The care of the grape vine is a pleasant occupation. To gather the
rich, ripe bunches of its delicious fruit is a grand enjoyment. Almost
every one can command a spot of ground sufficient for the liberal
support of a grape vine. It may be planted in any unappropriated
corner about the house--a sunny spot is to be preferred; but a vine
may do well with but little direct sunshine, if it is well sheltered
and properly cared for. It may be planted at the foot of a tree, the
branches of which are not near the ground, and it will find its way
high up the tree, and will yield large crops of fine fruit, hidden
among its own thick foliage and that of the tree, provided the ground
immediately about its roots can be reached and kept warm by the sun’s
rays.
As it grows, it will endeavor to adapt itself to the circumstances that
surround it, and will take the direction your taste or convenience
require it to follow. Its flexible branches are obedient to the gentle
hand of the careful cultivator. You may train it upon stakes six or
eight feet high, or upon a low trellis where the fruit will be within
easy reach of your hand. You may have the fruit within a few inches of
the ground, or by removing all the lower branches of the vine, you can
cause the ripe bunches to hang in graceful festoons around and over the
window of your chamber, high above the reach of accident and pilferers.
The grape vine will do as it is bid, which is much more than can be
said of some young people, whose eyes sparkle at the sight of its
fruit.
In preparing the ground in which to plant the vine, reference must be
had to the character of the soil. If the soil is clayey and cold, or if
the neighboring surface is such as to turn an undue proportion of the
rains upon the place where you propose to plant your vine, care must be
taken to secure for the roots of the vine a sufficient drainage. If the
roots of the vine are surrounded by wet and cold earth, the fruit will
mature slowly, and will be endangered by the early frosts. You will
secure a sufficient drainage by digging a hole three feet deep and five
or six feet in diameter, and throwing into it small stones, fragments
of bricks, or other like rubbish, to the depth of about eighteen
inches, and filling to the surface with the soil. If the soil in which
you propose to plant your vine is light, no artificial drainage will be
necessary.
Dig over the ground, and mix with it some well-rotted manure or bone
dust to the depth of your spade. The plan of trenching and deep
manuring is of questionable advantage. The roots of the vine prefer to
run near the surface, but they will seek the rich soil wherever it may
be; and if they are drawn away from the surface of the ground and out
of their natural direction to the colder soil below, the effect upon
the fruit may be unfavorable, both as to quality and quantity.
In the ground thus prepared, set your young vine from the nursery.
First, drive down a stake to which you can tie the young vine, then
place the roots of the vine three inches below the surface of the
ground, carefully spreading the roots so that they will be as nearly as
possible in the position in which they grew in the nursery.
The beautiful operations of nature will then commence. The roots of
the vine will at once begin to adapt themselves to their new home,
and their delicate fibres will firmly clasp the particles of the
well-prepared soil; the warm days of the early spring will draw the sap
up through the whole length of the vine; the buds will open and exhibit
their delicate tints, new shoots and broad green leaves will follow,
and you can soon eat the fruit of your own labor, sitting beneath the
shadow of your own vine.