Layering

 

This grape vine was from a cutting I received from Roger Miller.

Looking at this vine, I was struck by how well it did with zero care from me.

According to Roger, it is a seedless variety with the name now lost to history.

I have some other seedless grapes and none of them look this clean.

The layering process

Grape vines will produce roots where they touch ground. The ground can be difficult to dig due to tree roots, rocks and so on. The "cheat" is to put the vines in contact with easy-to-dig soil.

Whatever material you use must block sunlight and retain some amount of moisture. Bonus points if the air spaces inside the material have elevated CO2.

Here is a length of vine that was close to the ground but suspended by dead grass.

I positioned a bit of landscaping fabric beneath the length of vine

Then some partially composted sawdust is shoveled over the vine and the shoots positioned upward into the sun. I use sawdust because I have a large pile of it. I think peat or compost would be better because it would hold moisture better and because it is dark would let less light pass.

Finally, weights (in this case chunks of firewood) were placed on the piles of sawdust to keep everything pinned down.

The landscape fabric and the sawdust are not necessary but will make the rooted shoots easier to dig up...I hope. If your soil is easy to dig, simply pinning the vines to the ground with chunks of firewood works just fine.

God willing, I will have about a dozen additional vines I can move this fall.