Helping a grapevine to thrive

[sgtsheart]

Have two different fruit and vegetable questions today. I'm going to post them seperately so my feeble mind doesn't get confused.
There is a grapevine growing on one of the yard fences. It's probably pretty old, at least 12 years old or so.
It always looks scrawny and gets some kind of black spot disorder each summer. What (very few) grapes it produces get gobbled up by birds.
Any simple hints on reviving it? I know how to take care of the birds with some netting.
And btw, hi bluebird and patandchickens, I'm gritsar on the BYC forum.

 

[hsm5grls]

I have heard(not sure it is true) That grape vines need to be cut back every year by about 60%. It helps with fruit production and plant strength. I'm not sure but that is what I have heard.

 

[bayouchica]

Hi sgtsheart,
What kind of grapes do ya have?

 

[sgtsheart]

I hate to sound ignorant here, but I truly don't know. I seem to remember the name starting with a M, I want to say muscadene (spelling incorrect I'm sure). I know they are a dark dark red grape. The elders used to make wine out of em. They are not table grapes; that I know for sure.

 

[bayouchica]

Hey that's okay, I'm not too good at spelling or grammer,lol.
Sounds like they are muscudines.Are they getting good sunlight? Is there anyway you can water it? We have some growing on our garden fence,summers here can be pretty dry.We just ran some water lines out to them & they were loaded this yr.We don't prune them at all. I'm no green thumb, but I'll ask my MIL,she might can offer some advice for ya about the spots on yours.
That's cool it's such an old vine... my BIL lives next to us & he has some old,old vines that are BIG!! They go all the way to the tree tops.

 

[1acrefarm]

If you drink coffee save your used coffee grounds to use as a soil amendment around the grapevine. Not touching. It may help. I talked to my grandparents about all the plant nutrients they were wasting by throwing their veggie scraps and such in the garbage instead of the garden. They took it to heart. The next thing I know instead of throwing it in the garden they had it mounded around the grapevine. They had so much stuff around that poor vine I thought for sure it was going to rot or burn up. They had that grapevine over 20 years at that point and never started getting grapes until a year after that. It has been loaded every year since.

 

[country freedom]

My Dad used to grow 2 kinds of grapes-don't remember what-the ones we had needed full sun and to be cut back drastically every year. We'd get loads of grapes! Some green and some red/purple.

 

[bayouchica]

Hi, were the blacks spots on the fruit or the leaves?
If they were on the fruit,they are getting bit by stink bugs.Their bites make the fruit spoil.
If on the leaves,it could be sap from a
tree over the plant.
Well that's what MIL thought it might be,hope that helps ya some.

 

[sgtsheart]

Yep, on the fruit, so yucky ucky stink bugs huh? Thanks for the imput. I think it's also gonna get a severe pruning. It's left the fence and is finding it's way across the top of a very large workshop. I'm also gonna be giving the "forsythia bush from h**l a severe haircut too. That thing is the true monster plant of the yard. Notice I didn't say that about the hibiscus? I actually like that it's a potential record holder.

 

[897tgigvib]

Another classic and more basic topic, this one on grapes. Looking for more basic stuff just to have them thrive.