The Summer Care of Vineyards 



VINEYARD is like everything 

 else- — if you want to get the best 

 off it, you must work for it. And 

 iuring the summer is the time that most 

 jf that work must be applied, if the best 

 csults are to be looked for and obtained. 



i 



Grape Vines Well Kept and Cared For 



(The area planted to grapes is being in- 

 creased every year. The market for this 

 :lass of fruit is large, yet the time is fast 

 ipproaching when only the best class of 

 ruit will find a ready and profitable sale, 

 ""rapes will be subjected to grade the 

 lame as other classes of fruit. As qual- 

 ity depends as much upon summer care 

 if vineyards as upon the training of the 

 ines, the grower who is lax in the mat- 

 ter of summer cultivation will find that 

 lis vineyard is a rather poor asset. He 

 ho gives his vineyard proper care dur- 

 ing the summer and at all times, how- 

 'ever, will find that he has in his grapes 

 good source of income. 



KEEP DOWN WEEDS 



^ The great point in summer cultivation 



iis to keep down everything but the grape 



pines. A soil that is supporting a vine- 



iyard does not want to be sapped of its 



iiiutriment by a crop of weeds. Cultiva- 



:ion should be commenced early in the 



ipring when the ground is still moist 



irom the spring rains. 



The common custom in well worked 

 vineyards is to plow away from the 

 Svines as .soon as the soil is sufficiently 

 dry to work well. If pressure of other 

 work prevents plowing at this time, the 

 land should be stirred up with a disk-har- 

 row or spring toothed cultivator. This 

 is most important, especially on land that 

 is liable to bake in dry weather. Where 

 the ground is kept stirred early in the 

 spring, a mulch is created, the moisture 

 is retained and the land can be plowed 

 at any time, if deemed necessary to clean 

 properly, no matter how little rain may 

 have fallen later in the season. For 

 plowing, we use a two-furrowed gang 



G. H. Carpenter, Fruitland, Ontario 



plow and, by using an extension, can 

 work close to the rows, leaving only a 

 narrow strip to clean out with the grape 

 hoe and hand hoes. 



USE OF GRAPE HOE 



When land is fairly clean, plowing can 

 be dispensed with and the work greatly 

 facilitated by using the cultivator in the 

 middle of the rows, plowing one farrow 

 away from the vine and finishing with 

 the grape hoe. This method on clean 

 land gives as good results as though the 

 whole thing were plowed. After^ the 

 grape hoe has done its work a man 

 should go along with a hoe, and clean 

 away around the vines, at the same 

 time loosening up the soil. During the 

 summer and until the crop is ready to 

 remove, the soil should be stirred fre- 

 quently, as with any crop, to destroy 

 all germinating weeds and to conserve 

 moisture. Immediately after the remov- 

 al of the crop, the soil should be worked 

 up to the vines either with a plow or 

 disk harrow reversed. 



COVER CROPS 



Cover crops are sometimes grown in 

 vineyards, though the common practice 

 here is clean cultivation. When cover 

 crops are grown they should be sown 

 in August before the crop is removed. 

 Any of the clovers, vetch or rye, are 

 commonly used for such a purpose. 

 Equally good results can be secured by 

 mulching around the vines with barn- 

 yard manure applied in the fall. Wood 

 ashes too gives good results. 



SUMMER PRUNING 



All sprouts should be kept down. 

 These can be pinched off from time 

 to time when small with very little trou- 

 ble. Summer pruning also is advocated 

 by some growers. This consists in re- 

 moving all non-bearing wood, the object 

 being to utilize all the nourishment 

 brought up by the plants for the produc- 

 tion of fruit. We have not followed 

 this latter practice but propose trying it 

 this year in an experimental way. The 

 principle seems all right and the opera- 

 tion should prove beneficial, provided it 

 is not done to the extreme. 



SPRAYING 



Spraying has now become an essential 

 point in the management of a vineyard. 

 A few years ago, we could produce a 

 good crop of grapes without the help of 

 the spray pump. Now, however, we 

 meet with a class of insects with a special 

 appetite for grapes and if we would have 

 a crop, we must first put these out of the 

 way. Grapes should be sprayed at least 

 twice and, better, three times during the 

 season. The Bordeaux mixture, the com- 



position of which has been giveri many 

 times in the columns of The Canadian 

 Horticulturist, is the mixture com- 

 monly used. The first application is 

 made before the blossoms appear, the 

 second after the blossoms are done and 

 the third two or three weeks later. 

 Clean cultivation is important but spray- 

 ing is equally essential. Without it a 

 grower is taking a long chance on get- 

 ting a crop. 



Orchard Notes 



There is no over-production of the best. 



Never pack overripe fruit for ship- 

 ment. 



Peach trees require good cultivation 

 to do well. 



Midsummer pruning heals wounds 

 rapidly and well. 



Rotten chips and sawdust make a good 

 fertilizer for the orchard. 



Bud with new varieties the unproduc- 

 tive trees and make most of the orchard. 



Grape-growers are requested to con- 

 tribute articles and letters on the care of 

 vineyarcjs for publication in The Cana- 

 dian Horticulturist. 



Apples in Parry Sound 



The possifiilities of apple growing are 

 not confined to a narrow strip in South- 

 ern Ontario. Parry Sound can hardly 

 claim to be in the banana belt, but the 

 accompanying illustration will show that 

 if the varieties are judiciously chosen, 

 apples in abundance, may be grown in 

 the Parry Sound district. The Yellow 

 Transparent, Duchess, Lowland Rasp- 



.hf 



,& i^--- 



A Successful Northern Orchard 



berry and Wealthy will be found hardy, 

 and the Mcintosh Red, Milwaukee and 

 Baxter, for later fruit, can be grown 

 to perfection in many sections. 



The illustration shows apple trees 

 growing in orchard of Mr. Geo. Wilkin- 

 son. Since blooming, the trees set too 

 many apples and Mr. Wilkinson is thin- 

 ning them out. 



