Grape growing in 5a/b

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Siwash

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Hey folks, first time poster. Looks like a great forum!

I want to plant some vines in my area which is in York Region, north of Toronto. I know I am in zone 5 but not sure if it's a or b. Needless to say, I will need a hardier, tough vine to get through late/early frost and pretty tough winters. The site will be on the north side of the property (which we are moving into in March), but I will be screening with evergreens (cedars, fir trees...). My goals is to be able to yield enough to mix in with some vinifera varieties that I usually purchase from local retailers (either kit of fresh grapes). I hope to eventually yield 20 litres or more but I am not sure if this is realistic! We have a half acre of land but I am only going to plant in a small section of the yard - perhaps 10-12 vines?

Anyhow I keep coming across Marechal Foch and Leon Millot grapes for their hardiness and disease resistance. They apparently ripen in early to mid-Sept. which would be ideal since we often get frost by late Sept or early Oct here. I've read that the Leon Millot is the slightly more vigorous of the two and often produces a slightly better wine. It also ripens a few days earlier too, which would be a bonus.

I am not sure where to buy either vine. In fact I have not come across any place on the internet that sells Leon Millot (seems to be more of an East coast grape). Some searches on the Foch have been a bit more successful. I would rather plant the Millot due to the above characteristics.

Are either of these good choices? Any other hardy, vigorous choices to consider? Where can I buy quality vines?

Thank you kindly in advance!
 
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Since you are in Canada you might not be able to buy from suppliers here in the US. If you can buy here, then Double A Vineyards near Buffalo would be a good choice. They carry Leon Millot and Foch along with hundreds of other selections. I know there are places around Montreal that sell vines also.

I prefer Leon Millot over Foch, but many people like it. You could also grow Marquette as I am pretty sure you can get that one. I would say Petite Pearl, but I don't know if they have a source for that there yet as it is a brand new variety.

Good luck with the vineyard.
 
Hopefully I can find a seller in Ontario (Niagara region?).. I doubt I can get those vines over the border legally!
 
Looked into the Marquette... Looks interesting.. I wonder if it will yield as high as the Millot? I can't really plant more than about 8-10 vines.. so would like to yield at least 15 to 20 gallons...

Still can't find the Millot in my searches here in Ontario... seems to be a grape mostly planted in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
 
Marquette is a good producer. I would not recommend you try to push 25 pounds of fruit on one vine. That will lead to weakened vines and they may struggle to survive the winter. Typical yields are 10-15 pounds which yields about one gallon.
 
Marquette is a good producer. I would not recommend you try to push 25 pounds of fruit on one vine. That will lead to weakened vines and they may struggle to survive the winter. Typical yields are 10-15 pounds which yields about one gallon.

A gallon would be fine... that's about 40 litres from 10 plantings... not bad.

Does Leon Millot yield more? I read Grapeman state that he achieved 2 gallons per vine from LM. If I can get a bit more yield from LM then I might try to source those vines...
 
Marquette yields just as heavily as Leon Millot. Both of them can over produce if allowed to. For the average grower, production of 10 to 15 pounds should be a target. Mine are in a training system trial where I am evaluating potential yields, not optimal yields at this point. As I will be reporting soon, overproducing vines may potentially suffer if the high yield is followed by a cold winter (as Greg mentions). No problem with the vines surviving, but buds will be lost and some of the one year wood becomes punky and must be replaced, cutting yield.
 

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