How to close grapes for the winter: the main ways

Experienced gardeners know that it is desirable to cover the fall of the grapes for the winter, otherwise you can lose not only young shoots, but also perennial bushes. So, if in winter, during the week, it will stay around -15 ... -18 ⁰ С, then up to 70% of eyes can die. With prolonged frost at -20 ⁰ C, all eyes will die, in some cases vines will remain unviable. Professionals distinguish three main ways of how to close grapes for the winter. This is hilling, semi and complete shelter.

Hilling

The first method is used in those cases when it comes to young plantings, it is desirable It should be used only on seedlings of the first year of life. Before you start hilling, you need to remove all the leaves from the bushes. If it is a country plot, it is not too difficult to do, but if you have a large landing, you can use a 7% urea solution for this purpose. It is also used for decontaminating the earth and vines before closing the grapes for the winter.

2 weeks after the treatment, you can start work on the insulation. For this, an earthen embankment with a height of 10 to 25 cm is created. At the same time, it is not necessary to excavate the trench near the seedlings, so their roots can freeze. But do not forget, for adult plants this method is not suitable, because the kidneys remain open, namely they are the first to die with a significant cooling. Uplink can only be used in southern regions, where there are no prolonged frosts and sudden temperature changes.

Semi-hiding

For adult shrubs, there are other methods, such as warming grapes for the winter. In regions where the temperature rarely falls below -20 ⁰ C, half-hood can be used. With this method, the lower parts of the bushes are covered with earth, and shoots are wrapped. For this purpose, use cloth, straw, creating a layer on the thickness of at least 3 cm. But it should be noted that this method protects more from cold winds and withered vines, but in severe frosts it will not help.

Total shelter

Many gardeners have already verified that it is best to use a complete shelter. However, before closing the grapes for winter in this way, it is necessary to cut it, forming the right bush, and then bend to the ground. To do this, all its shoots are connected together in a not too tight bundle and are covered with material, straw, unnecessary blankets and a heater that does not allow moisture (linoleum, polyethylene, roofing material, etc.). Further care for the grapes for the winter is that you need to take care of the created structure. It should not be scattered during the first strong winds. To do this, you can knock down special boxes that will be installed on top of the shelter, or press it with special fixing clamps, and it is good to cover it over the ground. If you do not have these devices, then the insulation layer can be simply pressed with bricks or strong boards.

Also do not forget that there are a number of nuances in how to close the grapes for the winter. At full cover, remember that the vine should not lie just on the ground, lay under it a layer of straw, dry leaves or fir branches. Also, there is no need to rush to cover the shoots until the first frosts, they only harden the vine.