# Old B's Vineyard



## JWMINNESOTA (Apr 11, 2009)

In the beginning there are cuttings....two each of Niagara,Prairie Star,Baco Noir,Leon Millot,Marechel Foch,and LaCrosse. Limited in space, so if they make it they will be spread around the house. Who needs a lawn when you can try and grow grapes!









Thanks to a few members that have done this, there are pretty good instructions and advise on how to root these. Did get a good deal on the Niagara, so donating a few of those to Farmer, said its one he doesn't have going. Wish me luck!


----------



## grapeman (Apr 11, 2009)

Too bad you aren't closer JW. I have been pruning and there would be thousands and thousands of cutting for somebody wanting to go out and clean them up. 


I'm a bit surprised that you can grow those varieties. I thought you were as cold as NW there. Must be warmer where you are at.


Here's wishing you luck with your rooting and then growing them into wine!


You need to get some St. Pepin going also- better than the LaCrosse!


Today I pruned St. Pepin. Catawba and GR-7. I also started sticking cuttings that I have been callousing. I did a total of 750 to start with, about another 2000 to go.


Way to go Ole b**tard!


----------



## NorthernWinos (Apr 11, 2009)

Good Luck JW....Hope to see many more photos of your vineyard.

You are at least in Zone 4-5 down your way....

Nice up here on de-tundra lately....We are still cleaning up the yard...no planting yet.


----------



## JWMINNESOTA (Apr 11, 2009)

These should do OK here if they make it. I got them from a nice lady down in Grand Meadow MN, about 50 miles south of me , and east. I think NW you are about 350 miles north? Time will tell, butit should be a good learning experience if nothing else. Wont be much of a vineyard, stuck wherever there is a place!




Wonder if anyone would mind if grapes started growing in the city parks? Appleman, think id rather help at harvest than spring pruning.


----------



## OilnH2O (Apr 12, 2009)

Nice to see another vinyard thread to be following! Good luck!


----------



## NorthernWinos (Apr 13, 2009)

In the future when you have lots of cuttings you could 'hide' some vines in various places....
I am sure friends would let you grow some on existing fences, open areas...etc.
Possibilities are endless.


----------



## JWMINNESOTA (Apr 29, 2009)

A few quick glimpses at signs of life...




*PRAIRIE STAR*




*LaCrosse*




*Maréchal Foch*




Niagara


Nothing yet on the Baco Noir and Léon Millot, but there is hope!


----------



## JWMINNESOTA (May 25, 2009)

A little update on Old B's green thumb








The Leon Millot is doing well, little guy thinks he's supposed to make fruit








Marechal Foch two out of three doing good...




Prairie Star, looks kind of odd compared to the others, but its alive!




Niagara are kicking Azz , off work this week so I'll be working on a permanent home for these fellas



It ain't Applemans vineyard, but maybe Ill get a bottle out of it in the next three years or so!


----------



## grapeman (May 25, 2009)

We all start out with a few JW, well maybe not Al. He started out with a couple acres! They will be overtaking you yard soon!


----------



## AlFulchino (May 25, 2009)

i was not the smartest grape in the bunch 






good luck w these new vines!


----------



## grapeman (Jun 27, 2009)

Hey JW how are the vines coming along? Did you find a home for them yet?


----------



## JWMINNESOTA (Jun 29, 2009)

I did. They are doing fairly well, will try and get some pics tomorrow as I have the day off and need to do a little lawn maintenance. Already looking 
to next year, think I'd like to get some LaCross and maybe some LaCrescent started.


----------



## JWMINNESOTA (Jun 30, 2009)

NIAGARA (2)...these are really taking off, had a couple that did nothing, some I gave to farmer and I think they did nothing also.




MARECHEL FOCH (3) these are doing O.K., had good roots when I transfered them.




LEON MILLOT (2) Had to make a little cage around these, they are in the back yard, squirrels were trying to dig them up!




PRAIRIE STAR (2) same story, squirrels








I do have about 40 of the "garden huckleberry" , tried to grow them last year, but a late snow took most out. Waited until end of April to set them this year, may get a few of these for wine.




All in all nothing fancy or too spectacular, but they are alive!



Hopefully roots develop well this year, and the survive the winter...looking ahead to a couple of years


----------



## R Ziegler (Jun 30, 2009)

They are looking good IMO. 
I noticed the different back backdrops between the bare dirt, grass and looks like the side of the house.


I was just curious - How will you bee trellising them? From the pictures I would guess they arenot in a row with the exception of the Leon and Prairie Star.


I was at a vineyard in Wisconsin recently and they used "T" posts with a braced angle iron on top about 4 feet wide (kinda like a clothes line post without the galvanized wire) and then they just tied the cordon directly to the angle iron- 


Also, That is huckleberry??? Looks like something we use Round-up on in my Fathers field when I am helping himspray for weeds....


----------



## grapeman (Jun 30, 2009)

I posted earlier on this one and don't know where it went. I was going to comment that it looks like nightshade to me but I figured I better look up the Garden Huckleberry. Guess What??? It is a form of nightshade!


