Grow Your Own Grape Vine

 

Spring has been so, so slow in coming this year, with winter sticking around for a brief look nearly every week of this April, which is supposed to be a spring month.

One thing I remembered every spring for the 50 years I’ve had it, is to prune my Concord Grape vine that snakes around the split rail fence in front of my house.  The main vine is about the size of my wrist, and had I not severely pruned it every year, I have no idea how long the vines—there are several off shoots from the mother vine—would be.

Early on, someone showed me how to prune grapes.  To the passerby, once I’ve finished pruning, it appears that I have killed the vine.  Not so.  Severe pruning wakes it up and causes it send forth new growth, more each year with a new crop of grapes.

I’ve taught my son-in-law, Paul, how to do the pruning, which he did for me this year.  As he was pruning, he said “I’ve heard that it’s possible to grow a new vine from these cuttings.”

            “Yup, I’ve heard that too,” I said.  “Want to try it?”  Here is how he described what he did:

“Several of the new growth vines that I removed from your grapevine, I cut the vine so there were at least several growth nodes on each piece.   I bundled the cut vines together and placed then in an old plastic milk jug filled with peat moss. After watering. I placed them in the shade. I expect to see roots and buds in four weeks”

I did some further reading and learned that starting grape vines from cuttings requires patience.  It may take three years before the new vine will produce grapes. Concord grapes make just the best grape jelly.  What’s three years to wait for such a treat?

The Old Timer Says: Want to try something new?  How about starting a grape vine from a cutting?

WHERE TO BUY MY BOOKS:

You can buy my books at your local bookstore. order online from bookshop.org, or purchase from the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose—a fundraiser for them. Phone: 920-622-3835 for prices and ordering, or contact the librarian: barnard@wildroselibrary.
Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984.
www.wildroselibrary.org

If you live in the western part of the state, stop at Ruth’s home town, Westby, visit Dregne’s.  and look at their great selection of my books. Order a book from them by calling 1-877-634-4414. They will be happy to help you.  If you live in northcentral Wisconsin, stop at the Janke bookstore in Wausau (phone 715-845-9648).  They have a large selection of my books.