Such a Grape time to be in the garden!

Grape vines are cool.

They are easy to grow, very versatile (you can make them go where you want)  and cheap... well if you are me they are cheap.

Right now is the perfect time to do some scavenging around the city.  Check out which grapes are growing where, wander through the neighborhood, and sample fruit.  Why?  Because grapes are exceptionally easy to graft. 

What does this mean?

Grapes don't grow true to seed.  If you plant a grape seed, most likely, it will be nothing like its parent.  The fruit may be tasty (unlikely) or it may be icky, roll the dice.  So to get around that, we take cuttings from the grapes we like, and put them in the ground to make new vines.  They will sprout roots in the dark days, and in the spring if you are lucky, you will get a new plant.

So, this means that Concord grapes all came from the same plant in France. 

We are all connected.

I'll show you how to do this, this winter.

So back to my crop, I have done this with about 5 different varieties.  I find a grape growing that I like, and I ask if I can have a cutting when the owner is cutting it back in the winter.  In a few years, voila!  A new grape lives in my house!

My grapes are beginning to come ripe.  Because I wasn't picky about the names of the grapes I stole/scavenged, I have no idea what they actually are... so I name them.

Right now, the concord like purple grapes are ready, and the delicate pinkish grapes are ready.  All of the other ones are not.   I have harvested about 20% of the grapes, and let me tell you there is ALOT of fruit on the vine!  (If you ever see a grape variety growing in my house that makes you excited, you are welcome to a cutting!) 

So far, I have frozen a gallon bag of grapes for smoothies later, and used my concord grapes to dye a little bird I made.  (oddly enough, I've gotten really into carving little animals.  random I know.)   Super easy to dye wood it turns out.  I just boiled the grapes until I had a purple mess, then put it in a zip lock bag, then added my figurine to soak over night.  Then once it was very dry, I added a coat of shellac to it, and we have a non toxic baby toy!

Oh... and I have eaten grapes... lots and lots of grapes...so good!

Today, if time permits I think I might just make grape jelly.