Our grape vine is growing fast maybe because of the fertilizer that we regularly give - the water used to wash meat and fish from the market. We had clipped a twig and some small ones are growing in the lower part. The farmer we consulted said that the vine would bear fruit when it becomes as thick as my smallest finger. That is the logic for trimming the new stems so the primary stem will be thicker. We are hoping to see some fruits next year, at least before Christmas next year. From our initial plan to put up a trellis, we had saved money by using a bamboo pole where the vine can crawl.
I have vineyards all around me, the closest being about a mile away but I haven't really looked closely at them. Also have an olive orchard close by ...have you ever tried an olive right off the tree? YUCK...hard and very bitter.
Gee, it seems like you have a very nice place there. I can imagine the scenery with the vineyards. In tv documentaries that I had seen, grapevine is planted in rows and the crawling vines are restricted in the desire position that coincides with the post. That is what we are doing now, trimming the vines to restrict the growth outward. I didn't know that olive is not palatable. Do you mean to say olive is only good when pickled?
This is an old thread which can remind us of when we had planted our grape vine. Just before lunch today, my husband called me to show the small grapes in one branch. I have noticed that the leaves are smaller now so I pointed that to my husband this morning. He said that grapes with smaller branches and leaves may be ready for fruiting. We didn't know that the vine had 2 bunches of grapes already. He was just cleaning the backyard of small slugs that were eating the leaves of the grapes when he saw those 2 bunches. Here is the pic....
How long ago did you plant them Corie? I was under the impression that grapes took a few years to produce like most fruits. I have a trellis too, and have always tried to figure out what to grow on it. However, I am hoping I will not have to figure out what to grow on it. I am hoping to be out of here. If I was oing to sta,y I would plant grapes though. It would be a lot of fun to make my own wine, using my own grapes.
It's great to see that they are producing already. They don't look quite ripe enough to eat, but it probably won't be long. Will y'all try making wine from some of them? I'm not that patient, but I might try making some jam if I had grapes or berries growing here.
Here is the latest on our grapes. It has 2 bunches with 8 grapes each. It's nice to look at the ripening grapes as they change in color from green into reddish. Here is the pic I took last week.... Unfortunately, we didn't know that birds relish ripe grapes and we were surprised but not really peeved that the grapes were vanishing one by one. Now there is only 1 grape left in the vine, all of the other 15 are gone and I know those birds are happy with their bounty.
Maybe in the future if you don't want the birds eating them, you could protect them with some sort of netting over them that would still let the sun in? I recall the birds eating the overripe grapes at my grandmother's, but I don't think many other than my siblings and myself at those grapes. I'd be interested to hear how these tasted. They sure look tasty!
I like the way grape vines look when they are growing. At one time I was going to have my deck enclosed, and couldn't quite decide between a screened in porch or an arbor. I love places that have outdoor arbors with grape vines growing on them, they look so stylish, and yet retro at the same time. Anyway, ran out of money so neither project got done! Enjoy your grapes Corie. You are a busy little bee!