Planting Grapes

• 1). Choose your location. Grape vines need a good amount of sun exposure, protection from wind and a location with good drainage to thrive, so choose an elevated site that has enough room for an entire grape orchard. When you're planting multiple vines, leave 10 feet between rows.
  
  
• 2). Prepare the soil. Grapes should be planted in an elevated position, in soil that is porous and will drain quickly. Turn up the top 12 inches of your garden soil and mix it with sand or gravel (equal parts garden soil and porous material).
  
  
• 3). Dig holes for the vines. Space the holes 6 to 8 feet apart to allow for optimum growth, and dig as many as you need. The holes should be just wide enough for the root balls of the grape vine canes (stems), and about twice as deep as the roots are long. Fill the bottom half of the holes with your planting mixture to ensure good drainage beneath the vines.
  
  
• 4). Prepare the grape vine canes for planting one at a time. If the cane already has a root system, prune off damaged and broken roots before you plant it. Do not handle all the grape vines at once -- prepare and plant one and then move on to the next. If the vines spend too much time out of the soil, the roots will be damaged.
  
  
• 5). Place the roots in the holes and spread them. Cover roots with a thin layer of planting soil and then water until the soil is moist but not wet. Move on to building a support system for your grape orchard, to keep the grape vines up off the ground.
  
  

Staking Grapes

• 1). Use the hammer to pound your stakes into the ground. Pound one stake behind each grape plant, so that approximately 3 feet of the stake is embedded in the soil for stability. The stakes should be close enough to the plants that the grapes can easily be secured to them, or grow up the wood.
  
  
• 2). Wind wire around the top of the first stake, pull it over to the next stake, and repeat. Tie the wire off at the end of the row, then repeat this process with a second wire, 6 to 12 inches lower than the first. Most trellis systems are made up of 2 or 3 wires, with the bottom wire always being at least 1 foot off the ground.
  
  
• 3). Secure the grape plants to the stake or wire, if they're tall enough. Tie the vines at their main stems, and never on their flowering shoots or leaves. Grapes are a climbing vine, and will grow naturally along the stakes and wire when encouraged. Keeping them off the ground protects both fruit and leaves from insects, rot and fungus.