for grapes.
1. LOCATION
Grapes need to be planted in hot, sunny areas. They thrive in areas that have warm days, cool nights and low humidity. They also don’t tolerate frost very well. As a result, you need to protect your vines if you have frost in your area.
2. SOIL
Grapes need to be planted in sandy loam soil that drains well. A grapevine will not flourish if planted in clay soil as it does not allow good drainage.
3. PLANTING SEASON
The optimal time to plant a grapevine is in early autumn or early spring. The size of the planting hole for your vine should be approximately 60cm x 60cm in size.
4. FEEDING
Add compost to the vine when planting it and fertilise regularly but not excessively. When you dig the hole to plant your vine in be sure to add compost and bonemeal. Once you have done this make sure to apply mulch to keep the soil moist.
It’s important to note that grape vines grow vigorously and needed to be supported by a trellis or gum poles. Only one vine should be planted per support.
As always, water is essential to keep any garden flourishing. This is particularly true for a food garden. Watering your garden with council water becomes expensive. We’ve recently had an increase in the amount we pay for council water. As a result, we’re all thinking more carefully about how much water we use. Consequently, it’s critical to think out of the box and consider alternative water sources. As a result, it’s important to consider investing in a borehole.
Let’s take a look now at the benefits of a borehole:
BENEFITS OF A BOREHOLE
- A borehole increases the value of your property
- It helps you save potable water
- A borehole helps you save money on your water bill
- You can fill your pool with borehole water once treated appropriately
- You can use borehole water for your irrigation system
- It gives you water security
- It allows off-the-grid living
The benefits of a borehole are numerous and bring so much value. As a result, you can see that a borehole is well worth the investment!
Contact us for a borehole drilling quote, Cape Town!