Usually a good mulch of any kind of barnyard
manure placed on the SURFACE after planting will answer all
purposes. Before filling in the hole over the roots, place beside
the vine a stout stake six or seven feet high. This will be all
the support required the first year. Cut back the young vine to
three buds, and after they get well started, let but one grow. If
the planting is done in the fall, mound the earth up over the
little vine at the approach of winter, so as to cover it at least
six inches below the surface. In spring uncover again as soon as
hard frosts are over--say early April in our latitude. Slow-
growing varieties, like the Delaware, may be set out six feet
apart; strong growers, like the Concord, eight feet. Vines can not
be expected to thrive under the shade of trees, or to fight an
unequal battle in ground filled with the roots of other plants.
Vines may be set out not only in the garden borders, but also in
almost any place where their roots will not be interfered with,
and where their foliage will receive plenty of light and air. How
well I remember the old Isabella vines that clambered on a trellis
over the kitchen door at my childhood's home! In this sunny
exposure, and in the reflected heat of the building, the clusters
were always the sweetest and earliest ripe.
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