Planting Catawba grapes April 9, 2019 by Marilyn OdnealWe planted Catawba grapes today. Many years ago, Joyce McMurtrey who managed vineyards with her husband Sonny, taught me how to plant grapes in shallow Ozark soils. The digging crew works just ahead of the planting crew. A trench about a foot deep is dug in front of the T post where the vine will be centered. Roots are trimmed sparingly before planting. Best if you do not need to trim at all. The roots are divided in half and spread on both sides of the trench. The vines are kept in a bucket of water until planting. Here the soil is being back filled into the hole. A couple of times during backfilling, the vine is tugged up a bit to get the soil around the roots. After backfill is complete, we step over the roots to insure good contact with the soil.