What to do with grapes?

usignuolo

I planted a new vine in my garden a couple of years ago and it has produced its first fruit this year. The first problem is that it is clearly not the grape shown on the label, which was marked as a large white seedless table grape.

Instead I have small seeded grapes in tightly packed individual bunches, yellow ripening as pinkish, with little brown speckles on the grapes, a rather tart taste. Looking it up on the web I think it is probably a Pigato grape.

There are not really enough grapes to make wine from it, the normal use, anyone got any other suggestions how I can use them?

Farway

Unless you have space enough to let the vine grow to supply enough grapes for wine I reckon your only option is cut your losses & get another vine, but not from same place you got the first one

If you want a real eating grape, properly labelled, then I suspect you should use a proper supplier, like Blackmoor, Ken Muir or Deacon's which will be dearer than some DIY shed but hopefully you will get advice & more importantly waht you paid for and not another variety

cjb02

I have a vine but have not had it long so I am not an expert on growing vines but a couple points from what I have read and a little I have done.

first if you did not thin out the number of grape bunches on the vine then it will produce to many and the grapes that grow will be small. If this is a young vine then to many bunches could be 4 plus.

secondly the bunches that did grow should be thinned out, to prevent overcrowding and again if there are to many grapes then instead of good large sweet grapes you get small sour/tart grapes.

lastly, have you left them long enough to ripen fully, my vine in my greenhouse still hasnt ripened but should be there soon hopefully.

these are just suggestions and thoughts. I cannot however answer why you have seeds when it should have been seedless. Do you know the variety of the vine?

I grow my vine in a small bucket (morrisons flower bucket) in the greenhouse. it is about 8ft long and I trim it back continuously during the season, cut quite a few small bunches/flowers off and thin out the grapes on it. it never dries out and all bunches have surrounding leaves round them removed so they get maximum sun. The grapes are starting to taste sweet around now but still have a tart taste to them at the mo

Lotus-eater

cjb02 wrote: »

I grow my vine in a small bucket (morrisons flower bucket) in the greenhouse.

You really grow your vine in a flower bucket? I'm amazed. I wouldn't have thought that anywhere near big enough.

cjb02

yep. I have been surprised to. I dont let it get to big though and trim often and I have it stood in another container so I can water and leave it stood in water when it was hot in summer. It still goes rampant

Farway

Lotus-eater wrote: »

You really grow your vine in a flower bucket? I'm amazed. I wouldn't have thought that anywhere near big enough.

I have seen at Wisley grapes in similar buckets, they do need care, training & pruning, but it can be done. You will not get hundreds of bunches of course, but for a small garden or trial maybe worth a go ?

I should emphasise this method is not plant, leave & hope for the best, it requires care & attention at all times

usignuolo

When I first planted the vine, I discussed it with a friend of mine (since moved away) who is a Master of Wine and had a lot of vines in his garden. He said I should leave it to establish itself for the first couple of years. He said nothing about thinning the grapes on individual bunches.

I have cut back some of the more rampant trailing branches and kept the ground below the vine clear, but that is really all. The bunches of grapes (there are around 15 in all) are quite well spaced out around the plant.

Another friend has a vine in his garden and says he does not thin out the grapes on the bunches while they are growing. (Also I did try this on one of the bunches and it was quite difficult as the grapes formed tightly packed around the main stem and were difficult to thin out.)

Do professional growers thin the bunches on the vine? Is there a grape which does not need this?

Farway

If growing for wine then there is no need to thin out bunches or grapes

I do not know if commercial growers of eating grapes thin out the bunches, I suspect not unless labour is so cheap they can afford to, can't see this happening in say California

My guess is that it is down to variety, perhaps ask a nursery, like Ken Muir etc?

bordercars

planted out a root from my dad's old vine, sat in a pot for 2 years before planting this year. must have 15 ft of growth on 4 stems. picked little black grapes and juiced them along with a dropped cox apple too sweeten, was quite nice, cant ever imagine enough for vino though

meg72

I have a two year old vine which was bought for £3 in Wilkinson last year, just a stick really. It has produced seven bunchs this year which are just starting to ripen up, just so thrilled with them. I didnt thin out as a lot of the flower buds fell off anyway.

Its in a Poundland pot and Ive just fed occasionly with tomato food (when I remembered)

Now its actually given me some fruit, didnt really think it would, I will be much kinder to it next year. I have also rooted two cuttings from it for our school garden.

Excellent value for £3 I think. It was my Mothers Day present along with compost, seeds etc.

cjb02

Professional growers do thin grapes. I think 15 bunches of grapes on a two yrs old vine is to much. I think you should have removed a lot of these. As for not thinning out because they are so compact, that is why they need thinning. I waited till the flower had gone and I can make out small grapes and cut the bottom of the bunch off meaning all the grapes left in the bunch kind of drop down and have room around them turning a "V" shaped bunch in to more of an "O" shaped bunch. I dont know about grapes for wine but I do know grapes cultivated for the table are always trimmed, even in California for the best produce

this is a good video to watch from a Californian grower on you tube. he discusses pruning and a little about thinning to produce the best fruit

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JOTRbUodQw