How to Plant Table Grapes

Table grapes (Vitis labrusca) are late bloomers, producing thin-skinned fruit that grows in clusters, oversized leaves and creeping vines. The leaves of the plant and the sweet fruit are all edible. Table grapes taste best when eaten immediately after ripening, but also fare well in preserves, juices and wines. Common varieties of table grapes include the "Concord," which produces blue-black fruit, and the "Catawba," which are red and medium in size. Blue, seedless "Mars" varieties are also considered table grapes, along with "Foch," which is a blue-colored, French hybrid.

Soil test
Garden fork or rototiller
Lime or peat moss
1- to 2-year-old table grape vines
Soaker hose
Mulch
Trellis fertilizer
Pruning tool
Insecticide
Fungicide

Instructions

- 1
  Scout-out a planting area that contains full sun and well-drained soil. Test the soil to determine the pH using a soil-testing kit. Table grapes are tolerant of many different soil types, but grow best in soil with a pH between 5.0 and 5.5.
- 2
  Break up the soil to an 18-inch planting depth using a garden fork or rotary tiller. Amend the soil if the soil test reveals a pH out of the preferred range. Mix lime in with the soil if the pH is below 5.0 or peat moss for soil with a pH above 5.5. Check the label on the required amendment for allocation and application recommendations.
- 3
  Plant 1- to 2-year-old table grape vines during the early spring, as soon as the soil is workable. Dig holes for the table grape vines to the same width and depth as their nursery containers. Space each hole 8 feet apart with a 12-inch spacing between rows.
- 4
  Remove the table grape vines from their nursery containers. Set one vine in each hole. Pack the soil around each vine and pat the soil with your hands to remove air pockets. Water deeply to a depth of 1 inch using a soaker hose, immediately after planting.
- 5
  Lay-down a 3- to 4-inch layer of mulch around the table grapes. Mulching with grass clippings, bark chips or straw will fend off weeds and improve water retention.
- 6
  Supply the table grapes with at least 1 inch of water per week during the first growing season, through supplemental watering with the soaker hose. Water once or twice a week to maintain moist soil to a depth of 1 inch; three times a week may be necessary if the weather is dry. Once established, table grapes will only require watering during drought.
- 7
  Hammer in a 4- to 10-foot trellis 1 to 2 inches behind the table grapes after planting. Secure the main stem of each plant to the trellis in the spring of the second growing season, using elastic twine.

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