2012 - decent (8 gallons total, as recorded here)
2011 - fantastic!
2010 - dismal (I can't find a post specifically about it, but the 2011 post mentions this)
2009 - essentially none :( (the year of the unexplained grape hiest)
2008 - I can't find any record of this year's harvest
2007 - not sure how many quarts of juice canned, but definitely some (Jeff and my mother did most of the work this year)
This year, with our abundance of rain, the grapevine was big and lush, with branches stretching to the ground on nearly all sides of it. My hopes were high.
A little too high, as it turns out. The harvest itself was decidedly NOT abundant, and we're not sure why. Maybe we should have been more conscientious about pruning the vine last spring? Maybe it was just an off season for the vine?
In any case, we eagerly picked what we could find (and by "we," I mean Jeff and the boys). :)
I'm sad to say that Josiah's supply of hot grape juice for this coming winter won't be nearly as plentiful as he would like. I made grape juice today; and from all that was harvested from our vine, we only got 6 quarts of juice.
6 QUARTS!! Compare that to the 17.25 gallons we canned two years ago!
It's disappointing, to be sure; but at least, it's not as bad as the grape-less year of 2009!
Is it too early to start praying for a better grape harvest next year? :)
We had grapevines at home, and so did a neighbor of ours who was pretty knowledgeable about tending the vines. If I remember correctly, you are supposed to fertilize them once in March, once in April, and once in May. During that time, if there is not a lot of rain, you should water too, especially right after fertilizing to help the fertilizer get down in the ground and to the roots. After the May fertilizing and watering, then you are supposed to leave them alone until harvest. You can look at this site I just pulled up and get a bit of information too. Frequently asked questions about grapes and grape growing.htm I'm sure with a bit of fertilizing added to their regimen, you can have better grape years more often!
ReplyDeleteSuper Awesome you have this in your backyard! Your vine is Beautiful =) Hope you're enjoying your day! Blessings, EMichelle
ReplyDeleteThe vine looks lovely! Here's wishing you great grape harvests in the coming years!
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