How to grow grapes from seed: preparation for planting, caring for seedlings

Grapes have been consumed by humans for many thousands of years. An ancient man, who lived mainly by collecting edible plants, fell in love with this plant. In some cases, he tried to transplant bushes with particularly tasty berries closer to home. This is how grape selection began. Now there are hundreds of cultivated varieties of this plant. Garden centers offer a whole line of excellent varieties for sale.

However, sometimes there is a desire to grow grapes from the seed. Most often this happens when grapes of an unknown variety get into food. The berries are so good that you want to get exactly the same ones. Let's try to find out how to grow grapes from seeds.

Content:

• Grape seeds as planting material
• Sowing grape seeds to obtain a seedling
• Transplanting grape seedlings into open ground and caring for them in the year of planting

Grape seeds as planting material

If for one reason or another you decide to grow grapes from seeds, then it is important to remember that sometimes you come across grapes of hybrid forms. It is very difficult to predict the final result when growing from seeds. Some plants will produce berries that are similar to the starting material, while others may produce very different characteristics.

They can be either better or worse than those from which the seeds were taken for landing. If the resulting options are not very satisfactory, then they can be used for decorative purposes or grown as rootstocks.

How to select and prepare seeds for planting

To prepare seeds, you need to choose the berries you like. They must be ripe. They may need to be kept for a few days to fully ripen at room temperature.

The ripened grapes are cut and the seeds are carefully removed. The seeds of light varieties should be light brown or rich olive color. The color of the seeds in dark varieties should be almost black. After the seeds are removed, they need to be washed in water, removing any remaining grape pulp.

If you plant such a fresh seed in a pot, it is unlikely to sprout very quickly, and most likely, the sprout may not appear at all. In order for the seed to germinate, several mandatory procedures must be performed. The washed bones are first placed in clean water for a day. Then rinse them again and dry. An important step in growing grapes from seeds is stratification.

It usually starts in December. The bones can be folded into a damp cloth or wrapped in damp moss. After this, send them to the vegetable department of the home refrigerator for 60 - 70 days.

Every ten days you need to monitor the condition of the seeds. If necessary, they are washed and additionally moistened. When the time for stratification has passed, which usually ends in March, the seeds are placed in a warm place for a couple of days. To do this, they can be placed closer to a warm radiator. After this, you can plant the seeds in the ground.

Sowing grape seeds to obtain a seedling

Soil preparation

To obtain a seedling from a grape seed, you need to prepare light and fertile soil.To do this, mix two parts of humus with one part of sand. Some winegrowers use soil from the area where the grape bush will later grow to obtain seedlings.

After the question with soil solved, they fill cups or pots with it. It is enough to take containers with a volume of about 0.5 liters. It is advisable to moisten the soil 10 - 20 hours before planting. It is important not to forget about the drainage holes in the bottom of the pot.

Planting grape seeds in the ground

Place one or two seeds in each pot. After this, they are covered with a layer of soil of about 8 - 10 mm. To preserve moisture, the pots are covered with glass. After this, they are placed in a warm place and wait for seedlings to emerge. If everything is done correctly, then after about two weeks a seedling will appear on the surface. From now on he needs special care.

An important stage for growing a healthy seedling is warmth and light. If seedlings are obtained in March, then additional light will be needed for about a month. The length of the light period after the appearance of a grape seedling should be at least 15 hours.

In addition, the temperature must be maintained at + 25 degrees. An important point is watering. Seedlings do not tolerate waterlogging well, so you should not rush with the next portion of water until the top layer soil will not start to dry out. Usually by June 10, favorable conditions have arrived for transplanting a young grape bush grown from seeds into the ground.

Transplanting grape seedlings into open ground and caring for them in the year of planting

The best place for growing grapes will be a site oriented to the south with fertile, loose soil. If it is not possible to plant on such land, then sand is added to heavy soils.I do this along with digging up the area. At the same time, humus is added to the ground.

After this, holes are made at a distance of 0.5 - 0.7 m. Grape seedlings are transferred directly from the pots into them. Cover the hole with earth. In the first days it is important:

• protect the seedling from direct sun; for this you can build a canopy. Keep the seedling under it for the first 5 - 6 days.
• For normal growth, immediately after planting in open ground, the seedling is regularly watered. In dry weather this should be done every two to three days.
• the soil between the bushes needs to be loosened regularly
• remove weeds thoroughly

In the first year seedling from the seed does not require pruning. But for the winter it is better to cover it, especially if the winter hardiness of the original variety is unknown. Usually, the first berries from a seedling can be obtained after four years. If you don’t like the result, the vine can be grafted with another variety.

Video on how to grow grapes from cuttings: