Landscape cloth and grape vines

I don't know the answer to your question but I am interested in your experience(s) in growing Frontenac.

It seems to me that landscape cloth should work. How many vines do you have? For a backyard vineyard it may be practical but for large scale, maybe not.

Landscape cloth can suppress most growth for a period - probably a year at most. Most fabrics need some sort of cover (2-3" mulch) to prevent the sun from breaking them down. And this is fertile ground for blown-in seeds. Most of the aggressive weeds (grasses, dandelion, queen anne's lace, choke cherries) will penetrate down through the fabric. And it will not suppress couch or quack grass - this stuff pops right up through it. In a couple of years, you're worse off than before.

Another- far more serious - problem: because of the mulching effect, the plant roots (being inherently lazy creatures by nature) stay where the moisture is, near the surface. That shallow root system renders the plants quite vulnerable to drought stress and freezing damage.

We used to use it extensively in planting beds (not grapes, but ornamentals) and now remove it wherever possible. And it's incredible to see the massed root systems of plants like cedar, euonymus and potentilla concentrated just under the fabric!

If you're not averse to chemicals, glyphosate (Round-up) is one of the most effective and environmentally benign products available for the job. Just don't get it on the grape leaves or bark. The other alternative is the good old-fashioned hoe!

Jack Wetmore, P. Ag., retired nurseryman

"Paul E. Lehmann" wrote: