New Grapevines!

I've been looking online lately for grapevines. Several grape growers informed me of the same site if I was looking to buy some. They pointed me in the direction of Double A Vineyards. Everyone I asked said they got nothing but perfect grape vines from the site.

I loaded the page and found probably over a hundred different varietals I could purchase. I was going to get some Cabernet Franc, but I'm in climate zone 5b, and they are for zone 6+. They were also grafted at the trunk, and I was looking for a varietal I could propagate through hardwood clippings.

Although I already have two "Concords", they may not be 100% genetic Concords. I propagated mine from a neighbors grapevine, and neither him or I know for sure if it's the true Concord varietal. I decided to get one "Concord" so I knew I had at least one vine that was a true varietal. I also got one Seedless Concord. The information regarding this vine said that the berry clusters are smaller than a true Concord, but I feel like it is a good vine to have. Apparently the increase in plantings of the seedless varietal have largely outweighed plantings of the regular Concord in recent years. Only the future will show how well the Seedless Concord holds up against its mother plant. If it performs well in the future, I will propagate many vines from it.

What really struck me was the relative cheapness of the vines. I got the Concord for 6.50, and the Seedless Concord for 7.50. The only thing that made the purchase expensive was the shipping (which I suppose better be very good or else the vines may be damaged in transport). I just got the invoice in the mail today, and I can't wait to get them in the spring when Double A Vineyards ships them April 11.

Winter Dormancy

The vines have gone completely dormant for the winter now. All of the green growth has turned brown and has hardened off. I'm super pumped for next summer. If the vigor is even half as much as this summer I'll be pleased. The grape clusters should come from each node this spring, and I can't wait to see how many clusters there will be even within a few weeks after bud break!

The smaller, first year concord has hardened off as well and appears to be surviving the winter just fine. :)

It's Been a While Since the Last Update

It's been a while since the last time I was on the blog. My apologies.

Anyway, the first two thirds of the summer where I live was absolutely wonderful for the grapes. There was just enough rain to keep the soil moist at all times and tons of sunshine for photosynthesis. The vine grew massive and I hope to post some pictures up here soon. It is as tall as me and much taller than me wide as the vine is growing across the trellis. The last third of the summer was a bit chilly and dry, but the first part of the summer more than makes up for it.

I left one cordon to grow to the left first and then another cordon to grow to the right after a while. The right one is just a single cane extending for about five feet. It doesn't seem to have any more other canes growing out of it except for some smaller leaves growing near each node. The left cordon I am allowing to grow is full of vigor. I never knew a second year growth would be so pronounced. The cordon has canes growing out of nearly every node, and the canes are up to fifteen nodes long! The cordon is about five or six feet long and there are more leaves than I would have expected. It looks like a jungle. :)

The grapevine I planted this year is still about a foot tall as it ended up getting eaten by rabbits and deer twice! However, it was an excellent summer for a young vine and I'm sure the root system is developing quite nicely for next summer.

My neighbor's grapevine already has grapes that are showing verasion. I tasted them about two days ago and they are already sweet. It's been kind of chilly and dry lately so I feel like are ripening early this year.

Grapevine Pictures

Well, I finally got a hold of a camera to take some pictures of my grapevines! It took long enough. :) Anyway, feel free to click on pictures to enlarge them.... It kinda helps in seeing them.

This first one is my second year concord grape vine. It started out this spring with only brown hardwood about six inches above the ground. It took a whole first summer to get only a few inches of growth while it was establishing a good root system. This summer so far, it shot up and it's already taller than me.



This next one is one of my first year concords. Like the first one, the first summer seems to be when it gets deep roots which results in little growth above ground. Next summer, it will shoot up though. :)



This next one two more of my first year concord grapes. They are very tiny, but they have all summer to develop a good root system and harden off before winter. Even though they are small, grape vines are hardy. My second year concord survived its first winter with the winter of 2010.... the winter with the worst February on record for Pennsylvania! I'm sure these little guys will do just fine.



The next is the two nodes on the second year grapevine that I left to grow and produce fruit next summer.



Here's a closeup on one of the growing nodes. It's growing pretty fast. I pinched off the top of the grapevine to allow these nodes to grow only a week ago, and they are already about a centimeter long. That's pretty long for new growth in such a short time.

No Camera Yet

Well, I failed to get a hold of a camera today, so I'll probably be taking some pictures tomorrow. It's kind of cloudy today anyway, which would result in some poor photos. Tomorrow is supposed to be bright and I will have a camera by then. :)

It was supposed to rain three times in the last week, but each time it didn't. Everywhere ten miles away from here got probably two inches of rain, while we got absolutely nothing. It hasn't rained here in a while; I wouldn't say I'm worried, but simply frustrated, as rain would certainly help.

New Growth

The top of the second year concord grape vine was pinched off a few days ago, and the top of the vine is spitting out two new leaves. It's pretty exciting, as these cordons will be where the canes for each years fruit and growth will grow from. From this point on, I will allow the grape vine's two cordons to grow out and produce smaller canes from the cordons. This will create some canes I can cut back to two or three nodes this winter in order to prepare for fruit production next summer. I also added a small amount of fertilizer to the ground this afternoon. It hasn't rained in about a week, and it's supposed to rain all day tomorrow, so that should allow for the nutrients to be absorbed into the roots quickly and efficiently. I won't be surprised if the vine doesn't start growing even faster than before! :)

I should be able to get a hold of camera tomorrow, so I might be able to upload some pictures onto the blog sometime in the afternoon. Hopefully I can successfully work camera technology; I can barely work an mp3 player.... :(

First Post! :)

This is the first post on my new blog concerning grape vines. I have one - one year old concord grape vine, and three new first year concord grape vines on the south side of my house. The one year old concord survived the harsh 2010 winter we had, and started this year less than a foot high. Now, by the beginning of June, it is already about six feet tall. It was pruned as a single trunk until three days ago when I decided to pick off the top shoot of the main trunk and allow two new buds to swell and produce two new canes allowing growth outwards. It's exciting to see all of the growth in just the last month, and I'm excited to see how long the new canes and their new growths will become over summer.

The other three vines are very small and I am not expecting them to grow much taller than a foot this summer. Next spring, they may grow as quickly as the one year old concord, at least I'm hoping. We have had an unusually warm spring that started very early. This allowed me to put the vines out early in the year. Unfortunately, two of the three I put out died because of a very late frost, so I put two more out. They are showing slow growth, as their new root systems are growing quickly. The one vine that survived the frost looks very hardy and has lots of bright green leaves. This vine looks even more promising than the one I planted last year at about this same time. :)