Dateline: 19 October 2016, AD
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| Some Concord grapes from our 2016 harvest. |
I planted a single row of Concord Grapes on my property line several years ago. They have been an easy fruit to grow here in Central New York state. But the trick to getting a good grape harvest is to prune the vines every year in the winter.
We grow the grapes primarily to make juice. My wife is the juice master. She uses a Mehu-Liisa. We've used other juicing techniques but none are as easy as the Mehu Liisa, especially when canning the juice.
Five years ago, Marlene canned 15 gallons of concentrated grape juice in quart jars. And that was only part of the crop. We had friends come and pick the rest of the grapes.
But I neglected to prune the vines for a couple of years after that. And then, in my pruning zeal (and ignorance) I pruned the vines too much. As a result, we got almost no grapes. This year, however, we're back on track. I know when I'm doing a little better with the pruning.
Our harvest this year is not anywhere near that 15-gallon year, but there are lots of grapes and they are delicious.
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Do you spray for worms?
ReplyDeleteNo, I don't spray for anything. Never have. The Japanese beetles have been an issue in the past but were not too bad this year. We made a grape pie a couple days ago and I noticed a few very small worms of some sort in the grapes, but they were few and far between. With a grape pie, we were able to inspect every grape that went into it. When juicing with the steamer, we are not so selective. I'm sure there were a few of the very small worms that got steamed into the mix. But that is not anything that really concerns us. And we don't bother to wash the grapes that go into the steamer. It's all heat-sterilized in the end. The fresh grapes are powerfully good too..... and I am selective about every fresh grape I eat. :-)
ReplyDeleteLove the Concord for juice. Have about 3/4 acre, part of 4 acres that we bought. Pushed the rest out for hay ground. This property sets right next to the farm. Make about 30 qts. a year, and sell about 2000 lbs. of grapes. (On CL, $1. Per pound, picked) have found we also like to mix table grapes with the concord. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteThat's a lotta grapes. Very nice.
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