I would not let any cover crop too close to those new grapevines the first year....let them get established on their own. Try to rustle up
enough mulch to mulch them instead....at least around each plant to suppress the weeds. Add paper or
cardboard under the mulch, especially if they are
drip irrigated and you can be certain there is moisture underneath. This coming fall if the vines have taken hold well you could go in with a basic clover/grass cover, like crimson clover and rye. You might need to mow it once or twice in the spring if the vines are still small and it gets too rank.
cover crops in the South fall easily into two categories, those planted in fall that overwinter and go to seed in spring or early summer, and the summer cover crops that are frost tender and planted in spring and mature in the fall.
2
