Why is my vine putting on all these new bunches now? D:
@Auburn @Fusion_power … I got back from a week of Vacation in Florida yesterday.
Found several ripe dimes on my Oh my and Isons vines. They are in year 2 now… so I cut most fruit clusters off late spring. Left enough on to get a taste this year.
Found the flavor on both to be quite different than my wild muscadines here. Definately more muscy ? But sweet and quite flavorful.
Isons dimes were a bit larger than Oh My… and a bit more on the Muscy side.
Isons makes a big beautuful berry, dark purple, near black when fully ripe.
Oh My a bit smaller berry… which even when fully ripe remain a lighter greenish yellow color.
Eating the first Oh My was interesting. I was not really sure what to expect… other than seedless. I was expecting the skin to be thin and eatable… but was suprised to find it to be thick and eatable. There were no seeds at all… none that I detected anyway. That is nice in a muscadine.
The skin on Oh My is thick… at least 1/8 inch or more… but it is more than just skin… it is like skin with a layer of fruit pulp attached.
Next there is a layer of the more juicy pulp in the center. Very interesting.
My wife and son also tried a few berries of each and we have a favorite allready.
Oh My has taken the early lead on favorite.
It was a little less musky, a little sweeter, better flavor. And since you can eat the entire berry skin and all with no seeds… much preferred over Isons so far.
I cant wait to try making some low sugar chia jam with Oh My muscadines next fall. Hopefully that will work with skins and all.
TNHunter
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Remember that Ison is noted for very good jam and jelly!
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Those Lanes are beautiful! So far I have 2 vines with fruit but they are only about half the size now. Will be interesting to see if they have enough growing season remaining to mature and ripen. My Cowart vine ended up with 1 single berry out of about 12 clusters. I guess the clusters were too far apart to self pollinate. My Ison native has two clusters of berries
Dennis
Kent, Wa
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Thanks for the Oh My description. I’m not good at describing so if you’re okay I will use some of your notes about it. I have people asking me how it tastes. Thanks
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I don’t consider my location to be the best for growing apples and plums although I do try to get fruit from them. Muscadines are a different story. They grow and produce heavy crops with only a minimal attention at my location and I suspect the same could be said for most parts of Georgia, Mississippi, and parts of Tennessee. These Oh My are all ripening at the same time. Five gallons is about all I want to pick each morning.
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Is your area suitable for muscadines? I have a Cowart vine that is about eight years that produces a plentiful crop. You should not have a problem anywhere on the vine with pollination since it is self-fertile.
I’m just guessing but I doubt if there are any wild muscadine vines growing in the Washington state woods.
Isn’t the Rombough bunch grape nursery in your area?
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Hi Sam,
My vines were 3 years old when I transplanted them to a new much sunnier location last spring. Now they are not shaded but in full sun all day. The transplant probably set them back a bit so this year I pruned them very little to allow the vegetation to grow stronger roots. I plan to cut them back dramatically to 2 buds next spring which should bring all flower clusters much closer together. At least that is my hope. I would say I may be on the northern tip of climate suitable since our maritime climate gives a cooler and shorter growing season. I am aware that my location may not be suitable, but since I grew up hunting the wild ones in TN I have a desire to raise them here. I’m not familiar with the nursery you mentioned, but I grow four varieties of table grapes without any problems. So I expect the Muscadines just need time to mature to begin a better production.
Dennis
Kent, Wa
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Your Oh My muscadines don’t look any different than my Scuppernong and Carlos muscadines. Do they indeed taste different?
i can’t tell any difference in the taste between my Scuppernong and Carlos. The Scuppernong looks a little more golden in color while the Carlos is a little more greener but again the difference is really nothing to speak of. The difference may be that the Scuppernong is on a trellis while the Carlos is on an arbor. The sun may play a part in the coloration of the muscadines. I don’t know for sure.
@Auburn … that is a good looking bucket of fruit !!!
I know from post in the past that you give some of that large harvest to friends, neighbors, family ?
Have you found any way to preserve muscadines other than making jam out of them ?
Do they freeze well ?
Dehydrate ?
Have you made muscadine wine ?
Any other ways to make good use of an abundance of muscadines ?
Thanks
TNHunter
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I’ve been wondering about @TNHunter question. - What happens if store bought muscadine wine is mixed with regular muscadine juice and then frozen in trays for alcoholic popsicles?
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Another successful morning in paradise. Picked 2 of the 5 gallon buckets this morning of the Oh My. Glad to see the picking winding down. Might be about 2 more gallons. The Paulk and Black Beauty are almost ready to pick but they are more fun picking because of the fruit’s enormous size.
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I have a steam type juicer that I make some juice. My preference is to wash/dry and freeze them whole. I can take some out and they make a delicious cold snack. I plan to freeze more this year. Your idea to make chea jam sounds good.
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Let us know how it turns out.
Making wine appears to be how many growers preserve their muscadines but I haven’t tried to do so.
@Auburn @TNHunter
I have a buddy that’s going to attempt vinegar with muscadine’s this year. I’ll let y’all know if he follows through and how it turned out
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I wonder how Oh My would turn out if you sliced them in half and dehydrated.
I will collect a few more soon and give that a try.
TNHunter
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I searched my Oh My vine yesterday evening and found the last 5 dimes. Washed them, dried them, sliced them in half.
Dehydrated them over night… 10 hours at 125 deg.
I almost ate them all before getting a picture. My wife and I both liked them…
They were sweeter than a rasin, had good flavor and were about as chewey as a rasin.
My dehydrated figs last 4 months or more in the fridge in a mason jar. I bet these will too… if dried well.
How about dried figs and muscadines on a nice salad… over winter months.
I did not try dehydrating any whole dimes… will try that when I get more fruit.
TNHunter
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My guess is that those dehydrated Oh My’s would go nicely in a cake. Just find a fresh apple cake recipe and substitute the dehydrated Oh My’s in for the apple pieces. Or use the seedless muscadines in a cake without dehydrating.
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