Growing Grapes...a home vineyard experiment  

Goals

• Wooden trellis that would be decorative and built to last

• Table grapes for juice, raisins and eating

Click to get the complete file....technically excellent and detailed. 

Building a wooden trellis system....summer of 2008

• 4x4 middle posts, cross members, and supports

• 6x6 end posts

• 4 wires with tensioners to maintain 250 lbs. tension.  Each wire is about 100 feet long

• anchors in the ground at each end with turnbuckles to maintain tension

• raised beds surrounded by landscape stones

• mulched area on each side for easy access

Finished Trellis system turned out great, time for some growing...

2009 -- Off to a bad start.

• The first plants (bare roots) from Ty Ty nursery in GA didn't make it thru the winter.  ( I don't recommend TyTy for a number of reasons)

• While trying to get replacements (or a refund from Ty Ty), I ordered 4 plants from Bob McCandlish www.mccandlishlivestock.com in June 2009.  These plants arrived promptly, with foliage, and are doing well.

  • Thompson Seedless

  • Red Flame

  • Suffolk Red

  • Black Monukka's

A few pix from July 2009

September 2009....some growth. 

Waiting for the TyTy replacements in fall

August 2010

• No replacements from TyTy but a refund check showed up in June (18 months later)

• Planted some replacements from the local garden store in the spring

• Having a problem with rust disease and deer,  so not as much growth as expected

• Hopefully next year for fruit -- actually got a few (very few) grapes this year

The new plants need to be cut back and trained

April 2011

Off to a good start this year.....ground cover in full bloom.

Two of the vines didn't make the winter and were replaced

Grapes already!  Looks like we may have some fruit this year.