How to Plant a Concord Grape Vine on a Fence

Concord grapes are a beautiful and tasty addition to your backyard garden.

Since grape vines do not have their own support tissue like trees do, they need something to prop them up as they grow. A strong fence is a good support for a Concord grape vine. The leaves will provide privacy and you can make the grapes into jam, jelly, juice and other treats. A properly planted Concord grape vine will give you many years of beauty and fresh fruit.

Things You'll Need

• Metal or wood fence posts
• High-tensile galvanized wire
• Shovel
• 3 gallons water
• Mulch
• Pruning shears

Instructions

1. Build or reinforce your fence to be strong enough to support the Concord grape vine. The fence posts should be metal or wood, and firmly sunk at least 2 feet into the ground. In addition to any regular fencing, there must be a high-tensile, galvanized wire at the top that will be the main support for the grape vine. This wire should be about 5 or 6 feet above the ground.

2. Plant the Concord grape vine in early spring or late fall. The vine must be dormant.

3. Locate the grape vine in a sunny location with good drainage. It is even better if the ground slants away from the grape vine. If you are planting more than one grape vine, plant them about 10 feet apart.

4. Dig a hole at the base of the fence for the Concord grape vine. The hole should be twice as big as the root ball of the grape vine. Work the soil at the bottom with a shovel until about 6 inches of it is loose. Mix the soil from the hole half-and-half with compost.

5. Set the root ball into the hole and position it so that the surface of the ground matches the surface of the ground of the root ball. Fill in around the root ball with the soil and compost mixture so that the hole is about 2/3 full.

6. Water the root ball with about 3 gallons of water and let it soak into the ground. Hold the grape vine straight up, and fill the rest of the hole with the soil and compost mixture.

7. Mulch the base of the Concord grape vine with something organic like dry leaves or bark mulch. Prune away any broken parts of the grape vine. Leave several vine shoots to grow.

8. Water the grape vine regularly for the first growing season. Do not let the soil get soggy.

Tips & Warnings

• In the second growing season, prune off all but two of the healthiest canes of the grape vine. Tie them loosely to the fence in a vertical position with twine or grape vine ties. Each year you will have to prune the vine, leaving the healthiest canes. Tie, or train, the vine to the high-tensile wire at the top of the fence so that the grape vine uses it for the most support.

References

• Cornell University: Growing Grapes in Your New York Garden
• Food-Skills-for-Self-Sufficiency.com: Growing Grapes for Self-Sufficiency
• Ohio State University: Growing Grapes in the Home Fruit Planting