View Full Version : Grapes to grow for eating ?
Scuba_Dave
06-26-2010, 09:44 PM
Well, with building the screenhouse framework I am now looking towards building a pergola over the picnic table area
I'm thinking of planting grapes to grow on the pergola
But I have no idea what kind - for eating
Anyone growing grapes ?
Richard
06-26-2010, 10:04 PM
Get a cultivar bred for your area, on a rootstock suitable for your soil. Then make sure your fertilizer contains Zinc as a micronutrient.
Abnshrek
06-26-2010, 11:35 PM
Richard is very right.. I was doing the very same thing for my area for blackberries, grapes, and raspberries this morning. :^)
Jack Daw
06-27-2010, 04:42 AM
OK, since you already have all the advice you needed, let me just add my 2 cents. This coming from a 1600 years old viticultural area:
"Grapes are not meant to be eaten. They are meant to be drunk!" ;)
Richard
06-27-2010, 05:01 PM
OK, since you already have all the advice you needed, let me just add my 2 cents. This coming from a 1600 years old viticultural area:
"Grapes are not meant to be eaten. They are meant to be drunk!" ;)
Apparently you have not tasted Munukka or its hybrids.
elgordo
06-27-2010, 07:14 PM
Richard, I have a Black Monukka growing in my garden, but it hasn't fruited or flowered yet - it's only two years old. I take it I made a good purchase, in your opinion?
Richard
06-27-2010, 11:33 PM
Richard, I have a Black Monukka growing in my garden, but it hasn't fruited or flowered yet - it's only two years old. I take it I made a good purchase, in your opinion?
Grape fruit buds are tiny and the brief flowers are easier to see with a magnifying glass. Within two years of planting you should have smallish fruit and within 5 years fruit "true to form". The quality and size of fruit depends on the development of a large root system and --- you guessed it --- an adequate supply of potash. Just like bananas they prefer 1.5 times potash compared to nitrogen.
I think that Black Manukka is outstanding in coastal environments. There are many other Manukka hybrids developed as table grapes for various growing conditions.
planetrj
06-28-2010, 12:41 AM
Dave,
A great Grape for growing in your region, which will resist many of the diseases/fungi that can really reduce the end result, PLUS, looks beautiful and behaves itself for pergolas...
One word:
"Scuppernong"
In the viticulture that I've experimented in, I must say it's THE best and most beautiful grape I've ever grown. ;)
Good luck, whatever you decide.
Want Them All
06-28-2010, 01:50 AM
Grapes are the easiest to grow, along with citrus, in my area. I see them all along the freeways. About 4 years ago, I plopped down 2 5-gallon grape pots from Home Depot, I've only watered them along with other plants in the yard. They're in the most neglected corner, and the last 2 years, I've harvested a bunch of grapes, imagine how much more I could've gotten had I paid them more attention. Once they're settled in, I'm told they're pretty much unkillable. I'm not sure what cultivar I have, but the grapes are smallish and purple, very sweet.
Richard
06-28-2010, 10:47 AM
Ok, so there are grapes, and then different grapes, and then other grapes, and hybrid grapes of all sorts, plus also ornamental grapes. More specifically I'm refering to:
Vitis labrusca -- the Fox or Concord grape species and its cultivars.
Vitis rotundifolia -- the Muscadine grape species and its cultivars.
Vitis vinafera -- the European grape species and its cultivars.
Vitis hybrid -- an enormous number of hybrids from the above. A very important group of these are rootstocks for various climate and soil conditions.
Jack Daw
06-28-2010, 11:17 AM
Apparently you have not tasted Munukka or its hybrids.
We don't eat grapes per say, Richard, we just consume it mostly in its natural, liquid form. :ha:
Scuba_Dave
06-28-2010, 12:48 PM
I don't think my 4 year old son can drink wine yet
Wife & son mostly eat the grapes...have to see what they eat & what will grow here
Ideally I'd like to plant them this year & build Pergola next Spring
SoBe Musa
06-28-2010, 11:34 PM
Dave,so far they been pretty easy to grow for me in a container.
