SOIL

A gravelly loam is the best for the grape, and should be well drained and warm. A situation sloping to the south should be selected if possible, but never sloping to the north.SFCC 16.5

“We should always endeavor to make thorough work in the preparation of the soil before planting the vine, for it is not an ordinary crop that we are to plant, nor one that requires a seed time to each harvest, but it is one that requires but one planting in a lifetime, yet it will reward us with many harvests. There are very few soils that a person of good judgment will select that will need any further preparation than that which can be done with the plow, with the addition, perhaps, of underdraining.SFCC 17.1

“If the soil is not naturally rich, spread the manure upon the surface before plowing, then turn it under with the surface plow, and let a subsoil plow follow in the same furrow, breaking up the subsoil. After the ground has been plowed over in this way, then cross plow it in the same manner; this will insure a thorough breaking up of the soil, and mixing the manure with it.SFCC 17.2

“The grape should always be grown in the warmest and most sheltered situation, so that the fruit may ripen well before frost.”-Fuller.SFCC 17.3