I will try to keep everyone updated on the progress (and sometimes the lack of) in propagating and growing the native, cold-hardy Katuah Muscadine and Katuah Scuppernong grapes here in the mountains of western North Carolina. Please feel free to ask questions. I will do my best to answer them for you.
Grow Grapes and Prosper!
Chuck Blethen
2015 was an important year at Jewel of the Blue Ridge Vineyard. We succeeded in breeding the very first cold-hardy Scuppernong. The resulting plants are self pollinating and the fruit is very sweet with large clusters.
ReplyDelete2017 was our first commercial harvest, although small, which we used to have made into Jeannie's Muscadine Grape-hull Preserves. It is available for sale at Our Dailey Bread in Marshall.
ReplyDeleteOur Katuah Muscadine and Scuppernong vines open their first blooms on June 14th this year.
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ReplyDeleteAfter watching the results for several years of planting young Katuah Muscadine & Scuppernong starts in the fall (lots of winter kill), we have experimented with wintering over in order to be able to plant the vines in the spring. Last winter 2017-18 we wintered over 400 starts in our greenhouse. It took 2-3 visits per day to the greenhouse all winter to make sure our kerosene/propane/electrical heaters were functioning properly and plants were regularly watered. We also experimented with a different way of planting the starts. Our latest process was successful over the last 2 winters and is now our standard way to plant the young Katuah Muscadine/Scuppernong starts. Dig a hole 1 1/2 foot deep. If you have red clay, use a 3/4" rebar rod or pry bar to punch a hole thru the clay in the bottom of the hole to the soft crumbly soil beneath the rad clay. This provides the drainage needed to keep the vines from dying due to root rot. Add a shovel of gravel to the hole to provide a coarse filter keeping the good soil from flushing down below the clay layer. Fill the hole to within 4 inches of the surrounding vineyard surface using a 50/50 mix of the soil removed from the hole and a really rich potting soil or compost. Use a trowel to punch a hole big enough in the middle of the mixture fill to accommodate the grapevine start roots. Remove the muscadine start from the pot and then dip the roots in a bucket of water to remove the soft fluffy perlite mixture from the roots. This takes away the potential air gaps around the roots that contribute to the cold winter air reaching the roots and causing winter kill of the young vines. Set the bare roots into the trowel hole and pack it down. Add mulch around the young vine but do not allow the mulch to cover the trunk of the vine. Slowly water the freshly planted vine with about 1/2 quart of water. Add a 1 foot tall wire cage around the vine to keep the rabbits from eating your young vine. Stake the cage to the ground to keep the wind from blowing it over. Alternatively, add a bamboo/wood training stick tied to the 5 foot high wire of your trellis with the base of the training stick next to the vine. After the first frost and the leaves fall off the young vine, cover the vine with about 8 inches of mulch. I fill up the wire cage with mulch. After the last frost in Spring, pull back the mulch in the middle of the hole to expose the small trunk of the dormant young vine. Leaves will start growing within a week or so. Repeat this process for year two in the vineyard. Do not let the young vine produce grape blooms for the first 3 years to encourage root growth and minimize chance of winter kill. Allow 10% of the blooms to grow the 4th year, 50% in the 5th year and 100% in the 6th year following proper pruning.
ReplyDeleteThis article was published recently in a newsletter that I receive from Iowa State University.
ReplyDeleteThis idea interesting because it can provide annual income for the first several years to help offset the longer term necessary to establish a vineyard in the mountains. Other suggested crops to plant between the grapevines include fresh flowers, peppers, Quail could also be an alternative to chickens or pheasants.
Here is the link to the original article about a SARE funded project called Trio Cropping Demonstration - Grapes, Sweet Corn, Poultry:
https://projects.sare.org/sare_project/fnc02-433/