WINE GARDEN

[grapeman]

Those are certainly different critters than we have up here. I think I would rathr see a possum than a mountain lion though. I'm with NW. It would be nice to have those veggies already. About a week or so on cukes and a few more weeks for tomatoes. Oh Well... pretty soon I won't be able to keep up with them.

 

[rgecaprock]

Yes, NW, It is a camelion, I tried to catch him when he ran onto the brown tree but he got away.

Then driving home, it looked like a tornado might form.

I live about 3 blocks from the tallest bulding you see in the distance.Edited by: rgecaprock

 

[NorthernWinos]

The Red Currant bush that a friend brought over has a few ripe berries on it...Going to take many plants to make any wine in future years...

The Valiant Grapes are getting bigger...they are a very early short-season grape...

The King of the north have longer looser clusters...

The old-timer Beta vine is growing out of control...loaded with clusters....I have buried some vines near the base to make more plants, as well am trying to train a new sprout from the base as a potential replacement trunk.....

When do we start canopy pruning???


Everything is growing, including the weeds...Edited by: Northern Winos

 

[Wade E]

Wow girl, you got it going on!

 

[grapeman]

The time to start canopy management is last winter or this spring when you prune the vines. You determine the overall canopy size at that time by the type of training you do. If you have a vine that is consistently too thick each summer, you probably need to prune it a little more vigorously. Too many canes left makes for a very dense canopy later.


That said, You could start taking some unproductive shoots (no fruit)out now to open it up some. Just don't cut the shoot tips yet or it will get thicker. Is that all one vine?


The red currents tend to be small so yields aren't great per vine. I only grow a few for a taste. That's why I planted the black currants this year- they get bigger so more yield.

 

[NorthernWinos]

Yes, that is all one vine, it is probably 15-20 feet from one end to the other....I know..that's too much. I will start doing some summer trimming [canopy pruning]...there are a lot of unproductive shoots....will remove those.


The vines I buried beside the base to produce new plants will get severed next spring, or be left for new plants. I had my plants 10 feet apart and see that most of you guys have your plants thicker in the rows..


Those Red Currant don't taste at all like the Black Currants, at least at this point. I hope the Black Currant bushes produce next summer...the biggest potted plant I got this spring has a few berries on it, the others were bare root plants and have nice leaves on them...hope they winter over.


Looks like drier weather around here for awhile ahead.

 

[NorthernWinos]

Did a little hoeing out in the garden today, cloudy and cool, perfect working weather...


The Baltic Amber tissue culture vine had died to the ground...it is showing some life...

The tender Edelweiss is growing good on it's steel panel,won't be as productive as last year...just glad it is alive and hope to get a few clusters for the table...

This is one of the Louise Swenson vines...I want to grow it in a fan style with multiple trunks....don't know if it's going to work or not...

Trying to grow a few vines in that fan-multiple trunk way in hope that I will never experience the winter kill again that took out so many of our older vines a few years ago.

 

[NorthernWinos]

The Juneberries are ripening...I had picked what we called Saskatoon's when I was a kid...and don't remember how purple they got before you pick them....can anyone out there clue me in as to how dark they should get??????
I am kind of going by ...picking them dark red/purple as they seem to fall to the ground at about that color....they sure are mild in flavor, I hope to make at least a gallon of wine...


BTW...the fungicide definitely helped...no sign of the usual orangey/rust fungus that has always been on the fruit.


I found a robin going in and out of my netting 'helping herself' to some fruit, so now have netting around the bottom of the bushes too...It makes picking a bit more of a challenge.


I have put up a scarecrow...it seems to have helped to keep some birds away, they were also eating the raspberries as they were ripening...


The everbearing strawberries are about done for this picking, the Junebaring ones still have a few smaller berries for the table.


The Highbush Cranberries have gone from pretty flowers to some fruit on some of the bushes..

Have seem recipes for wine from these and if the birds cooperate might get some berries for some wine.


