With some help from my kids, I just harvested more than 30 pounds of grapes. And it got dark before we could finish, so this is the first half. If they were seedless, we would have made a significant dent in them, but unfortunately, they are heavily seeded (4-5 seeds per grape). I’ve actually tried to graft over them for the last 2 springs, but have failed dismally.
They were here when we moved in 5 years ago, so I’m not sure of the variety. They seem like Concord, except white. In the past, I never got more than a small bowl full, mostly due to black rot. When I protected a few bunches with bags, the animals would eat them. This time, I gave them a spritz of MFF when I was spraying the peaches. That was back around the end of June and it looks like it has made all the difference. In the past, each bunch would have 0-3 usable grapes. Now, there are 0-3 bad grapes per bunch instead. I’ve started to see losses to the birds and they (the grapes) are starting to have a nice smell, so I figure that the raccoon will be along soon.
Here is one bunch which looks a lot like past years (I think it was hiding from the spray and the sun). Believe it or not, this would have been one of the best bunches in past years.
The tentative plan is for me to boil them a bit and extract the juice. I’ve tried just crushing them and the result is interesting, but I think it needs to be mixed with something (sweeter). The brix is ~13.5, but it is still pretty tart. After boiling, maybe I’ll make jelly or just use the juice (maybe mixed with cider?). Anyone have a favorite?
I took a look at the online description and yes, that does look like it. It matches on all of these, in addition to a visual similarity:
productive (see above pic)
vigorous (I thought I had cut it back entirely this spring to give the grafts a chance to take, but maybe it was last year. Either way, it is now almost covering 50’ of fence from a 2 locations…)
My guess is they probably could have used some more hang time, but a little under-ripe beats getting nothing! I got almost no grapes the last several years due to birds.
I bagged many of my Swenson Red this year and I am seeing how long they like to hang. I have been tasting a few berries a couple times a week for several weeks and they just keep getting better and better.
That was a very good suggestion- Thanks Mrs G (something I neglected to say in my above response).
Scott, I’ve still got a lot on the vines, so I’ll compare them in a bit. Maybe next weekend, when I’ve got some time. Of the first 30 pounds, I juiced some (13.5 brix), boiled down others (~10 lbs, at 12 brix), as well as giving 8-10 pounds each to my brother and parents. I’m not sure why the pressed ones had higher brix than the boiled ones- maybe because a bit of water is added at the start of the boiling process (which isn’t all boiled off). The juice is in the fridge, and I hope to make jelly soon.
Scott, You were correct- they were under-ripe. I picked another 15 lbs last weekend, with most being around 15 brix (up from 13-14). Then today I picked the last 20 lbs (65lbs total), which are in the 17-18 brix range. It’s time to pick them though, rather than shooting for 20- I’m seeing more damage on this batch, both from rots and bees.
I accidentally trapped a bee in a bunch and quickly tossed it away from me when I heard the grapes buzzing angrily. At least the bee in this pic had the courtesy to be easily seen…
