How to Harvest Your Grapes!

Grapes are versatile, delicious, and easy to grow, but what happens when it's time to actually harvest them? This week Laura Sweany, horticulture expert with Raintree Nursery, is going to tell you everything you need to know about harvesting nature's bounty! Like, subscribe, and visit us at www.raintreenursery.com for more great content!

[@seanseton1349]

Thank you miss!

[@jaredseymore3906]

What is that thing they're growing on? I have 4 grape...(bushes?) and they're producing grapes this year, but they're growing on the ground. What you have them growing on looks 1000x better than letting them grow on the ground. Yes, I've never grown grapes before this and am new to gardening.

[@juliam3980]

Question: I feel like I get way too many leaves/vines and not enough grapes. I know that the grapes grow on second year wood, and so I prune back to where I want the grapes to be. In previous years the grapes were puny, so this year I pruned harder, hoping to have fewer but larger grapes. I can't say it worked. The vine is super vigorous, it tries to visit the neighbors, engulf my fig tree and it goes up maybe 12-15 feet, but the grapes are not impressive. I do get issues with fungal spots, but the impression from 20 feet away is of a thriving vine. Any advice?

[@RaintreeNursery]

The kind of grape you're growing is important. For example: the Himrod grapes we harvested here were on new and 1-year old growth, not on second year wood at all - despite what most articles on grapes will say. Try letting the vine grow naturally and see what part of it is producing grapes and what part isn't. The plant itself sound like it is healthy. Pruning doesn't really do a lot to improve grape size, though removing leaves that are shading the fruit can improve flavor.

[@juliam3980]

@@RaintreeNursery Thanks! I have no idea what sort of grape this is, it was here when I bought the property. It's a seedless green grape and it doesn't get very sweet, even when I wait until some of the grapes on the bunch are wrinkling and falling off. Can you graft grapes? The trunk of this thing is substantial, I think the root mass is quite large.

[@RaintreeNursery]

​@@juliam3980 Yes you can! It's very much like working a mature tree and many of the same techniques can be used including cleft, bark, and bud grafting!