Description and subtleties of growing Monastrell grapes

The taste of grape berries is familiar to everyone since childhood. They are used for different purposes - table varieties are used for food, and industrial varieties are used for processing. The Monastrell grape variety is one of the most famous technical varieties of Spanish origin. Its history has been going on for two and a half thousand years. During this time, it spread throughout the world and became the basis for tart red wine, the taste of which largely depends on where the berries are collected.

Description and characteristics of the variety

Monastrell, or Mourvèdre, is a late-ripening red grape. It has powerful bushes that give a good growth of shoots that can ripen completely.

The leaves of the variety are three-lobed, with weak dissection, pubescence on the back side. The plant has bisexual flowers. The berries are small, round, dark purple, with a strong waxy coating. Their flesh is very juicy and the skin is tough. The grape clusters are dense, cone-shaped, and medium in size. The technical variety Monastrell ripens within 150 days after the start of bud movement.

Pros and cons of Monastrell grapes

This variety has long been known to gardeners. Among its advantages they note:

• high productivity;
• drought resistance;
• unpretentiousness;
• high quality of the resulting wine;
• undemanding to soils.

The variety does not have many disadvantages:

• weakly resistant to fungal diseases;
• slow development in cool, humid climates.

The nuances of growing crops

You can get a good grape bush, and in the future a harvest of berries, only if you follow agricultural technology and timely planting of seedlings.

When to plant

Each gardener decides for himself when to plant grapes - in spring or autumn.

In spring, the soil is moist and saturated with useful elements. The seedling quickly takes root and begins its growth and development.

The disadvantages of spring planting include the likelihood of damage to the seedling by insect pests and late frosts.

Planting in the fall should be done in advance so that the plant has time to take root. For the winter it should be covered securely to prevent freezing.

Preparation of planting material and site for planting

To prepare the soil for planting, trenches or holes are dug into which a soil mixture consisting of garden soil, humus, ash and sand is poured. For spring planting they are prepared in the fall, for autumn planting in the summer, a month and a half in advance.

Before planting, the cuttings are soaked in water, treated with a growth stimulator and planted, leaving two buds on the surface. They are covered with plastic bottles, creating their own microclimate. The seedling will be ready for planting in a permanent place next season.

Overwintered cuttings already have roots and developing leaves. After hardening in the school, they are transferred to a permanent place.

Landing in the ground

To plant a seedling in a permanent place, it is placed in a prepared hole along with a lump of earth so that the neck is at ground level or slightly lower.

The grapes are watered abundantly, slightly shaded from direct sunlight and the soil around the plant is mulched.

Subtleties of grape care

The Monastrell variety is unpretentious. The plant is capable of developing independently. But with proper care, the yield increases significantly and the quality of the berries improves. The type of activities depends on what phase the grapes are in.

Features of watering

The Monastrell grape variety is unpretentious and easily tolerates heat and drought. Watering is carried out as needed, taking into account precipitation.

In the first year after planting a seedling, it is watered once a week; during hot weather, it is moistened daily. Water consumption - 5 buckets for an adult bush.

Experts do not recommend watering grapes during flowering and stop it two weeks before the berries are fully ripened. To ripen the vine and increase the winter hardiness of the bushes, the last abundant watering is carried out in late autumn, as soon as the leaves have fallen.

Fertilizers and fertilizers

The first fertilizing is applied to the grapes at the time of planting. After this, the vine does not need fertilizer for 2-3 years.

Adult bushes are fed with organic matter and mineral preparations. In the spring, liquid fertilizers are better absorbed, in the fall - in the form of granules or powder. During the season, the plant is fed several times:

• two weeks before flowering - superphosphate, potassium salt, urea;
• during the period of berry formation - potassium salt, superphosphate;
• during the ripening period of berries - with phosphorus fertilizers;
• after harvesting - nitrogen in the form of organic matter and mineral fertilizers.

Timely fertilizing, root and foliar, provides plants with nutrients and contributes to a successful wintering.

Grape pruning

Monastrell grapes are classified as covering grapes, so they are pruned twice a year. The first time is in the fall, before the onset of cold weather, before shelter, on a mature vine.

In the spring, before the buds open, pruning is carried out, having previously determined which buds remain intact. During this period, it is worth removing weak, damaged, non-fruiting and fattening shoots.

Typically, on technical late varieties, when pruning, 2 to 14 buds are left.

Wintering

There is no need to rush into covering Monastrell grapes for the winter. With a gradual decrease in temperature, the bushes harden before wintering and are not afraid of temporary cold snaps.

Complete cover should be completed by the end of leaf fall, when frosts reach -10 ⁰C. The vine is covered by covering it with earth and pinning the shoots, placing them in shallow ditches. There should be trenches on both sides to drain spring melt water. For protection, boxes, slate, boards, spruce branches, and covering material are used.

The quality of wintering of Monastrell grapes is influenced by the timeliness of harvesting and the quality of autumn watering.

How to protect crops from diseases and pests

The Monastrell variety is not resistant to fungal diseases. It should be treated with fungicides at all stages of development:

• during removal of winter shelter;
• at the beginning of bud break;
• a week before flowering;
• a month before harvest;
• after pruning, before wintering.

The drugs should be used strictly according to the instructions.

The main pests of the Monastrell variety include:

• grape aphid;
• leaf roller;
• felt mite;
• Khrushchi.

Proven and reliable products include broad-spectrum insecticides.

Harvest and storage

Harvesting of Monastrell grapes begins in August-September. Each cluster weighs an average of 700 g. The berries are used to produce wine in combination with other varieties, since Monastrell has too rich a taste.