[woodburner]

I have a couple of vines in tubs. I really want them for the leaves rather than the grapes, (I haven't had any grapes anyway. ) but they are a bit too small (for dolmeh - stuffed vine leaves). Is it the variety/s (one is a sauvignon, not sure of the other) or would planting out/ feritilising/adding manure make the leaves bigger?

[gillie]

I think you have 'bonsai-ed' these vines.  I would plant them out and read up how to prune them.  Left unpruned grape vines get very large.

We used to get dolmeh sized leaves off our vine but also the most revolting grapes.

Gillie

[woodburner]

What variety is it? I haven't had them long enough to bonsai them. This is only their second year, and the leaves were small last year too.

I think I'll top dress them with well rotted fym anyway. What's the worst that could happen? 

[Carrotcake]

I agree with Gillie. The vines need to be in the ground.

I bought two different varieties last year and never got round to planting them out. They hardly put on any growth in pots. I planted them out about a month ago and now they're in the ground they're already romping away.

[tosca100]

You'll just have to make bite-size dolmeh...yum.

[Babstreefern]

First of all, yes, put them in the ground.  Secondly, whatever you do, don't feed or water them, you let them find their own in the ground.  If you water and feed them, all the nutrients go into leaf growth and not the grapes, whereas, if they have to delve for their nourishment themselves, they think they are being starved, and you get better grapes apparently.  I learnt this when on a wine-tasting outing in Gigny in France, just before I fell off my stool.  We went through quite a few bottles of wine, and unlike the proper wine-tasting - spitting it out - you had to swallow