Growing Grapes...a home vineyard experiment  

Goals

• Wooden trellis that would be decorative and built to last

• Table grapes for juice, raisins and eating

• Producing by 2010

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 them 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