How do you care for Concord grapes?

Grapes are a fun garden fruit for the gardeners in Kentucky. These woody vines need something robust to grow on and suitable growing conditions to produce fruit. They should be grown in at least 8 hours of direct sunlight per day; good air circulation is equally important. Vines adapt to many types of soil, but perform best on a nutrient-rich, well-drained soil.

If you have not had your soil tested, you can contact your cooperative consulting office. The results of the soil tests will show you whether you need to make pH and/or nutrient adjustments specifically for grape cultivation. Grapes prefer a soil range between 5.0 and 6.0. Appropriate growing conditions help prevent potential insect and disease problems. Vitis labrusca 'Concord' is a Native American that thrives in Kentucky. They tend to ripen unevenly, and if picked too early they are not as sweet as others.

Planting Berries and Grapes - Make Your Homestead More Self Sufficient

One of my projects this past week was planting new berry vines and bushes and putting in an arbor of grape vines. With the colder nights, I up-end a bucket over them just in case we might get a little frost and then uncover them for the day. By getting them in the ground now they will have time to 'settle in' and I should be able to pick some fruit off of them this year.

The dream is to make the farm as self-sufficient as possible for its size and fresh fruit is necessary for a healthy diet. These plants will be raised organically and pollinated by honey bees raised here on the farm. Most of the plants put in were at least two year old vines with a few being a little older. Select varieties that suit your needs and purchase vines or canes within your budget.

Grape Therapy

In addition to being a tasty and nutritious food, grapes can provide wonderful therapeutic benefits. Grapes are rich in phosphorous, potassium, and vitamin A. Grapes contain polyphenol, a heart-protective chemical.

Grape seed extract, a currently popular herbal treatment thought to improve vision by increasing blood flow in the eye's capillaries, is touted by alternative medicine practitioners as a treatment for macular degeneration and cataracts.

Popular Types of Grapes

Types of grapes

There are hundreds of types of grapes grown all over the world. Different types grow in different climate regions, thus no two are exactly the same. Grapes are usually classified in to two main groups - the Table and the Wine Grapes. In this article, five popular types of from either of the 2 main groups will be described briefly.

Table Grapes

· Concord Grapes

Concord grapes were grown in the Eastern United States during the 19th century. This type is commonly used in jams, jellies, grape juice, and sweets. Some companies also make wine from Concords, although the wine tend to have a slightly dark, musty flavor which some consumers dislike.

Grapes Nutritional Value

Welcome to the world of antioxidants. All your health problems will be addressed by the nutritional value of various grapes like acai berry, Oregon grapes, Muscadine grapes and Concord grapes. According to medical research acai berries contain various properties like antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and cardiovascular beneficial properties. acai berries are more than 200% anti-oxidant than any other fruit and vegetable known. A university of Florida study in 2006 showed that the antioxidant property of acai berries destroyed cultured human cancer cells. Additional studies revealed that it triggers a self-destruct response in up to 86% of tested leukemia cells.

In addition to growing in your garden, concord grapes vines are beautiful ornamental and valuable plants.

Acai berries provide a good source of Vitamin A, B1, B2, B3, C and Vitamin E. It also contain good amount of fiber that help promotes healthy digestive system and reduce the risks of developing some types of cancer.

9 Tips on How to Grow Concord Grapes

As many people know, Concord grapes are one of the most popular varieties of grapes being grown by home gardeners nowadays. However, not many people know how to grow concord grapes properly. This article will give you the necessary tips and information you'll need to know on how to grow concord grapes successfully.

Tip #1 --Concord grapes thrive in soil rich with nutrients with an acidity level (pH rate) of about 6.0 to 6.5, although they may also live in leaner soil with pH levels ranging from 5.5 to 8.0.

Tip #2 - You need to plant your concord grapes in a spot where there's plenty of sun as they need warm temperatures to ripen.

Tip #3 - Make sure you remove any weeds from the area where you'll plant your grapes. Try putting a compost to further enrich the soil.

Growing Concord Grapes Because Of Their Sweetness

Growing concord grapes is as straightforward as other species. They are perfectly adapted to North America in general assuming that proper cares are in place from land preparation to harvesting period. But first, what are concord grapes in the first place.

