This year I can count the number of times I have watered my vines on one hand with some to spare.  No, I was not born with an abnormally large number of digits on either hand (nor an abnormally small number to be clear).  Further, while is has rained of late, is has not been a wet year here in San Diego with very little rain in spring and none in the summer. In fact, three waterings from spring through summer is all the water my vines received from the tap and they seem to be thriving.  As you can see from the picture, in just the second year the trunks have a significant amount of girth, significantly thicker than my fingers, with many of the shoots nearly as thick as the trunk.

I had read in several sources, that good wines often come from vines that have to work and struggle to produce their fruit.  Some suggested it is good to withhold water from the vines and make them reach deeper with their roots in search of water.  I was a bit hesitant to test this concept; given my past record of killing every plant I have ever attempted to grow.  This approach seemed akin to putting out the welcome mat for the very same fate.  When one source suggested that you could tell if a grapevine needed more water by inspecting the shoot tip I decided to give it a try.  The idea being that if the tendrils closest to the shoot tip are extend past the tip itself then the vine has enough water.  After the vines were established, I decided to give this method a try.  I would be able to tell if it wasn’t working by the overall health of the vines and adjust accordingly.

Once planted, I watered the vines somewhat regularly through April and May until they were established.  After that it was once a month until October.  These were 10 minute soaks to wet the dirt deep down so the roots would reach down to get it as the top layers dried up.  This really seems to have work as my first year shoots all grew many feet past the top wire.  This year I only water 3 times each for a  15 minute soak in April, June and August.  It is encouraging to see last year’s shoots thicken into trunks and form new shoots that will be cordons nearly as thick.

Undoubtedly I have much to learn regarding grapevines and making wine but so far so good.  In truth I don’t think I even needed to water them all 3 times as the shoot tip never was longer than the last tendril.  The trick may very well be very infrequent but deep watering.  If you’re looking for a drought tolerant plant for your landscape and love wine enough you’d be willing to learn to make your own, get your very own garden camels and give urban vining a try!