Grape Stompers

[Close2Me]

I have great designs for Grape Growing but would love to hear about others success...or failures so I know what to expect.

Anyone?

[lmonter]

What kind of info are you looking for?

I've got a seeded Concord we planted in our garden, oh, 4-5 years ago. Last year I got almost 3 gallons of grapes from it, and it's still pretty little (so to speak).
Just planted another seeded Concord stick across the trellis from the other one this year, and I have hops that need to go in the ground in another place as well.

As long as you water the grapes, they seem to be pretty easy. Well, except I'm in zone 5, so sometimes it's a toss-up whether they'll ripen before several heavy frosts.

[Close2Me]

Wanted to find out if trellising is necessary right off or should they grow up against a fence line. I think Thompson or Concord would be nice for the kiddos. What critters go after them? Do they need a drip system or can I hose water them daily?

[lmonter]

Trellising the first year or two isn't really needed. Maybe a stake to keep the stick (because seriously, that's what it looks like) upright the first year or two. But then you really will need something for it to climb. If you can attach it to a fence or along a house somehow or something, groovy. You do need to help them out a little, but it's not near as time consuming, as, say tomatoes.

We haven't had any critter problems so far. Mostly just ripening problems - last year we had a very late start to summer, and the grapes need a certain amount of time to grow/ripen. Luckily, they can take light frosts.

We have a drip irrigation setup in our backyard, and our grape vine really likes that and to be mulched well so there's no weed competition. But if you're not as forgetful as me and can water it frequently, you should be good to go.

[mamadelbosque]

We have two old (20+ yr old) concord grapes on a trellis and usually get LOTS of grapes from them. This year, they got frosted (!!) for the first time, so I'm not sure how many grapes we'll be getting, but definetly still some (lots of new green growth and a few little bundles of grapes in the month since they were frosted). We also have 3 Reliance Seedless grapes that just arrived today which are soaking in water and which we're going to plant tomorrow morning. DH has plans drawn out to build a new trellis system for them, as well as an arbor type thing to go between the two. AFAIK though, you wont' need an actual trellis for at least a year or two.

The only problems we've ever had, have been with japanese beetles the past couple years on the concords. Otherwise... they've been growing, pretty much w/o any input for the past 10 years and very minimal input before then as far as I can remember!!

[Close2Me]

Wonderful info! Relieved they are hardy and low maintenance!!!

[cornflake girl]

Thompson's are prone to fungus. My wonderfully perfect concord is now infected from the Thompson I planted w/o researching.