Grapes In Your Backyard

September is a great time for gardeners. We can never stress enough how great it is to plant in the fall. In the fall, your days are warm, your nights are cool. There’s less stress on the plants because you’re not having 40-degree temperatures like some of those really hot summer days. There’s also more moisture because you get more consistent rainfall.

All of this aids in excellent root development in trees, shrubs, and perennials. Most plants will put on 40% root growth in the fall. In saying that, if you’re planting in the early fall, you would have plenty of time for those to get rooted out before the ground freezes for the winter.

Then you’ve got a big head start on next year’s gardens.

Selection In The Fall

The selection at nurseries is still really good in the fall, and sometimes, you can even get some good deals. But you may have to wait for that special plant that you want that’s only available in the spring such as magnolias or a certain kind of spring-blooming plant that usually are only readily available in the spring.

Fall is an incredible time to plant grapevines, especially when everybody is thinking of wine! We find it interesting how, for some reason, people associate wine with fall.

Our falls are actually getting really extended, which is great news for gardeners. We’re getting snow later and later, and the ground’s freezing later and later as well. September, October, and November are three good months for planting before you even think about the ground freezing. This means that there is still a lot of gardening time.

Grapes In Your Backyard

Grapes are really easy to grow, and they don’t require much. The soil in the valley seems to be perfect for them because there are more and more vineyards going up all the time as well as an increase in award-winning wineries. That’s a good sign for gardeners to know.

Grapes thrive on a south-facing slope, but any well-drained south-facing area will do. They prefer slightly acidic soil with a pH of 6.2 to 6.8.

We carry several grape varieties, each with unique characteristics:

• Concord: A sweet, juicy, dark purple grape great for fresh eating or making jelly.
• Frontenac Black: A wine grape that’s acidic and sweet, perfect for making red wine and rosé. It produces small clusters of berries.
• Marechal Foch: A red grape for red wines that ripens early and is extremely cold-hardy, also producing small clusters.
• Muscat: A seeded white grape that’s good for fresh eating, wine, and raisins. It produces loose clusters and is very hardy.
• Niagara: A green table grape that’s very sweet and excellent for jams and juices. A fun fact is that it is the leading green grape grown in the United States.
• Trollhaugen: This grape is similar to Concord. It has a mild, sweet flavor and is seedless. It’s vigorous and cold-hardy, producing medium-sized clusters.

Grapes can grow a lot in one season, especially with sufficient rain. Currently, the grape clusters are small, but they can bulk up quickly. At this stage, protecting them from birds is essential, and netting needs to be used. You’ll see this when you drive through anywhere where grapes are grown commercially; the netting that growers put on each year is quite extensive.

We hope you found this post helpful. And now that you know fall is still a fantastic time for planting and preparing your garden for next year, maybe you’ll consider planting grapes in your backyard!

If you have any questions about planting grapes or any other plants, we’re always here to help.

Happy gardening!