Dixie Gardening: The good, great grape

Written by Charlotte West

Grapes, where do I start with this grand fruit and useful vine? Did you know a single grape vine can produce enough new growth every year to arch over a wall or terrace? With its colorful and edible fruit grapes, are a must have in your yard. To produce good quality fruits you must choose one suited for your climate.

The Concord grape is popular in the markets. Having an almost bluish hue is great for jellies and juice.
The Black Monuka is one of the hardiest grapes. It is a seedless black that produces large and beautiful clusters.
Red Seedless grapes have large clusters that are reddish or almost reddish-black, and make a sweet desert with the added bonus of being seedless.

If you want a delicious white grape try Thompson grapes. Thompson grapes are seedless with a greenish amber color and make amazing raisins, bearing small but big clusters of grapes.

If you want a vigorous grape then go for the Flame grape. It’s a seedless red grape that’s great to eat fresh off the vine or for making a good raisin. This makes a wonderful grape because it likes to be kept somewhat on the dry side once established, thus making a great grape for our drier climate.

If pruning has strayed you away from grapes, have no fear. With the exception of the Thompson Grape, you can use the cane or spur method of pruning the grapes.

Cane pruning (which the Thompson Grape prefers) requires you to cut back each of the grape vines to about 12 buds. Then these buds will be the ones that produce fruit the next season. These are called renewal spurs and produce new shoots from which new fruits develop and those will be the new spurs to prune the following season. The rest of the grapes listed above fall into the cane or spur method of pruning.

Spur pruning means simply removing the weak side shoots. Cut back 6-10 inches apart and cut back to 2 inch buds. So when should you start to prune your grapes?

The first summer you should just let the vine spread out. Even try avoiding the training of the vine. The more leaves you have the higher the probability of good root development. The first winter you should remove the weak shoots from the base of the vine leaving the sturdiest shoots.

By pruning you encourage your grape vine to produce the healthiest grapes. There are other things that you can do as well to promote a large healthy grape.

Gibberellic acid is one way. It’s beneficial when you have the problem of poor producing grapes due to lack of not enough blooming. You can usually purchase it from your local nursery. After mixing the correct ratio you simply dip the fruits shortly after the process of shattering (shattering is a result of poor blooming). Yes grapes bloom. Usually you can tell when your grapes are blooming by rubbing the grape cluster and you will find a light fuzz in your hands. After a week go back out and repeat the same process and you will find small blooms in your hand. Wait about a week or so more and dip the clusters into the mixture of gibberllic acid and this will help promote larger grapes from poor blooming vines.

Another way to receive larger grapes no matter what health of your vine is to pinch off a third of your clusters once the grapes start to come on. This allows the cluster to feed more growth. You will have the joy of much larger and juicier grapes.
There is an old-world way of getting your grape vines to reach their fullest potential. This should, however, be done by somebody with experience. You gently remove a section of the grape vine (usually near the bottom of the vine ) by cutting away a small rectangular piece of the bark. You must be very careful not to cut into the bark too deep or you will open up the vine to disease and unwanted pests.

So give grapes what they want: soft, deep, fertile soil that is well drained and you will find that in late summer or early fall you have produced a magnificent grape, rich in color and full in taste.

You will enjoy not only the fruits from grapes but also the lush foliage in the winter that makes for a great barrier. So enjoy the good, great grape with all its lushness and colorful fruit.

Charlotte West moved to southern Utah in 2004 from the farmlands of southern Arkansas, where cultivating the earth is a way of life. Her experiences give her a unique perspective on how plants grow, adapt, and survive in different climates. She finds great joy in sharing her knowledge with others and tending to her garden. From seedlings to 70-year-old elms, she can help you with your horticulture needs.