Growing Concord Grapes for Your Own Use

You go to your local grocery store to buy grape jelly. You find jelly made by several different manufacturers. When you pick them up and read the labels you find that most of the grape jelly say made with 100% Concord grapes. Also you go to the juice isle and find grape juice that says made with 100% Concord grapes. What is a concord grape? The Concord grape is from the grape species Vitis labrusca, it is used a table grape or to make wine. The color of the concord is typically dark blue or purple. The grape is mostly used for jelly, juice, soft drinks, and candy. But, due to the foxy flavor of the wine it is not favorably used.

The Concord grape was developed in Concord Massachusetts by Ephraim Wales Bull in 1849. The Concord won first place at the Boston Horticulture Society Exhibition in 1853. Dr. Thomas Welch introduced the first grape juice made from the Concord in 1854. He found that when pasteurized the juice would not ferment. He first introduced the juice to his church, to be used for communion. The top producing states in the United States are Washington, New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Missouri.

The Concord grape vine is like most other grape vines. The first thing to do before planting is to have the PH of the soil tested. Grapes prefer a somewhat alkaline soil between 5 and 6.5.The vineyard need to be in an area that has good air flow and the soil is well drained. The south side of a hillside is a great place to plant your vines. This location will give you drainage and also protect the vines from the cold north winds in winter. The vines will need to be planted six to eight feed apart. The plants should be watered regularly until you have signs of new growth.

You will need to build a trellis system for your vines to climb and produce fruit. The best way to build a trellis Is install post next to each plant. The post should be braced well, because when the vine start producing grapes there will be a considerable amount of weight on the trellis system. After the post are installed in the ground run a wire about 3 inches off the ground and another at the top of the post. You can also install cross arms on the top, running two wires across the cross arms.

As the vines of your vineyard grow you will need to keep them pruned. Pruning is a very important part of keeping your grapes producing and being healthy. Also, when the vines first start running and over time, you may need to train the vines to run the wires on your trellis. The vines and grapes will need to be protected from pest. You may need to use a pesticide to keep bugs off your vines and fruit, and using other means to keep birds and animals from eating your delicious grapes. Remember if you are growing grapes for a hobby or past time always have fun doing so.