How to Grow Grapes in Silty Loam

Choose a silty loam area that features well-drained, deep soil along with full sunshine. Collect a sample of this soil and take it to your local extension office for testing, as the ideal soil pH level -- or level of acidity and alkalinity -- is between 5 and 6 for grapes. Be prepared to add a soil amendment such as lime to your soil if the soil test results recommend this.

Establish training stakes, which are available at your local gardening store, in your grape growing area about 8 feet apart.

Cut off any of your starter plant’s broken roots. Put your starter grape plant in a hole that is a foot deep and a foot wide, positioning the plant a little higher than it initially was positioned in your nursery container. Add recommended amendments to the soil you removed from your planting hole, and put 6 inches of this soil back into the hole. Pat the soil down so that is firm against the roots. Put additional soil in the hole until the hole is full, but do not pat this second layer of soil down.

Repeat step 3 to plant your other starter grape plants, placing the vines about 8 feet apart and ensuring they each are beside a stake. Prune each plant so that one stem remains, and cut this stem back two or three buds so as to stimulate growth. Select the strongest shoot, as multiple shoots begin to grow and reach 6 inches long, and cut off all of the shoots besides the strongest one. Tie the remaining shoot to its training stake, and plan to do this several times during the first growing season as the shoot grows taller.

Give 8 ounces of 10-10-10 fertilizer to each plant one week after planting all of them. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions. Apply the fertilizer about a foot from the trunk of your plants to avoid damaging them. Give your plants about an inch of water weekly.