Grapes!!!!!!!!!

[Gazinga]

i have 12 grape plants about 2 years old. Do i prune them this young or let them grow till they get bigger then prune em back for production? And most importantly how do i make sure they survive the winter, out in the snows? Im in zone 8ish.

 

[Greenthumb18]

Nice grapes wifezilla!! You could of made wine with all those grapes, what variety is that by the way??

 

[wifezilla]

I am thinking of making a pyment (mead with grapes). That is why I went ahead and froze them. It is very easy to get the juice out of frozen grapes once they are thawed out. I need more honey first.

As for variety....no clue. The vine was bought at the end of season during a clearance sale. It was a pathetic little thing and I think I paid like $2 or $3 for it. It had no tag.

All I know is the grapes are seedless, Not very helpful...I know

 

[wifezilla]

how do i make sure they survive the winter, out in the snows?

I am in zone 4 or 5 depending on the year If they can survive here, yours should be fine.

 

[Greenthumb18]

I am thinking of making a pyment (mead with grapes). That is why I went ahead and froze them. It is very easy to get the juice out of frozen grapes once they are thawed out. I need more honey first.

As for variety....no clue. The vine was bought at the end of season during a clearance sale. It was a pathetic little thing and I think I paid like $2 or $3 for it. It had no tag.

All I know is the grapes are seedless, Not very helpful...I know

Mead with grapes sounds good, let us know how it turns out when you make it. Thats good that the grapes are seedless you wont have to worry about those pesky seeds in the juice when you make the mead.

 

[Hattie the Hen]

I always give my chickens the trimmings from my 2 grape-vines, they eat the leaves & regard them as a great treat. They leave me the stripped supple branches to weave supports around the edges of pots of floppy plants & the older branches I use as a bed for food I'm cooking on the BBQ. Nothing is wasted.

I also line my unglazed clay cooking casserole pot with large vine-leaves & cook a whole chicken with mushrooms so that the chicken comes out succulently roasted with a delicious mushroom gravy.

This shows my Romertopf clay pot -- I was given one as a wedding present 50 years ago & I have used them ever since. You have to soak them in water fist & put them in a cold oven so they heat up with the oven;

http://www.fantes.com/romertopf.html

HiDelight tells me they can often be found cheaply in charity stores in the US. There are plenty of on-line sites that tell you how to treat them & give great recipes.

:rose Hattie :rose

 

[Hattie the Hen]

By coincidence I found this recipe had come through on my email page this morning so I thought you might be interested:

http://italianfood.about.com/od/illustratedrecipesmore/ss/aa091908.htm

I shall try it when my black grapes finally ripen -- they are always very late & this year even later ........!!

Happy Baking!

:rose Hattie :rose

 

[wifezilla]

She leaves out the traditional lard and honey?!?!?! Crazy person!

 

[homestead holdout]

OMG the photos in this thread!! Absolutely gorgeous!! Makes a gardeners heart pound.... Have any of you transplanted mature grape vines instead of taking cuttings? I have a Thompson seedless that I truly planted in the wrong place, dont know what I was thinking as that was 2 years ago and my sun has dramatically changed (I've had to plant a ton of privacy trees since developers tore down the woods that surrounded our property). Anyhow, I want to move it because it's really taking off and about to shade my good garden spot (along with an out of control wisteria that I posted about).... So can I transplant it succuessfully?? I'm already digging and erecting a giant arbor/fence for it to run along in front of my garden, was planting to wait until it's dormant though....