Just now noticed your post. That is the exact video that I based my arbor on! I have thought that video had gone defunct but you found it.
It should be noted that he demonstrates cane pruning rather than spur pruning.
What does muscadine jam taste like?
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Thanks again folks. Unfortunately, it looks like it may be getting worse. I’m guessing this may be due to the cooler than normal temperatures we’ve been having and the fact that these plants are still quite young. I’m going to wait until next week before jumping to any conclusions though.
I’m also guessing the temps have been the reason my triumph that was delivered as a dormant bare root plant about a month ago still hasn’t had any bud break. It seems like the buds get marginally larger dash week but I figured they should’ve broken by now.
I think you are worrying too much, its either going to leaf out and grow a lot or it will die and you just plant a replacement. By all accounts I have read muscadines are amongst the easiest and least fussy fruit you can grow.
Growing fruiting perennials is very much a slow learning game where you learn a different lesson each year and some mistakes are inevitable. Its great that you are passionate about it, but don’t try to compress it all into your first year. I like to set a “new years resolution” for fruit growing each year for a thing to focus on - this year its bird protection, lol.
EDIT: The best thing you can do is pull up your your local extension office’s / state university guide to growing muscadine and focus on following their recommendations. The first year of growing the planting and pruning are most important and you already did half that work. For pruning I think the gold standard is to watch the videos put out by Ison’s nursery:
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Agreed on every aspect of your post. I guess I’m just hoping to have a good foundation for these muscadines for the years to come. And considering the state of my yard’s soil (glorified concrete) I’m just anxious about anything growing here.
As you mentioned, at worst if these don’t survive the summer I can spend the fall making proper adjustments to the soil composition and full blown cultivation of the surrounding soil and will be even more prepared for next year.
Appreciate the Ison’s link, though I’ve watched about every video and read most articles they’ve put out. It’s definitely a good resource for anyone browsing this thread.
Muscadines have a taste all their own…a sort of musky or wine like taste. They are very sweet along with this taste. They are a lot of work to juice properly to get that taste in the jelly/jam but when you do it is fantastic. It really takes crushing the very tough skins before juicing and avoiding crushing the seeds (that are bitter). I’ve finally figured out how to do it easily (because I like easy to do things over a lot of work!) to get that muscadine flavor. Bill does a lot of cooking with muscadines. I’m sure he has a fantastic method of getting his juice and making jelly.
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@mrsg47 , @k8tpayaso
Your description of jelly/jam correlates with my taste. Our favorite is making cobblers with muscadines and I think they taste similar to blackberries or sour cherry but definitely different. As stated they are unlike any other fruit I have tasted. Using the whole fruit minus the seeds took a lot of time to process. I’m hoping that my addition of the seedless variety Oh My will allow me to save some time preparing them.
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Thanks so much!
Thanks Bill! Muscadines here are very small and almost golden yellow. They make a very sweet wine. Your muscadines are enormous compared to our grapes. I might be confusing them with Muscat grapes.
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After doing a bit of research today, I found out France does not grow muscadines. Your warm, humid southern climes to not match ours. I have never tried one. Can’t have everything! Love your pictures though!
The only grape I have that is even part
Muscadine is
Bob Zehnder Z74.21.5
It’s only about 1/8 Muscadine
Female flowers and
it does ripen up here, though it’s a late one.
I think the hybrids are the best way to get Muscadine further north.
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I’m not familiar with it. Got a few questions. How does it taste? Is it a wine or table type? What variety do you use to pollinate the female flowers? Hope it does well in your area. Thanks, Bill
it’s a small cluster and small berry.
female
Highly vigorous and productive.
Bob liked to use it for breeding because of its great disease resistance.
Fruit looks like a French hybrid
Foch or Leon Millot.
It does ripen up here, but it’s late.
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Flavor is like Foch.
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I have started running my main lines so I can install drip water emmiters for my muscadines. The previous time I insalled these they were hard to push into the main pipe and I was hopeing that you had an easier method and were willing to share with me/others. Another concern I have is what distance from the trunk do you place the emitters? I plan to put two per vine.
I am about to try irrigation myself-love to hear what you have. I bought a couple batches of tubing and parts, have more than enough line but not enough emitters. The emitters are what I might use for slow/low pressure. I think 1/2 or 1 gallon an hour, pressure reducer is to 10psi. I have Toro drip tape, too, but plan that for veggies and have used before for those. What would I look at for muscadines and trees? Getting things together for punching/inserting as well,did not have that. What was difficult?
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I put in 60 one gallon/per hour emmiters yesterday (2 per plant) and it didn’t take long. Used a cordless drill with a small bit to drill the starter hole for the emitters and they inserted easier.
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I think for trees you want to use drip line in a circle around the root zone.
It depends on the soil type but the water doesn’t really spread more than a couple inches away from the emitter.
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So my female (Black Beauty) is forming flowers but my self-fertile (Lane) is way behind, don’t even see any flowers. I guess that means I’m not getting fruit this year?
How’s everyone else’s muscadines doing?
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