Meetings on the Pruning and Care of Grapevines Scheduled for April 7 and 8

The pruning and care of grapevines in cold-climate situations are the topics for meetings on April 7 in Minot and April 8 in Buffalo.

The meetings are sponsored by the North Dakota Grape Growers Association (NDGGA), along with help from the North Dakota State University Plant Sciences Department and Extension Service.

The meeting in Minot will be held at the North Central Research Extension Center at 5400 U.S. Highway 83 S. and begins at 9 a.m. The meeting in Buffalo on April 8 will be held at the Community Center starting at 9:30 a.m.

Topics include:

• Planting grapes
• Training young vines
• Trellising
• Pruning
• Varieties for cold climates
• Potential grape varieties for North Dakota

For those attending the Minot meeting, training and hands-on pruning will take place at the Burlington Pointe of View Winery and Vineyard starting at 1 p.m. In Buffalo, the training and pruning will be held at the Red Trail Vineyard starting at 1:30 p.m.

The featured educator at both meetings is John Marshall, owner of the Great River Vineyard/Nursery in Lake City, Minn. He specializes in raising wine and table grapes for commercial sale. Marshall has more than 30 years of experience growing cold-climate grapes. He is a charter member of the Minnesota Grape Growers Association and editor of the organization’s newsletter.

The meetings are free to NDGGA members. Nonmembers can attend for $20, which covers the cost of a NDGGA membership and lunch. A membership form is available at http://www.ndgga.org.

To register, e-mail Rudy Radke at rudy.radke@ndsu.edu or call (701) 356-0222. Membership forms and a check can be sent to Radke at NDGGA, 4838 Rocking Horse Circle, Fargo, ND 58104-6049.

NDSU Agriculture Communication