There are university studies saying otherwise, so it may depend on what types of grapes. Some of them actually say that about 5.5 ph is the best ph for grapes look at this
http://www.uvm.edu/~fruit/grapes/gr_horticulture/GrapevineNutrition.pdf
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Classically, labrusca type grapes can tolerate more acidic soils while vinifera and vinifera based hybrids prefer to be closer to neutral (most say around 6.5 pH).
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well, time to contradict universities.
my ph is ovr 8.
even veggies won’t grow without amendments.
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I found out after I posted that, that many modern grapes prefer less acidic soil, and I have recalled seeing that some varieties prefer 6.5 to 7 ph. Yet over 8 does seem a bit low acidity for even one of those varieties. What variety do you grow?
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i was given a rooted cutting that turned out to be something else.
i hav eno idea what it is, but it’s probably a named variety.
itseems made for the high plaines.
to grow anything here, i have to flood the place with amonium sulfate, but i’ve seldom done that for this strange grape.
i didn’t plant it to get a crop.
i just wanted some nice shade under my arbor.
kinda surprizing to bump my head on bunches of grapes
hanging from the ceiling.
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It’s so interesting to hear about the varieties you all are growing. The only ones I’ve had success with are Spanish black and blanc du bois. No chance of growing Northern grapes at 29 degrees. On the up side, the Sb grapes root well and are prodigious fruiters, just not the quality you expect farther North…D
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You northern folks are lucky that you don’t have Pierce’s Disease. I envy y’all. Its a killer to table/wine grapes. Nothing you can do except switch to muscadines.
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But I love muscadine!
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Right there with you. These things taste amazing. Such a unique flavor. I’m looking forward to my 9 vines making enough to juice and eat fresh.
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Concord, Catawba and Niagara are old ‘standby’ grapes in my area. Haven’t had a great deal of interest since I left home and started a life over 4 decades ago. But, from my limited experience with over a dozen varieties before all the newer hybrids— one called “Moore’s Diamond” impressed me. A grape with excellent disease resistance, and a better wine maker than the Niagara grape that is used in some eastern US wine making and for juice.
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I’ve had great luck with grapes here in middle TN, so I guess I’ve just been lucky enough that Pierce’s Disease hasn’t found me yet. Black Rot absolutely arrived a few years ago and hit hard, but folks here taught me to use myclobutanil on my vines and fruit and it absolutely was/is a miracle. I grow Concord, Catawba, Niagara, Mars, Pink Reliance, and 2 others I’m not remembering right now. All 7 of my varieties do great. Birds enjoy them but the vines produce enough for them and me both, though I may use netting this year. My biggest problem are my free range chickens! haha I run my wires higher than recommended just to get them above the chickens reach. Chickens won’t actually fly up into the vines or wire to eat grapes, but it is super funny to watch what they do. They will get under the vines and pick out a grape above their reach, then jump up, grab it on their way up, then land and eat it and repeat. Picture this happening with lots of chickens all along under my grape guide wire. It looks like giant popcorn in a row, popping up and down at different times. Funny!
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I’ve been pleasantly surprised with grapes so far - zone 6b near Boston.
I’ve had a Mars growing on my back porch for 5 years and gotten a few good years of fruit from it. For me Mars grows with the right amount of vigor for where I placed it and is pretty easy to manage. Pictures attached from last August.
Two good years of fruit from a Marquis and a “seedless blue muscat”, planted 4 years ago. Marquis is growing too vigorously; into the neighbors yard, etc. Requires a lot of cutting.
I planted a Steuben and Villard Blanc a couple years ago, but they have struggled to gain size since the spot I put them is a bit shady.
So far I have not had issues with diseases. Probably black rot will show up eventually and I’ll have to spray, but I’m enjoying the low maintenance of grapes at the moment. Of course the ancestors of Concord grow wild around here and I sometimes forage some while commuting on the bike path through Lexington. My kids hate those wild grapes; super foxy, full of seeds, sour. But I think they are pretty good.
The birds really went after the Mars last year but there were so many that we still could eat about as many as we cared to.
