How should the young vines be cared?

The new planted vines need a very good care during their first year, in order to grow well.

If it is very dry you should water the vines soon. This makes the soil fall and close. 

If you plant your vines manually the staves are already in the soil when you start planting. If you plant your vines by machine, you should put the staves into the soil very soon after planting so that tying is easy.

It is also an advantage to set the piles soon, so you can avoid damages. Here it is definitely good to know the direction of the planting machine (explanation).

Preparation of the soil

Young vines like it "open" this means no grass and a lot of preparation. Anyway, you should do a bit of sowing in the machine tracks at sites where there is danger of erosion. In case of drought however, you should keep the sowing short.

Underneath the vine surface you should do several preparation by machine or hatchet to foster growth. If you have not a lot of time, herbicides like basta (check if it's allowed) are of course also possible. But here you have to pay attention that the green vine parts are not hit.

In fall at a latest you should do the sowing for sure so that during winter the soil can stabilize. 

Pest management

Besides fungus diseases such as oidium and peronospora, whereas oidium is no real problem in young vineyards, you should really care about mites. Especially the dangerous spider mites (Tetranyachus urticae and Panonychus ulmi) but also rust mites can turn a young vineyard into a sorrow vineyard. Check therefore regularly the young vineyard and in case of infection react fast.

It can be a good idea to take cut off shoots from old vines to settle the predatory mite (typhlodromus pyri) on young vines.