How to Prepare the Soil to Plant Concord Seedless Grapes in Georgia

The year before planting pull the weeds and any vegetation from a well-draining, sloped area or hillside after the soil dries out enough to work in spring. The planting area should receive full sunlight.

Check the dryness, or friability, of the soil by squeezing a handful of it into a ball and poking it with your finger. If it breaks apart easily go ahead and work the soil. If it doesn’t break apart readily, let it dry out for about one week, or a little longer if you receive rainfall in the meantime.

Work the soil to a depth of 8 to 12 inches using a spade fork or mechanical tiller. Remove the rocks and organic debris from the soil and compost it, if possible. Work an area large enough to accommodate the number of grapevines you want to plant when planted 8 to 10 feet apart in rows spaced 5 to 6 feet apart.

Test the soil pH in the planting area. Georgia has a reputation for acidic clay, so you probably have to broadcast 8 to 10 pounds of ground limestone per 100 square feet to raise the pH one full point until you get to the 5.8 to 6.5 range, using a broadcast spreader for the job.

In the event your soil has a pH higher than 6.5, add 2 pounds of elemental sulfur per 100 square feet to lower the pH by one full point until you reach the ideal range, using a broadcast spreader for the task.

Spread 2 inches of matured compost and 1 inch of steam-sterilized, coarse river sand over the soil, using a shovel for the task.

Work the compost and sand into the soil to a depth of 8 to 12 inches, using the spade fork or mechanical tiller for the job.

Spread 1 inch of compost as soon as the ground warms up enough to work in spring of the planting year. Work the compost into the soil to a depth of 8 to 12 inches, using a spade fork or mechanized tiller for the task. Add 1 inch of compost to the soil every years as soon as the soil warms up enough to work in subsequent years.

Insert a wooden stake in the ground at each end of the planting area, with enough space between them to accommodate the number of grapevines you want to plant when planted 8 to 10 feet apart. For example, if you want to plant five Concord grapevines, insert the second stake 50 feet away from the first. Use a measuring tape to measure the distance.

Tie one piece of twine taut between the two stakes. The twine serves as a guide when digging post holes for the trellis system. Moisten the soil along the twine just enough to make digging easier, if necessary.

Dig 2-foot-deep holes, spaced 20 to 30 feet apart, using a post-hole digger for the job. Use the twine tied between the two stakes to keep the series of holes straight.

Insert 5 inch by 5 inch, 8-foot-tall locust or cedar wood posts in the holes and backfill them with the excavated soil. Tamp the soil down with your foot.

Secure high-tensile, galvanized steel, 11- to 12-1/2-guage wire to each post 5 feet above soil level with wire hooks and tighten the wire with a wire strainer.

Plant the grapevines starting 4 feet from each end post, spacing each grapevine 8 to 10 feet apart.