Concord grape is a cultivar coming from the species vitis labruska. This grape variety makes perfect table grape and can be used to make wine and plain grape juice. You can recognize the grape with its dark blue or purple skin color. They are sometimes found with lighter colored bloom covering them. The skin can be taken off with ease and this put the grape in the slip-skin category. The grape also has large seeds and is found very aromatic.

A bit of history from Wikipedia:

"The Concord grape was developed in 1849 by Ephraim Wales Bull in Concord, Massachusetts. Bull planted seeds from wild Vitis labrusca and evaluated over 22,000 seedlings before finding what he considered the perfect grape, the original vine of which still grows at his former home. "

How to Be Successful in Pruning and Growing Concord Grapes

Officially, the name Concord grapes originated from the place Concord Massachusetts. It is small sized fruit like a marble that produces very strong sweet flavor. Growing this type of plant is highly possible, though it requires keen planning and implementation.

Before you decide the variety you wanted to grow, you have to make sure that it is the best suited variety among others, which will certainly grow well in your area. There are several varieties to choose from that is why it is important that the selection must be done under your careful scrutiny.

If you want your vines primary because you want them as decoration, you better choose the variety that has lesser demand of time and attention. However if you want to grow grapes for you to be able to make your own wine, then Concord grape is the right choice for you.

Growing and Tending Concord Grapes

A farmer, Ephraim Bull, first developed the Concord grape variety, over 150 years ago. Today more than 400,000 tons of Concord grapes are produced commercially each year. That's not to say the home gardener cannot grow this variety if they want to - and can get a cutting. However, it is not necessarily the best kind to grow if you want eating grapes. But the Concord variety is an excellent choice for those who want to make their own wine.

So long as your climatic conditions and soil are both suitable for the Concord grape vine, there should be no difficulty in growing it. When growing, care must be given to establishing the plant over at least three years before grapes are picked for harvest. That's not to say you won't get any grapes at all for three years.

What you should do is pinch off the flowers for the first two years so that strength will be established in the roots. The third year you can leave about half of the flowers to bear, though pinching them all off again is actually better for the plant. Exercising your patience in this way will see a strong plant established that should last for at least 40 more years.

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.

What's So Special About the Concord Grape?

It's the Truly American Grape 


America is a land of immigrants, a great melting pot of cultures. Such is the Concord Grape. Back in the mid-1800's, a guy named Ephraim Wales Bull developed the first Concord grapevines. He was a committed grape grower intent on developing a grapevine that would be hardy enough to survive the cold Massachusetts winters. Many European varieties did not do too well in the northern American climate. Mr. Bull is said to have evaluated over 22,000 seedlings in his time before he finally produced his masterpiece. Though he left no complete records of the heritage of this grape, experts speculate that he crossed hardy native grapes, Vitis labrusca, also known as the Fox Grape, with a European variety, Vitis vinifera. From these came up with what he thought to be the perfect grape. He named them after the town near his vineyards in Massachusetts.


It's an American Cultural Icon 

Preparing the Vineyard for the Planting Season

Vineyard preparation prior to actual grape planting involves three major phases:

1. Plowing - Plowing is done to open up the soil and ‘turn it over’, bringing the drier upper layer closer to the moist subsoil and vice versa. Plowing also improves the aeration of the soil and prepares it for planting.
2. Sub-soiling - Sub-soiling is performed to break apart the pan layer of the plowed land.
3. Levelling - Levelling is the final step of preparing the vineyard. The soil is levelled with tractors and is now ready for planting (given that the soil’s pH level and nutrient content has already been adjusted).

Newly prepared vineyards should also be free from the various perennial weeds that are considered pests to grapes. Some known weed pests include:

Proper Row Positioning

There are several factors that affect the proper direction and placement of rows:

1. Amount of light available and the direction of the light
2. Slope (steepness) of the vineyard
3. Consistent wind speeds in the area

Usually, rows that run from the north to south are able to get more sunlight than rows that run from east to the west.

If you think the natural shade of nearby trees could be a problem, you should design your rows to run from the north to the south and the rows should be spaced closely together

In this type of situation, the wider the separation of the rows, the less sunlight the rows receive.