How do you plant a vine in your garden?

Vines, also known as Vitis vinifera, are woody plants that originated in Europe. A necessary step in cultivating your own wine or tasting delicious grapes, planting vines is an attainable dream as long as you follow a few basic principles. So, where is the ideal place to plant a vine in your garden? What are the right steps to take? Permapotes, the permaculture expert, sheds some light on the subject!

Where to plant your vine

The trellis, the term for a vine climbing up a wall or tree, should ideally be facing south or south-east. In fact, by respecting this orientation, you protect yourself against draughts that can cause late frosts in early spring. If you decide to plant a vine along a tarmac wall, the trick is to plant the vine in more favourable soil and drag the main stem towards the south-facing facade as it grows.

Little holes, little holes, more little holes...

Keep in mind that the branches of a vine can climb up to 5 metres high! So you'll need to allow 2.5 to 3 metres of space if you're planting along a wall or 1 metre you're planning to form a row. Have you found the perfect place for your vines to grow without overlapping each other? Now let's take a look at what to do during the actual planting:

• Create holes 30 cm deep and 30 cm in diameter
• Generously water the bottom of the hole
  
• Pour a handful of compost into the hole
  
• Cover the compost with a little soil to prevent the roots coming into contact with the compost
  

Once the planting is complete, all you have to do is fill in the hole with the soil you dug beforehand. When filling in, arrange to create a trough. This will make watering easier. In fact, you need to water as soon as you've filled in the hole to get off to a good start!

Permapotes' tip: installing a stake

Grazing animals such as deer or rabbits will be delighted to get into your vegetable patch to ransack your freshly planted plant. To prevent damage, simply install a metre-high wire mesh sleeve around each plant. Be careful, though: when the buds bloom in spring, you need to make sure that some of them don't get stuck inside the mesh, otherwise you'll have great difficulty extracting them without damage.