Out in the backyard

[NorthernWiner]

Spent some time tonight tidying up the vines, and watering. We had 2 cm rain for the entire month of May, so everything is looking a little dry. This is the brownest my lawn has ever been. Maybe it's time to learn a new rain dance.

Below are my 3-yr old Marquette vines. Marquette is a French-American hybrid grape, specifically a cross between Pinot Noir and some domestic varieties. They have been specifically bred to survive our cold winters (we dropped down to -33 C this last year).

This year I am taking a small crop. They won't be in full production until next year.

Vineyard 015.jpgVineyard 017.jpg

[NorthernWiner]

Below are my original 8 Frontenac vines (another hybrid variety). They are in their 6th season. Frontenac, which has a very distinct black cherry type flavor, doesn't make a particularly great wine by itself. But blended with just a small amount of vinifera, such as Petite Sirah or Merlot, it can be quite good. It's very prolific, too. These few vines produce over 100 lbs of fruit.

Vineyard 018.jpg

[NorthernWiner]

Here are the vineyard dogs. They keep away the rabbits.

Mel is an 11-yr old Lab mix. Clover is a purebred Irish Setter and is 7 months. We got her to keep the old dog on her toes but, as you can see, she's lazier than the Lab.

Vineyard 019.jpg Vineyard 022.jpg

[shirlthegirl43]

Lovely pics, thanks for sharing them. May I ask what the 'mulch' is round your vines, it looks interesting (sorry, I am a bit of a gardener).

[NorthernWiner]

The mulch is cocoa shells, leftovers from the chocolate industry. We have a company not too far away that buys and bags it for landscaping. Not only does it add nutrients back to the soil as it decomposes, but when you first apply it to the garden it makes the entire yard smell like a cup of hot cocoa.

The only real down side is that it degrades quickly and has to be reapplied in late summer.

I've had people tell me they can detect a bit of chocolate flavor in the wine I make, and I think part of that comes from using this mulch.

[solly]

Thats nice Steve, I have two vines which I trained to grow over a trellis, they are about 4 years old now and grow very quick but never had any grapes from them

I might just cut them right back this September / October and see what happens.

[NorthernWiner]

Solly, do you know what type of grape they are?

[spritzer]

The mulch is cocoa shells, leftovers from the chocolate industry. We have a company not too far away that buys and bags it for landscaping. Not only does it add nutrients back to the soil as it decomposes, but when you first apply it to the garden it makes the entire yard smell like a cup of hot cocoa.

The only real down side is that it degrades quickly and has to be reapplied in late summer.

I've had people tell me they can detect a bit of chocolate flavor in the wine I make, and I think part of that comes from using this mulch.

You can buy this out of Homebase over here...
I have never seen it anywhere else.
And it does smell lovely.

However, I am sure it says on the packaging here to keep pets ect away from it.
Your dogs dont try to eat it, do they Steve ??


Good Pics by the way

[NorthernWiner]

However, I am sure it says on the packaging here to keep pets ect away from it.
Your dogs dont try to eat it, do they Steve ??

Not really. Our Lab tried to munch on it occasionally (along with rabbit pellets, leaves, cat vomit, etc.). The puppy doesn't bother with it.

I've read the warnings, and researched, and even talked to our vet, who says that for larger breeds, the tolerance to theobromine is much greater than for smaller breeds, and that there isn't near as much concentration in cocoa husks as you would find in a bar of, say, 80% cacao.

The grapes themselves actually pose more of a risk. So I have to be somewhat careful to clean up fallen fruit.

[fatbloke]

Well either way Steve, nice pic's you must be very proud of your efforts....

regards

JtFB

[grandmawoods]

What a nice little vineyard you have. Thanks for sharing.

[solly]

Nothing as grand as yours Steve, there is one Vine on each side of the Trellis both are about 4 years old now and have never been pruned before.

I do get some grapes but the bunches are very small, say about 30 to
a bunch, but the grapes on the bunch are very small just a few millimetres in diameter.

I choose a Vine which I was led to believe at the time gave a prolific yield for wine grapes - but only if you know what you're doing

Both the vines are the same and are called vitis madeleine angevine 7972, I think the two areas which need to be addressed are:

The Vine should be trained to grow horizontal and not upwards and also maybe this autumn or next spring prune the vine right back (but back to where?) + apart from water the Vines have never been feed.

What do you think Steve are these vines beyond any help

[Tuco]

Nice pics Steve

Your dogs are very cute

[NorthernWiner]

What do you think Steve are these vines beyond any help

Well, they look very healthy.

I would guess that the reason you're not seeing many grapes is because you aren't pruning correctly. It's important to understand that fruiting canes are only produced from the previous year's wood. Unfortunately it's a little late to do much about it this year.

What you want to do next year in the very early spring, before bud break, is to carefully look over your vines. Trim away any wood that's more than a year old, unless it's either a trunk or sporting this year's canes. Real old stuff is nothing more than kindling and isn't producing anything useful. Next, identify the wood from this season (easy to do because it will be a brighter color) and trim it back to two or three buds. Those buds will sprout canes that will produce fruit. I prune away a LOT every spring - maybe 75% of the vine. But the important thing is to always leave those buds I mention. And no more than 20 on each vine. Any more than that and you'll be diverting the plant's energy into too many offshoots.

It's all a balancing act.

As for the grapes being small, I did some checking around the internet and it seems like that's not unusual with this variety. But I think if you work on your pruning a bit, you'll see better quality fruit.

[lockwood1956]

Mad Ange as they are known, are very slow to establish....



plus as Steve says you need a better pruning regimen, to stop the vine pushing energy into the wrong areas.