Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Bunch grapes in Florida

The Florida Grape Grower Association has a short list of some places that sell UF-recommended bunch grapes. I'm probably going to buy a Conquistador vine from the curious Grapes of Kath. But I'm trying to get in touch with Bad Armadillo Vineyards.

5 comments:

Alan said...

I've been hard put to find anyone who has had a lot of luck with bunch grapes in Florida.

They grow, but relative to muscadines they just don't produce as much. This may explain why it's hard to find vines. I've wanted a Conquistadore myself for years.

.....Alan.

Kathy C. said...

Did you ever have any luck with the grapes? I would like to grow grapes, but I want to see someone have some success here in Central, FL before I build a pergola for them, LOL.

Michael said...

my muscadines are fruiting pretty well this year -- first in the ground, but a big vine when i planted it. the bunch grapes are growing well, but they're too small to produce this year. next year i have high hopes for both.

Anonymous said...

I'm a new member of the Florida Grape Growers Assoc. and I think they can be helpful here. I'm also growing a row of 8 Conquistador vines that i purchased from Grapes of Kath about 2 years ago. So far they are growing very well, however in order to let the vines get established, I've nipped off any/all fruit that started to grow for the first two years. I'm hoping to get some decent grapes from the established vines next season.

They are spaced 7 feet apart and are trellised and pruned on a "two arm" cordon with 7 spurs on each arm. I try to grow these as organically as possible, using mostly organic soaps/pesticides for control and very light fertilization (5-5-5) every other month. So far, so good! We'll see.

Hope this helps!

Chris

Andrew Ritter said...

If you are going to use a commercial fertilizer, may I suggest that you use 10-10-10. Spread a handful or two in a circle around the vine's base six inches away from the base. Your vines will thank you for the bit of extra "umph." Given that the season is Fall/Winter, your vines should be dormant now; that is to say they will probably appear to be dead, but they are not. Pruning should occur during the winter; I do mine in mid to late January. ABR