Trying one, Sep 2020 |
Not sure, Sep 2020 |
Actually the birds alerted me the grapes were ready: a family of sparrows were tweeting very happily in the almond tree, which is entwined with a grape vine. I knew what that meant and I went storming over, to their great dismay. They scattered and I quickly got a basket and secateurs to get as many bunches as I could. Luckily only a few grapes had been vandalized and I weighed the remainder at 9 oz.
Not a huge haul, true. I ate most of them myself within a few days; the son and daughter weren't too impressed, though the husband approved. Variety Phoenix, and I bought the cuttings off ebay several years ago. They have a nice sweet flavor but aren't seedless--somewhat of a drawback.
In the future I may make raisins if faced with a large enough harvest but if not, even a basketful of free grapes once a year is a nice treat, particularly since they are tucked away in the corner of the Perennials section and not actually taking up any ground space--or even casting any shade.
I have another vine right up next to my house, which is supposed to grow up a specially made arbor in order to shade my kitchen window, but I claim late pregnancy and new baby as my excuses for not training it this spring (it had no fruit this year). I'll definitely make that a priority next spring.