Germinating grape seeds 🍇
You can learn how to grow grapes from seeds, but germinating grape seeds can be tricky. Start with a variety recommended for your growing region and that has been organically grown. Don’t use seeds from store-bought grapes or hybrid vines, as they may not sprout or produce plants like the original.
Vines grown from seeds may take two to seven years to produce grapes, so research the variety you want to grow. Soak the seeds in tepid water for 24 hours before planting. Then put them in a small container with some damp peat moss. Use about 50 seeds per tablespoon of peat moss. Put a lid on the container and keep it in your refrigerator at 35 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit for three months. (This is called stratification.)
After three months, plant the seeds three times as deep as their length in a tray of damp, sterile seed-starting mix. Make sure the tray has drainage holes. Sow the seeds every 1 1/2-inch and keep them under a grow light for 16 hours a day. Keep the seed-starting mix damp, but not soggy. Seeds should sprout in about two weeks, although some can take two months or more to germinate. When the seedlings have two sets of leaves, transplant them into 4-inch pots. If desired, feed them with a plant food made for seedlings at half-strength.
After six weeks, move each plant into a tall, one-gallon pot. Put the pots outside when the young plants have six more leaves in addition to the first two. Give them a partially shaded spot for a few days and gradually expose them to more sun. After your last spring frost, plant the young vines in a spot with well-drained, moderately rich soil and full sun. Space them 8 to 10 feet apart. After planting, prune each plant back to the two lowest leaf buds. Water them thoroughly and give them at least one inch of water weekly, if there's not enough rain. Feed the plants with a balanced fertilizer, such as a 10-10-10, in early spring through autumn, following the directions on the product label. If the vines look healthy, they may not need fertilizer.
You can learn how to grow grapes from seeds, but germinating grape seeds can be tricky. Start with a variety recommended for your growing region and that has been organically grown. Don’t use seeds from store-bought grapes or hybrid vines, as they may not sprout or produce plants like the original.
Vines grown from seeds may take two to seven years to produce grapes, so research the variety you want to grow. Soak the seeds in tepid water for 24 hours before planting. Then put them in a small container with some damp peat moss. Use about 50 seeds per tablespoon of peat moss. Put a lid on the container and keep it in your refrigerator at 35 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit for three months. (This is called stratification.)
After three months, plant the seeds three times as deep as their length in a tray of damp, sterile seed-starting mix. Make sure the tray has drainage holes. Sow the seeds every 1 1/2-inch and keep them under a grow light for 16 hours a day. Keep the seed-starting mix damp, but not soggy. Seeds should sprout in about two weeks, although some can take two months or more to germinate. When the seedlings have two sets of leaves, transplant them into 4-inch pots. If desired, feed them with a plant food made for seedlings at half-strength.
After six weeks, move each plant into a tall, one-gallon pot. Put the pots outside when the young plants have six more leaves in addition to the first two. Give them a partially shaded spot for a few days and gradually expose them to more sun. After your last spring frost, plant the young vines in a spot with well-drained, moderately rich soil and full sun. Space them 8 to 10 feet apart. After planting, prune each plant back to the two lowest leaf buds. Water them thoroughly and give them at least one inch of water weekly, if there's not enough rain. Feed the plants with a balanced fertilizer, such as a 10-10-10, in early spring through autumn, following the directions on the product label. If the vines look healthy, they may not need fertilizer.
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Germinating grape seeds offers a challenge to any green thumb, thanks to inviable seeds and plenty of opportunity for contamination. Fortunately, careful preparation can increase the germination percentage for a healthy vineyard in the summer. During stratification, temperature and moisture need monitoring to ensure successful germination after planting grape seeds in the spring.
Choosing Viable Seeds
You can usually tell a viable seed by the way it looks and feels. Healthy seeds are firm, with a pale white or gray endosperm inside. Any seeds that are squishy when you gently squeeze them between your fingers are not viable.
To double-check this, you can drop the seeds in water and discard those that float to the top, as healthy seeds tend to sink. Planting grape seeds that are healthy and viable is an essential part of this process, so take the time to sort and test your grape seeds in order to improve your chances of successful germination.
Preparation of Grape Seeds
Choosing Viable Seeds
You can usually tell a viable seed by the way it looks and feels. Healthy seeds are firm, with a pale white or gray endosperm inside. Any seeds that are squishy when you gently squeeze them between your fingers are not viable.
To double-check this, you can drop the seeds in water and discard those that float to the top, as healthy seeds tend to sink. Planting grape seeds that are healthy and viable is an essential part of this process, so take the time to sort and test your grape seeds in order to improve your chances of successful germination.
Preparation of Grape Seeds
Before stratification, viable seeds need a thorough washing to remove the pulp. Soaking the grape seeds in distilled water for 24 hours before stratification increases the odds of germination. Because the seeds need to remain semi-moist during stratification, you'll need to prepare a proper bed for them, such as an air-tight bag or capsule filled with damp sand or wet paper towels. Damp peat moss is one of the best beds for grape seeds, as it has anti-fungal properties that can reduce the risk of mold that destroys the seeds during stratification.
Once you prepare the bed, you can tuck the seeds inside it and refrigerate them at 40 degrees Fahrenheit for about three months to stratify them, recommends Cornell University. You can safely store seeds in the fridge for a year or more, as they will not sprout in these conditions. The smartest time to do this is in December, as March is the time for planting in a greenhouse.
Planting Grape Seeds
After removing the seeds from stratification in early spring, you can plant them in small pots, or in larger pots with at least 1 1/2 inches of space between them. A greenhouse is the safest place for them until June, when you can transplant them to their permanent places outside.
They need temperatures reaching at least 70 degrees Fahrenheit by day and approximately 60 degrees Fahrenheit at night during this germination period. Grape seed germination time varies from approximately two weeks to two months; sometimes receiving 15 hours of sunlight per day encourages them to germinate sooner rather than later. If some seeds don't germinate, you can always pop them back in the fridge for stratification until next season and try again then.
Although it is possible to start grapes from seed, it is not the recommended method for propagating grapes, notes Oklahoma State University. Growing grapes from cuttings or by grafting desired varieties to proven rootstock are much more common practices than planting grape seeds, especially among commercial producers. These methods of cultivating new grape vines tend to be more consistent and reliable for reproducing grapes that have the same characteristics as their parent plants.
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