The mosquitoes have been awful...usually we have enough wind to keep them at bay...I have found the suggestion on putting Downy or Bounce fabric softener sheet from a hat really does seem to keep them away....Looking like Lawrence of Arabia also keeps the neighbors wondering.

 

[swillologist]

nw are you make wine out of those thing? They're not fit to eat. LOL I have a couple of bushes in my yardThe birds won't even eat them until spring after they have froze and there isn't anything else to eat. But I guess if you can make wine out of choke cherries you should be able to make wine out of them.There are several bushes growing in the slough behind the choke cherry tree in thepictureI posted inthe other thread. If you need some more I know where you can get some.Edited by: swillologist

 

[NorthernWinos]

We picked some wild ones once to make jelly, we thought we were smelling swap gas as we were picking them in a swap....Then we smelled our buckets and thought they smelled like dirty feet.


These bushes look different then the ones out in the bog...so might give them a try...will smell them first.

 

[swillologist]

After I found out they were edible last fall. I did some readin up on them. There are two verities, native or American and European. The native are supposed to be better for eating then the European. If they are any different at all, they have to be better. There is no way they could taste worse. But still may be able to make wine out of the European ones. If you do have native I may have you send me some seeds (if you don't mind)to see if I can grow them here.

 

[NorthernWinos]

We got these from the county, they sell wild plants for people to put in windrows and shelter belts for wildlife. The Nursery that grows them also sells to a bare root greenhouse, they also sell them....So, don't really know if they are Native or a hybred...Will give them the 'taste-test' this fall. Edited by: Northern Winos

 

[NorthernWinos]

Nanking Cherries are unbelivable...seem to have bloomed and set fruit in a matter of days...


May 3rd in Nanking Cherry Post [Fruit Wines]....

May 7th...

May 25th...

Today....

Zero to fruit in less than 60 days....Edited by: Northern Winos

 

[grapeman]

What's the flavor and texture of those cherries NW? Anything like regular sweet or tart cherries?

 

[NorthernWinos]

Like a small sweet juicy cherry with a large pit....usually we would just graze out there, bring a bowl into the house and let the birds have them..






Will try a gallon of wine this year and hopefully in the future more...

 

[swillologist]

nw, I've been looking all day for thesite whereI read that about the high bush cranberry and I can't find it. I must be all wet on this one.

But I did find a recipe for high bush cranberry wine.

http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/highbush.asp
Our nanking cherries real got hammered this spring with the cold snap. May be had a hand full on them and the birds got those. Put out 3 more bushes this spring to go with the 3 we already have.
Can you make wineout ofhazelnuts?

Those things are loaded this year. Edited by: swillologist

 

[Joanie]

I don't know about wine from hazelnuts but I know you can flavor coffee with them!

 

[grapeman]

I would think the hazelnuts would have oil in them- a no-no in making wine. Ask Waldo about the oil in the dried bananas he used!

 

[swillologist]

I didn't think you could appleman. I'll just stick to eating them and share them with the chipmonks and the mice.

 

[NorthernWinos]

Our nanking cherries real got hammered this spring with the cold snap. May be had a hand full on them and the birds got those. Put out 3 more bushes this spring to go with the 3 we already have.

I was wondering what happened to our Nanking Cherries this year...they bloomed so early and nicely..... the first days were cold and windy, then sunny and they seemed to have plenty of bees for pollenating.....but have such a poor fruit set...We had a couple cold nights....Do you think the blossoms froze??? I notice that on strawberries sometimes...they bloom and if they get frosted the flower turns black and doesn't produce...I fluffed some straw over the strawberries those cold nights...


Maybe frost is the reason for poor fruit set....I was thinking the bushes needed pruning...Do you prune your bushes...it looks like they bloom on the previous years wood.


Also, I have read that not all the bushes produce fruit...I have a couple bushes that only produce a few berries and other bushes are loaded every year....but the year I want them.