Growing Grapes in Washington State
Growing grapes can be a challenge in any environment, but especially in a
state that ranges from a maritime climate with over 30 inches of average
annual precipitation to cool desert climates that only receive ~8 inches
annually in precipitation.
This page helps to answer questions about viticulture production in the
Pacific Northwest, and when available, specific topics in Washington State.
A number of presentations are also available from previous lectures around
the state. Please contact members of the WSU Extension community with questions.
Look for new Grape Production Guides coming in 2008.
Features of Washington State
This is an interactive site where you can choose the city and even get
closer to determine the soil type in a specific vineyard using satellite
imagery.
This site offers the average temperature by month for many sites from
1971-2000. Check out the location nearest you with "Google Map"
precision.
This site contains historical information regarding growing degree days, temperature, precipitation, wind speed and directions for a number of locations in the Western United States.
Use this site to get frost/freeze data for the past 30 years, precipitation
data, and more through the NOAA.There is also information about the
individual climates of Washington State in a .pdf document that is
useful when determining potential vineyard sites.
Publications
Drought
Irrigation
Grape Pests
Have pesticide questions? Check out the WSDA Pesticide Management Division List of Resources.
These are the results of a 2005 IPM survey indicating that pesticide use is down in Washington grape production, and IPM is a standard practice for many growers.
Be sure you test your soil before planting a vineyard or a new block!
It is a relatively inexpensive test and can help you to be more
informed about potential nematode problems.
Chemical recommendations for California - see the Washington Grape
Pest Management Guide for updated info.
Chemical recommendations for California - see the Washington Grape
Pest Management Guide for updated info.
Chemical recommendations for California - see the Washington Grape
Pest Management Guide for updated info.
Disease Management
Herbicide Drift Issues
Economics of Grape Production and Wineries
This is yet another tool for growers to use to assess the costs of production. The Northwest Cost-Of-Production Calculators were made possible with funds from a grant partnership between the Washington Wine Industry Foundation and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC), through the Risk Management Agency (RMA) titled: Grower Decision-Making Tools for Grapes and Tree Fruit.
This a computer program designed to assist agricultural producers make long-run decisions when implementing technologies to a specific crop or cropping systems. TEAM estimates machinery, building, labor, and production input costs as well as fruit size, grade, and total yield for calculating returns for crops with multiple establishment and production years. The program allows the user to inflate specific return and input cost items over time to analyze the net present value, internal rate of return, and financial feasibility when implementing a particular technology, making minor changes to returns or input costs, or comparing cropping systems.making tools aim to help agricultural crop producers make better decisions to manage those risks.
Use these tools to compare between two different perennial crops
or two different grape varieties to see how profitable they will be
over a 20 year span. In the Budget Editor program, you can adjust
all costs and inputs to tailor the budget to your operation.
Grape Production
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Virgina Tech Presentations (2006) created by Fritz Westover
- Pruning 1
- Pruning 2
- Pruning 3
Vine Nutrition
Soils
Vineyard Floor Management
Cover Crops In Oregon
For the following publications, please go to the Publications website
for WSU Extension.
- EB1358 Site Selection for Grapes in Eastern Washington
- EB 1370 Botrytis Bunch Rot of Grape
- XB1037 Washington Wine Grape Industry Impacts on the
State's Economy
- EB0637 Training and Trellising Grapes for Production in
Washington
- MISC0253 Berries for the Inland Northwest
Presentations
Dr. Mercy Olmstead, WSU-Extension
Gary Moulton, Mount Vernon, WA
Dr. Mercy Olmstead, WSU-Extension
Grapevine Growing Stages
2004, WSU-IAREC, Prosser, WA
As we go through the growing season, I'll post pictures of the
grapevines. They will correspond to a number on the
Eichorn-Lorenz scale, indicated in parenthesis of the picture description.
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