Concord Grapes

**Durgan** · 09-16-2009, 06:28 PM

Concord Grapes
http://www.durgan.org/URL/?YLZVT 16 September 2009 Concord Grapes.
This is the only grape vine out of four varieties that produced reasonably well this year. The clusters should be fully ripe in about two weeks. Concord is probably my favorite table grape, and if I have extra juice is made. It requires a lot of grapes to get any reasonable quantity of juice about 8 pounds per liter- but wonderful juice. This is the four year for this plant.

**calimomx2** · 09-16-2009, 07:52 PM

How neat! We planted Thompson and Red Flame plants this year but I'm not sure they are going to survive! We've never had grapes and we thought it would be fun to see if we could get them!

**Durgan** · 09-16-2009, 08:15 PM

Originally Posted by calimomx2

How neat! We planted Thompson and Red Flame plants this year but I'm not sure they are going to survive! We've never had grapes and we thought it would be fun to see if we could get them!

Grapes are a fun plant. This garden is my first experience with grapes. I had to garner all the knowledge necessary from scratch, and appear to have done quite well if I may say so. Pruning is still a bit of a learning experience. I don't feel confident about what I am doing when the pruning shears are in my hand, and all that vegetation is staring me in the face.

**MaryCarney** · 09-17-2009, 12:30 AM

My Concords are around 10 years old, and I've never pruned them. They produce abundantly some years, less so in others. But on a warm day like today, it smells SO GOOD down by the arbor!

**calimomx2** · 09-17-2009, 02:15 AM

This is might be a stupid question but.....do they produce the first year or does it take longer? We aren't sure what to expect!

**Durgan** · 09-17-2009, 06:53 AM

Originally Posted by calimomx2

This is might be a stupid question but.....do they produce the first year or does it take longer? We aren't sure what to expect!

The fruit should be pinched off the first and second year as a general rule. It depends upon how robust the vine appears. My concord was so healthy in the second year, that I allowed a few bunches to form. From the third year on I got full production-meaning last year and this year.

The other three varieties are poor this year, probably weather related. They are Boca Noir, Sovereign Coronation, and Niagara.

Study how to prune as much as possible for maximum production.