How to Care for Blue Concord Grapes

According to experts at the West Virginia University extension service, American grapes including the Concord are the most popular homegrown grapes west of the Rockies. The Concord is winter hardy and disease resistant. Primarily a table grape, Concord grapes are good for jams and jellies and can be fermented into a sweet wine. While many backyard growers do little to tend their vines and still produce respectable harvests, some extra care with fertilization, pruning and pest control can improve yields considerably.

Soil acidity test kit
Lime
Arbors or other support
Staking ties
Bypass pruning shears
Winter cover crop
Manure or nitrogen

Instructions

- 1
  
  Grape arbor
  
  Test the soil for acidity using an inexpensive kit available at most garden supply stores. Concord grapes do best when the pH level is between 5.0 and 6.0. If the soil is too acidic, apply lime in accordance with the results of your test kit package.
- 2
  Train young plants upward along their supports. If the support is an arbor, it may take several seasons for the vines to reach the top where they branch and produce fruit. Focus on creating a strong main stem, which will nourish and support the plant as it matures. Use staking ties available at garden supply stores to train the vines against the supports.
- 3
  
  Unripe grapes
  
  Water your vines well after planting and keep them weeded at least until they are firmly established. Concord grapevine roots are shallow and do not do well with excessive competition from weeds. Ideally, you should keep your vineyards weed-free at all times during each growing season. As the vines mature, you need only water them during prolonged dry spells or when they show signs of stress.
- 4
  Prune Concord grapevines annually in early spring. Prune newly planted vines back to four buds. After growth commences and buds begin to swell, prune again to two buds. Remove flower clusters until the third season in order to prevent fruiting until the vines have become strong and well established. Continue pruning vigorously each year order to concentrate fruit production in the canes you will train against the arbor or other supports.
- 5
  Plant a winter cover crop such as winter rye every fall. Do this in the rows between your vines or under and around your arbor in order keep pests to a minimum and add organic matter to the soil. Turn this cover crop under in the spring.
- 6
  Fertilize established vines if they show signs of poor or weakened growth yet have not been affected by drought conditions. Experts at West Virginia University prefer manure as an all-purpose fertilizer and state that the nutrient most commonly lacking in vineyards is nitrogen. A half-pound of additional nitrogen per vine applied early in the growing season should be sufficient.
- 7
  
  Ripe Concord grapes
  
  Harvest your grapes only when they are fully ripe and deep blue. Not all clusters will ripen at the same time so plan to harvest over a period of days or even weeks late in the season

How to Prune Grape Vines in the Summer

How Can I Grow Sweeter Concord Grapes?

Growing Grapes