Actually my biggest issue last season was uneven ripening within a cluster. This makes it hard to pick because many of the berries in a cluster you pick won’t be good to eat. Anyone have an idea of what would cause this? The grapes didn’t get thinned last season since I was out of town until August.
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My thought as to uneven ripening within a cluster is that the vine is trying to ripen too many grapes at one time. It takes a lot of energy for a vine to ripen the grapes.
Try this winter to prune more aggressive, Then in the spring thin to no more then one cluster per shoot. Also you could nip the ends off of the clusters.
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I took your advice and added a couple to my Raintree order. They arrived 5 days after I placed the order, which is incredible for them. It was a busy day, so I have not had time to inspect the new trees and vines. I ordered Himrod and Einset. I am looking at a few Burnt Ridge still has in stock. Interlaken, Reliance, and Venus are currently on my radar.
I don’t want to over do it with the grapes, because I am looking at hardy kiwi as well. The grapes look like they will come in right at the end of our stone fruit season, which is convenient.
Are the leaves from these varieties edible/palatable? Stuffed grape leaves would make them worth growing.
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I’m always a little nervous when someone takes my advice because there are people here who know so much more than me. But I have had remarkable success with ready-to-plant grapes (potted in my case, though bare root may work just as well) and they are so readily available and affordable that I just cant see spending the time and effort to root and grow grapes unless you just enjoy it, which some do.
Anyway, I sincerely hope you do well with your grapes. As you see in this thread, a lot of people seem to have a very hard time growing grapes while others, like me, have found them very easy to grow. Soils seem to be the main determinate and I can only hope you have good soils- though “good” is relative since I often hear people say you should plant grapes where you have the poorest quality soil (that is different from poor drainage which is problematic).
I have grown Venus and Reliance. Venus were easy. Reliance are probably my favorite tasting but they are- at least in my orchard- more finicky than all the others. Strange as it may sound, both bugs and birds prefer Reliance dramatically more than any of my other grapes. No idea why. The vines also just arent as vigorous nor as thick and healthy looking as others. All that being said, I get a decent crop every year even from Reliance so I’m not saying you shouldn’t try them.
I have never eaten leaves or used them in stuffed grape leaf dishes, so I can’t comment on which leaves are better for that purpose. Good luck!!!
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Mine have been pretty slow growing (ie this will be third leaf and none have reached top 6ft wire with pencil sized growth yet), i have clay loam soil which could be part of it, i havent fertilized either though only major nutrient that was low in soil test was K. Think i may have to put a hoop/greenhouse over trellis to up the heat! Any other thoughts or suggestions?
Hello grape experts!
Today I planted a row of rhaspberries at work and for this, four grapes had to go. They were planted by an old farmer but now his grandson would like to try rhaspberries, so they had to go. I think thats quite sad so I took four cuttings from them. The buds are slightly swollen, but there was no sap flow. I emergency planted them in a rhaspberry pot in rhaspberry substrate. I took them into the garage for the night since it’s supposed to get cold this night again. I can’t go home for 1.5 weeks (working 2 weeks trough) so I have to leave them in this pot. How do I keep them alive and encourage rooting?
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I am not sure that the variety makes a lot of difference but the timing of picking, or so I am told. Others might be more able to answer that.
I used my Valiant grape leaves as well as some from my Suffolk Seedless. A Romanian neighbour gave me her recipe for Dolmas and they were wonderful. Her tip was to pick the bright green leaves, the older they get the darker green and tougher they get. Simmer the leaves until they turn olive colour and make the Dolmas or freeze the leaves for later.
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I am by no means a grape expert, However it is my understanding that you can take dormant cuttings of grapes stick them in rooting hormone and then root them in a peat/perlite/coir situation. I would keep them inside where the temperature is consistent
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Thanks for the tip. The kind I ate growing up were stuffed with rice, and baked in a dish with chicken stock. I will have to dig up the recipe
I ordered Interlaken and Vanessa grapes from Burnt Ridge Nursery, and a Canadice cutting from Fruitwood Nursery. I am planning to use rooting hormone, rooting sponge, and parafilm to root the grape in cocopeat or hydroton.
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