I am just getting started with a back yard vineyard. Actually it's 32 feet on the side of my home that gets full sun from 11am to sunset. So 32 feet between the end post, 4 feet between the two curtains. My questions are how to prep the ground below the curtains. What should I do now to prep for November planting. Kill grass? Dig holes now and work in compost?

These abstracts may be informative. CYTOGENETIC STUDY OF INTERSPECIFIC HYBRIDS BETWEEN VIRIS ROTUNDIFOLIA AND VITIS VINIFERA Authors: X. Xu, J. Lu Muscadine grape (Vitis rotundifolia Michx.) has a chromosome number of 2n = 40. European bunch grape (Vitis vinifera L.) has a chromosome number 2n = 38. With few exceptions, the chromosome number of hybrids between V. rotundifolia and V. vinifera is 2n = 39. As a result, the hybrids are either completely sterile or highly sterile with some fertility. To understand the variation of hybrid fertility, a study was conducted to investigate the chromosome number and pairings of the interspecific hybrids Jumbo (V. rotundifolia) x ÂThompson Seedless (V. vinifera) in mitosis and meiosis. Interspecific hybrids were obtained from crosses of muscadine grape (female) x V. vinifera (male) and from reciprocal crosses. Chromosome numbers of the hybrids used for this investigation were first confirmed by root tip cells (RTC) in mitosis. Most of them had a chromosome number 2n = 39. Several morphological characteristics also clearly indicated that they are true hybrids of V. rotundifolia x V. vinifera. Microscopy studies at meiosis of pollen mother cells (PMCs) showed a certain degree of chromosome pairing (bivalent) with some multivalent and monovalents. For those hybrids with 2n = 39, chromosome pairs ranged from 13 to 19. The result indicated that the low fertility of the hybrids is mainly due to the lack of chromosome pairings in their meiosis. A GENETIC MAP OF VITIS RUPESTRIS X MUSCADINIA ROTUNDIFOLIA LOCATING RESISTANCE TO XIPHINEMA INDEX, THE DAGGER NEMATODE Michaeleen Callahan , Yimin Jin , Fangyou Gao , Andrew Walker Muscadinia rotundifolia has very strong resistance to a wide range of grape pests. Although this species is generally incompatible with Vitis species, it does make fertile hybrids with V. rupestris. These hybrids form a unique genetic bridge allowing introgression of resistance genes into cultivated grape. Genetic linkage maps of two V. rupestris "A. de Serres" (2n=38) X M. rotundifolia "Cowart" (2n=40) hybrids were constructed using the pseudotestcross strategy. Four hundred eighteen AFLP markers, 32 ISSR markers, 23 RAPD markers, and 18 microsatellites were used in the maps. Markers segregating 1:1 (316) were used to construct framework maps by comparing results from PGRI, MAPMAKER 3.0, and JoinMap 3.0. Each map contained 19 linkage groups (LOD > 4.0) covering 806 cM and 902 cM for the paternal and maternal parents respectively. One hundred seventy-three markers segregating 3:1 were used to align homeologous linkage groups between the maps. Genome length and map coverage will be presented. A locus associated with resistance to Xiphinema index, the dagger nematode vector of grapevine fanleaf virus, was also positioned on the map. "Muscadine grapes (Vitis rotundifolia) Subgenus Muscadinia has 2n=40 chromosomes compared to 2n=38 for bunch grapes Very resistant to common grape diseases Do not cross readily with bunch grapes Unique flavor and texture" from http://www.hort.purdue.edu/hort/courses/HORT414/Grapelecture.html "Dunstan developed a number of Vitis x Muscadinia hybrids that were backcrossed to interspecific Vitis hybrids. The offspring from these difficult to accomplish crosses have many characteristics of both parents and restored fertility (often lost in Vitis x Muscadinia hybrids). " from http://www.ars-grin.gov/npgs/cgc_reports/grapecgc2001.htm These references: Lu, J., Prins, B. Interspecific hybridization between Euvitis and Muscadinia grape species. (2000). Hortscience 35: 501. Lu, J., Schell, L. Intersubgeneric hybridization between Muscadinia and Euvitis species. (1998). Hortscience 33: 516. Lu, J., Schell, L. Introgressing seedlessness from Vitis vinifera into Vitis rotundifolia. (1999). Hortscience, pp. 523-524. Lu, J., Schell, L., Ramming, D. W. Interspecific hybridization between Vitis rotundifolia and Vitis vinifera and evaluation of the hybrids. (2000). Acta Horticulturae 528: 479-486.

dang crazy man!!! LOL what the heck were ya thinking!!?? geeze i bet it was thinkn "what?? i just wanted some rest time!!! wait, wait!! i'll wake up!!" now wouldn't ya crap if it was growing good somewhere, werever ya threw it!! LOL now, that'd be my luck!! He he he he to me, the wierdest things happen!! if its on its last leg, i tell it, hurry up and die, and just keep telling it that, it stays alive, in reality its my carbon dioxide that's helping it along, LOL talla sings to her seedlings and hers turns out awesome!! she sings fairie songs and such man they just grow like weeds!! LOL ~Medo i really like your adventure sinfonian!! some of your guys's and gals the way ya'll put things and note the way you have went thru and done the gardening is wayyy awesome!! thank you for letting us peak in!!! ~Medo

I got some advice from Gary on the Julie mango. It turns out that they are very sensitive to high ph soil conditions and develop a problem with magnesium deficiency which can only be corrected via multiple applications of chelated magnesium. He said that well water can contribute to this problem because the calcium in the water binds up the available magnesium. It's also an issue with soil like ours in parts of Tamarac where we have a mere 6 inches of topsoil followed by a layer of limestone rubble extracted from the canal digging process. Unfortunately it's not all that easy to find chelated magnesium. Even the popular keyplex 350 uses a non-chelated formulation (magnesium sulfate). Jeff