I have fruit! There are several clusters on Fry. All others are still just blooming.
Katy
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Those look well ahead of my assortment and the your others appear to be a little ahead of the ones I have. It will be interesting to see when it ripens. My Lane is the first to ripen.
I think I might be a half zone ahead of you depending on the map I look at. And we had a very short winter so everything here is a bit ahead of normal. I did find some of the Cowart that blooms had converted to fruit. It will be interesting to compare. I do have Lane but only planted this spring.
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Iāve been fertilizing this year according to Isonās instructional videos. I wish I had done that last year. My second year plants are fantastic and my first year plants area a long distance down the wire already.
Second year:
First year:
Katy
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Isonās has some great videos. Two of my favorite are the first and second year training up to and down the wire.
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Nice looking Muscadine. Ison list it as being self pollinating with edible skin. I have never had this variety and I would like your opinion of it when it ripens. Thanks, Bill
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Sure. It looks like the first that will ripen. I got it for pollinator but I did read that it was good fresh. Iām getting excited. Some of my vines are amazing on Isonās feeding program. I still have one more application of calcium nitrate to go. I have what I think is lots of fruit for second year plants. Several are blooming again but I would supposed that those fruits will not have time to ripen. Have you had experience with this?
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I picked a few Cowarts today. Iām not really sure how to know when to pick. The color was good and they were softening a bit. So I took the plunge expecting them to be tart. Nopeā¦I ate four and my husband had three. We both vote 
. Very sweet. Skin was tender and had very little tartness. No seeds! Well, if there were seeds they were soft and very unnoticeable. So Iāve gone out and found three more that donāt seem to be quite as ripe. I did find seeds and chewed down on one of them and it was crunchy and bitter!!! 
. Just got through eating these and they were a bit tart but no more so than some grapes Iāve bought in the grocery. Skins werenāt quite as tender as the riper ones. All in all I think itās a good grape and also a pollinator. (There are larger ones but not as ripe yet)
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I donāt have this variety but I have tasted several others and most all the ones sold are pretty sweet when they soften. Some varieties like Lane, Black Beauty, and Supreme will sweeten a little ahead of softening. My big surprise was the Southern Home. I was expecting it to take on at least a little of the grape part of itās dna but it to me taste the most like wild ones I use to pick. When it ripens it can also be very sweet. Iām really getting into growing muscadines so your pictures and comments are very interesting. I hope to have a few Lane ripening soon.
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The question of Cowart and Black Beauty taste just got confusing. I supposedly bought 2 BB and 2 Cowart plants. I have three plants with small fruit and one plant with large fruit. The plant with large fruit is labeled Cowart. Soā¦ I donāt know. BB is the one supposed to have large fruit. All are good but I donāt have a clue if labels were wrong etc. (bought all at Walmart----I know, I knowā¦)
Katy
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When Black Beauty ripens they are about 1.25". I was just out looking at my Lane which is starting to get ripe 1". The Black Beauty is a later ripening variety and it is still small, green and about .5". I only have two BB fruit so I was guessing that it would get bigger as it approaches ripening time or it wasnāt fully pollinated. Is your BB ripening or is it still green?
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I have a few ripening on each vine I have. So IF I have a BB then yes it is ripening. I really donāt know what I have other than the Fry that seems to match its description. Next year my vines that start bearing all came from Isonās so Iāll feel better about what I have. The fruit on these āBBā are ripening at about 0.5". One of the āCowartā has fruit that looks exactly the same and one of them has fruit about 1" or soāno larger. So either three of them are mislabeled or all four. My favorite though is a bronze unknown which I think might be Darlene. Everything is ripening but the Darlene and Fry are a bit behind the purple ones. AND I have new fruit on the bronze ones that is large enough that it might ripen!! Maybe.
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Thanks
i have also tasted cowart and they are very good, the little ones donāt seed to have seeds at all but i recently read that you wait for muscadines to dull and then eat them
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This does seem a little small for BB but I have had stranger things happen. My Southern Home was a little smaller last season but that might just be from the increased rain. Iām located near an orchard with different muscadine varieties so I was able to test before buying but Iām still not comfortable with correct varieties until they fruit.
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They all taste good. Iām about to try an air layer on the one that I like that Iām not sure what it is. Iām not sure what I will do with it but Iām gonna give it a goā¦
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These are pictures of Lane and Black Beauty with buds at different stages within the same cluster.
Whats your opinion on Black Beauty vs Supreme, if you had to pick one for productivity + taste.
Going to be ordering muscadines this year! Thinking about going with BB / Supreme with Lane as pollinator.
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All three of your selections are good in my opinion. BB and Sup are large good tasting fruit. Taste wise I give BB a slight edge. Lane is a little smaller and it has the most grape like texture. I have also added Hall and Oh My but they havenāt fruited yet. As of now Sup and Lane are the heaviest producers.
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