The variety of the grapes will determine the colour, sweetness, disease resistance, and nature of the bunches and grapes. However, the growing conditions affect the final quality of the grapes. Heavy rains during fruit ripening, excessive heat or drought, soil pH, etc, during growing seasons may affect the quality of the grapes.
Some grape varieties may resist training and grow as multi-stemmed bushes—especially those adapted to much cooler climates.
Muscadine grape varieties are more vigorous, producing larger and heavier grapes requiring stronger and larger supports.
In years with warm winters, grape vines may not go dormant. They may grow many new branches and leaves after severe pruning. Excessive vegetative growth may affect fruit yields and bunch sizes. However, the excessive branches not carrying fruits may be trimmed before the rains start. Trimming will reduce the weight of the branches on the supports, improve air circulation and prevent diseases such as mildew.
Grape leaves may be harvested to wrap meat, fish, and grains. They are rich in vitamin C, K and fibre. The young, raw, tender leaves are used in salads and sandwiches. In contrast, the larger leaves may be used in teas, stews, pickles, and soups. Before eating, they may be blanched or soaked in brine for a few minutes. Our warm weather provides grape leaves throughout the year, so we do not have to can them to use them when we need them. Some of our grape varieties have produced giant leaves this year, and others have formed dense foliage. We shall thin them out by harvesting them.
Please share your tips or grape leaf recipes below and visit our online store to get vegetatively propagated grape plants.