----------



## JWMINNESOTA (Jul 1, 2009)

Dont eat the green ones! They are related, yet ripe make a good fruit.
This is from U of M Extension Service:



Garden huckleberry or wonderberry (_Solanum melanocerasum_, syn _S. nigrum guineense_) is not related to true huckleberries, woody plants in the heath family. Instead, it is an herbaceous annual in the nightshade family, related to tomatoes, peppers, tobacco, eggplant and potato. An unusual crop for gardeners to try, garden huckleberry bears small jet-black berries that are cooked and sweetened, and often combined with other fruits such as apples, lemons and grapes, to make jellies, preserves and pies. 


Culture of garden huckleberry is similar to tomato culture: start plants indoors in early April, covering the seeds with ¼ inch of soil. Germination should take one to two weeks. Transplant to a sunny location outdoors when all danger of frost is past and the weather has settled, in late May or early June. Allow two feet between plants. 


Garden huckleberry plants resemble pepper plants, bushy and erect, up to two feet tall. Flowers, appearing in clusters in July, are small and white. Each plant will bear hundreds of ½-¾-inch berries, ripening from green to deep black. One plant should produce enough berries for a single pie. 


The fruits are not edible until fully ripe and cooked. They are toxic if eaten unripe, and the raw fruit is quite bitter. The berries are ready to harvest about two weeks after they first turn black, when their skin has changed from shiny to dull, and the flesh is very soft. The interior pulp will turn from greenish to purple when ripe. The flavor of the berries is improved by allowing them to remain on the plant until after the first frost. The plants have some cold tolerance and may continue to ripen fruit after light frosts.


----------



## JWMINNESOTA (Jul 5, 2009)

The Villain in this Story!



One look in his eyes told me he is the culprit, Wife says leave him alone "he's cute" ....I think of caddy shack, Karl and his gophers, and I know this aint over!


----------



## K&GB (Jul 5, 2009)

Healthy lookin' critter. Wonder what it's been eatin'. Obviously marking "his" territory. Looks like you may have a fight on your hands... Good luck.


----------



## grapeman (Jul 5, 2009)

Yep that's a garden marauder alright! We have some also that are approaching the size of our cats. You see one and need to look twice if it is a cat or one of them critters. 


Time for Hav-a -hart or maybe Put-A-Hurtin.


----------



## rrawhide (Jul 5, 2009)

Yeah Rich - that's what I would do!!!!!!!!!


Good luck - I am still fighting them critters - lost another vine today - - -


Poisioning - trapping - shooting - and they still get by (once in awhile!!)


guess I better put some more vines in - in the spring!!!


rrawhide


----------



## gaudet (Jul 5, 2009)

> The Villain in this Story!
> 
> 
> 
> ...



You ain't got him in a stew pot yet JW? At the very least a small tombstone and an unmarked gravesite to commemorate his departure. There is evil in his eyes and he needs to be put down.


----------



## JWMINNESOTA (Aug 2, 2009)

Here we are in August already, the vines are alive, nothing to brag about. Been a very mild year for growing anything. 




MARECHEL FOCH




NIAGARA , I call them VIAGRA




LEON MILLOT, Lone survivor of the marauding squirrels


----------



## grapeman (Aug 2, 2009)

Count your blessings this year if anything keeps growing. It has been a bad year for just about everything everywhere in the country. They look good and green!


----------



## pelican (Aug 2, 2009)

That Garden Huckleberry pic - as I was looking at it I too was thinking "isn't that the stuff we keep pulling out, some kind of nightshade?" with roundup rather than wine in the back of my mind.

So SUPRISED to keep reading and yes indeed - green fruits that turn black - that's what I have been battling in the corn plot for the last couple years.

You are braver than I to try to make wine from them. (says she of the Pea Pod wine) I think if I venture that far I'd be making at trip to the extension office with a sample just to be sure.

Good on you though, and appreciate the pictures too!


----------



## JWMINNESOTA (Aug 2, 2009)

Dont know that I would try it if unsure Pelican, I did research it prior to, and got the seed from a trusted source. If I saw it wild, think I would leave it alone.
http://www.extension.umn.edu/yardandgarden/ygbriefs/h201huckleberry.html


Bottom of this page shows trusted suppliers. I did grow a few, not enough for wine, last year. They have a pretty good flavor when fully ripe. I would say as safe as the tomatos, potatosand peppers it is related to.


----------



## JWMINNESOTA (Oct 1, 2009)

Those garden hucks are a brewin, time will tell...




I'll try and get a pic or two of the vines today, the cool rainy fall weather tells me there probably done growing for the year.


----------



## JWMINNESOTA (Oct 1, 2009)

Foch, Niagara, and Millot...did what they did, now getting ready for Mr. Freeze and see em again next spring...I hope.












Thats right...bury your cache for the winter..oh we will meet again in the spring..oh yeah...I'll be waiting...


----------



## JWMINNESOTA (Sep 11, 2010)

Seems it was a good year for growth. Let a few clusters develop on the Marechel Foch just to see and of course taste. Ohh yeahh , couple more seasons and we be making wine I believe. They all did very well, these were the only ones I let develop, think next year Ill let a "sample" develop on them all. Your right Appleman, they will take over LOL.


----------



## grapeman (Sep 11, 2010)

So how big of a batch will all those grapes make JW?










Next year they should start putting out some grapes for you.


----------



## Wade E (Sep 11, 2010)

Fingers crossed for a decent harvest for you next year.


----------



## AlFulchino (Sep 12, 2010)

good luck


----------



## ibglowin (Sep 12, 2010)

Looking good!


----------

