Q. I am from San Miguel Community Garden, a non-profit
garden located near the North Las Vegas Airport. We are considering adding more
grape plants to the Garden. We have
Flaming Red and Thompson grapes. You said
you have grown many different varieties in the Las Vegas Valley, and I was
wondering if you would share with me other varieties that were successful for
you so we can explore them as well.
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| Barbera Wine grape grown in the Eastern Mojave Desert. Notice the unevenness in berry ripening during the time of harvest. This is a common problem when growing wine grapes in the hot desert. |
A. I grew about 20 different table grapes and 18 wine
grapes in the Las Vegas Valley starting in 1996. Some perform better than
others. Still lots out there to try!
grapes in the Las Vegas Valley starting in 1996. Some perform better than
others. Still lots out there to try!
 |
| Grenache wine grape grown in the Mojave Desert.If wine grapes are grown with proper soil amendments and the soil around them covered with woodchip mulch, I had no problem with their acid and sugar balance. None of the grapes that I have grown were allowed to “struggle” as some of the romantics have suggested. |
Some
table grapes to consider growing include Thompson seedless and Flame which you
mentioned, as well as Concord, Thomcord, Perlette, Italia, Black Monukka, Fantasy
and Ruby. Right now, the jury is still out on Canadice, Summer Royal, Suffolk
Red and Crimson Seedless since they are only into their third year. These table grapes should get you started.
table grapes to consider growing include Thompson seedless and Flame which you
mentioned, as well as Concord, Thomcord, Perlette, Italia, Black Monukka, Fantasy
and Ruby. Right now, the jury is still out on Canadice, Summer Royal, Suffolk
Red and Crimson Seedless since they are only into their third year. These table grapes should get you started.
 |
| Alicante bouschet wine grape with uneven berry ripening. Some of this might be controlled with changing the irrigation schedule which we could not do. |
Table
grapes are usually seedless (except Italia) and used for fresh eating, make
seedless raisins or eaten frozen. Table grapes aren’t as demanding as wine
grapes since wine grapes are oftentimes used for high quality juice or wine must.
 |
| Fantasy table grape grown in the Mojave Desert, one of my personal favorites particularly for making raisins. |
Don’t
forget wine grapes. You don’t have to make wine with them. Wine grapes come in
an assortment of different flavors, more than table grapes, and can be pressed
into juice and the juice used by itself or to make a variety of different jellies and
fruit leather. They can make excellent raisins if you don’t mind their small
size and seeds.
 |
| Zinfandel wine grade demonstrating particularly good bunches even under unusual nighttime temperatures. |
Some
wine grapes to try include Zinfandel, Golden Muscat, Malbec, Syrah, Tempranillo,
Barbera, and Sangiovese. These should get you started. Basically, the grape
varieties grown in hot dry climates worldwide are best for growing in the
Mojave Desert.
wine grapes to try include Zinfandel, Golden Muscat, Malbec, Syrah, Tempranillo,
Barbera, and Sangiovese. These should get you started. Basically, the grape
varieties grown in hot dry climates worldwide are best for growing in the
Mojave Desert.
 |
| Italia, a seated variety and one of my favorites because of its musky flavor, develops very large berry size in the desert heat if it’s given regular irrigations without much thinning. |
I would
strongly suggest improving the soil at the time of planting with compost and
then covering the soil around them with a thick layer of woodchips. Many people
agree wine grapes should “struggle” to make good wine. I think just growing in
this heat and lack of humidity is plenty of “struggle”. So I grow them “happy” and don’t let them struggle too much. Let them do what they do best…produce fruit!
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| Some said it couldn’t be done. I don’t recommend growing this grape in our desert climate but I always love this variety. This is Pinot Noir, a cool season variety and is not recommended for the hot dry desert. But it developed good flavor and acceptable sugar acid ratios. |
So far,
we haven’t needed to grow grapes that are grafted, unlike growing grapes in
California. Most of the grapes grown in the US and sold here can be grown in the Eastern Mojave Desert on their own roots. However, if you are faced with buying grapes that are
grafted, most grow well in our desert soils on these rootstocks: 1103P, 110R,
Schwarzman, Salt Creek, Harmony and many others.
Are there any varieties that skeletonizers don't attack?
What type of fertilizer do you suggest for table grapes. Mine have been in ground 3 years now and the production has been less than I hoped. I have just been using compost and wormcastings twice a year.
I wish. If you find some please let me know. Skeletonzers are the scourge of the earth for grapes! Spraying or scouting and handpicking infested leaves are the only ways I know of controlling them.
Sounds like a bad variety, or soil and water management issue. Are you covering the soil beneath them with woodchips? The orchard I consult at now is having some high temperature issues and I think it is because they are not using woodchips on many of the vines. I have seen grapes do very well growing in desert soils with no woodchips but the soil is a good soil for production (native soil) and irrigation management is done well. This is in the Amargosa area both historically (20 years ago) and currently (Schoolyard Vineyard).
I really didn't answer your question. I have used both compost and mineral fertilizers and dont really see much difference but emotionally i prefer compost but there is no evidence why I would. The type of fertilizer is not an issue if there is plenty of organics returned to the soil. You can use manure if you want to. But that being said, a good amount of nitrogen is most needed so 16-6-8, 20-5-10, 18-6-6, even 21-0-0 if there are woodchips. Fish emulsion, Come to think about it, you might need to prune differently. If you are spur pruning, change to cane pruning and see if that helps. Fruit is produced around the fifth bud out on grapes that produce fruit on canes rather than spurs.
what a good idea . Hope that private gardeners in Nevada can become grape growers
When is the best time to plant red flame grapes here in Las Vegas?
I would plant grapes of all kinds before March 1 in the Las Vegas valley. probably the best time to plant grapes is in February in the spring or in October in the fall.
Nice site I'm in Desert Edge just South of Joshua Tree National — wine lover.