Are my grape vines toast?

[Robert_in_NY]

While I can't speak for your grapes, there was a report on our local news last week that the grape growers here along Lake Erie suffered some pretty serious frost damage last week. The county extension agent mentioned the extent of the damage won't truly be known for about 1 month.

I know it burned a fern we have in a hanging basket pretty good!

the worst part about the frost that hit us is that it was so hard it killed the secondary buds which are what we need for next years crop. Our vines should recover but we will lose around 50% of our crop at least on the section of vineyard I had hit by frost. The front of the vineyard didn't get touched, only the back. My vineyard 2 miles away did fine. The Niagaras got touched a bit but the Concords were fine.

 

[MossRoad]

the worst part about the frost that hit us is that it was so hard it killed the secondary buds which are what we need for next years crop. Our vines should recover but we will lose around 50% of our crop at least on the section of vineyard I had hit by frost. The front of the vineyard didn't get touched, only the back. My vineyard 2 miles away did fine. The Niagaras got touched a bit but the Concords were fine.

At least you know what killed the buds. I just found out that for the past several years I have been trimming my grapes incorrectly and cutting off all of the growth that will produce next year's crop!

I finally did some research... there are some great sites that show you the correct way to trim them. This year the frost spared mine and since I pruned it correctly, it looks like I may get some fruit.

 

[GaryS]

I planted a bunch of grapes this spring too and got hit by the frost. What saved me this year was that I decided to use these blue tubes. They helped keep the frost damage to a minimum and the grapes are growing like mad. And at $1.10 each, they're cheap and reusable.

 

[forgeblast]

I just noticed some new growth pushing through on both vines. I have 100 tubex tubes sitting in my barn for next springs crp planting, are the blue ones specific for grapes?
thanks

 

[GaryS]

are the blue ones specific for grapes?

Frankly, I have no idea. I hadn't heard of them until a friend told me about them. He swears by them and I was glad to have them on with our late, heavy frost.

The site has lots of claims but I've never heard anything about blue light being better for plants. Maybe it's true. Grow lights tend to be more blue in color so maybe there's something to it. I really like that the plants are protected from rabbits & deer.