I have a patch of about 10 grape vines growing in my backyard that I planted 3-4 years ago.
They’re almost all muscadine grapes, with the exception of one Red Flame seedless that’s bound to die at some point since they’re subject to Piece’s Disease, a grape malady that claims every variety planted where with the exception of muscadines.
Almost invariably when someone asks me “Why did my grapes die?”, it’s because they bought Champagne grapes, or wine grapes or some other type of non-muscadine variety from their local Lowes or Home Depot, not knowing that there’s a clock ticking on those vines as soon as they hit the ground.
When I first planted my grapes I had them on a two-wire “system” that was more of a mess of recycled electrical wires and boards plunked into the ground than a proper grape support system.
This winter I cut all the lower vines out and trained them all to a single wire, ratcheted up nicely to posts set in concrete. Now they’re looking really good.
Muscadines are easy to grow and will reward you with buckets of grapes after a few years, provided you can keep the coons from robbing you blind.
Last year we had a decent amount of grapes and I’m expecting quite a few more this summer.
At the very least, the vines finally look nice.
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6 responses to “Muscadine grapes are looking good”
Grapes I planted north to south orientation doing well. The E to W ones aren't as vibrant with their growth. Any tips for more fruit production vs leaf growth (on all plants/trees, not just grapes)
Grapes require heavy pruning to make more fruit.
Too much nitrogen can lower fruit yields on my species of tree/vine, so watch for that.
Bending branches down on some fruit trees will greatly increase fruit set. Look up "festooning." Also, micronutrients and sunshine both have an impact.
Any idea on how to keep the raccoons from eating them?
Any idea on how to keep the raccoons from eating them?
I knew that Muscadines were growing on the back of our property so I decided to go foraging for them a few days ago. Turns out the Muscadines got tired of waiting for me so they came to me. I didn’t get very far before i discovered they are growing all over the trees bordering my property. I’ve gone out the last couple of days trying to find where they are coming from in the ground but no luck yet. Some of them are beginning to set fruit! Actually, I was in the middle of making a video about the Muscadines I’d found when the notification came that the Good stream was on and ran into the house to catch it. lol
That’s great! Free grapes.