Here is the thread:http://www.bananas.org/f8/muscadine-grapes-10332.html
Scuba_Dave
06-29-2010, 07:41 AM
I'm in Zone 6...MA
So I need something that is hardy
According to Ison's site they ar only hardy to Zone 7
Jack Daw
06-29-2010, 10:22 AM
I'm in Zone 6...MA
So I need something that is hardy
According to Ison's site they ar only hardy to Zone 7
Most of the commonly cultivated varieties are for zone 7 or 8. However there are many varieties grown locally that can be used. Try walking around the villages to see what varieties people grow and are succesful in MA.
Richard
06-29-2010, 10:43 AM
Most of the commonly cultivated varieties are for zone 7 or 8. However there are many varieties grown locally that can be used. Try walking around the villages to see what varieties people grow and are succesful in MA.
Either that or get information from some real experts. Cornell University and U.C. Davis are the top resources for viticulture in the world. Cornell is noted for the hybrids created several decades ago from crosses between European and Canadian grapes -- exactly what you need for your climate. Go digging at their agricultural extension site: Cornell Cooperative Extension (http://cce.cornell.edu)
cherokee_greg
06-29-2010, 11:57 AM
Here in California I grow thomson seedless.This is grape country, Im not sure about your zone.
Richard
06-29-2010, 01:08 PM
Here in California I grow thomson seedless.This is grape country, Im not sure about your zone.
Go to the table-grape festival in Modesto County. There you will find that Thompson seedless is a good, but average tasting grape. The holy grail of grapes for your area is "Gold Monukka". It's also rare. For cold-region areas such as inland New York State, there is a hybrid that tastes like Merlot but it is unrelated and somehow better than the wine itself.
cherokee_greg
06-29-2010, 02:42 PM
Go to the table-grape festival in Modesto County. There you will find that Thompson seedless is a good, but average tasting grape. The holy grail of grapes for your area is "Gold Monukka". It's also rare. For cold-region areas such as inland New York State, there is a hybrid that tastes like Merlot but it is unrelated and somehow better than the wine itself.
Have you ever tried this one
Grapes - Table - Bay Laurel Nursery Online Bareroot Catalog (http://www.baylaurelnursery.com/order/clicksite.cgi?cart_id=&xm=on&ftr=GrapesTable&p=Grapes_-_Table)
Richard
06-29-2010, 10:51 PM
Have you ever tried this one
Grapes - Table - Bay Laurel Nursery Online Bareroot Catalog (http://www.baylaurelnursery.com/order/clicksite.cgi?cart_id=&xm=on&ftr=GrapesTable&p=Grapes_-_Table)
Yes, I believe I've tried them all but which grape were you referring to?
cherokee_greg
06-30-2010, 09:06 AM
Yes, I believe I've tried them all but which grape were you referring to?
Im sorry the first one the BLACK MONUKKA.
Scuba_Dave
06-30-2010, 11:10 AM
Seems from the sites the best time to plant these is in the fall ?
They say November on some sites...no way I can count on that here
Richard
06-30-2010, 11:40 AM
Seems from the sites the best time to plant these is in the fall ?
They say November on some sites...no way I can count on that here
Bareroot grapes are planted in the late winter and potted plants with active growth are planted mid-spring through mid-summer. On an agricultural scale you can plant in the fall but the root stock better be appropriate for your soil and winter climate. Allow three to five years for adequate root development for a crop of true-to-size fruit to develop.
Im sorry the first one the BLACK MONUKKA.
When grown in the coastal-influence areas of southern California, I believe the Black Monukka has flavor superior to many grapes and the plant is hardy with respect to many coastal maladies. For your area, it is important to start tasting grapes grown in the same or similar climate.
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