Evening star., 1943-08-29
Grape>Ripening Season Is Here

AZ this season of the year wher
the. grapes are ripening many gar
deners wish that they had not pu
of ordering a vine or two for the
garden. The sight of the colorfu
punches of fruit, especially thi
year when there is so little fruit tt
be had, should cause gardeners tt
look about and give serious con-
sideration to space that might be
allotted to grapes.
Grapes are most useful fruit
crop. They may be used as fresh
fruit and who does not enjoy a we'll
grown bunch of grapes? Many
housewives prefer to make their OWL
grape juice-juice that may be used
to vary the breakfast menu or to
make refreshing drinks for any hour
of the day. Then, too, grape jelly
jam and sauce are too well known to
need description. The vines may be
put to good uses to cover a trellis
or ,arbor, to serve as a screen to
hide unsightly views, or as a green
background for the flower border.
Grape vines do not need an ex-
tensive space. In the small yard
they may be trained over a trellis
or arbor to provide shade, or they
may be trained on wires stretched
between posts. When trained on
wires approximately 10 feet of space
in length is needed for each vine,
but, of course, they occupy hardly
more than 4 feet in width. A single
vigorous vine may be allowed to
ramble over q large trellis, al
though most gardeners prefer to
restrict them by severe pruning.
This seems to increase the size of
the punches and to stimulate fruit
ing.
Since there is very little reason
for denying ourselves the enjoyment
of this fruit crop we should make
plans now for the planting of one
or more vines. An early order for
spring delivery should be the first
step. The second step is the prepa-
ration of the soil. While grapes do
not require any special soil they do
repay the care given in preparing
the planting hole. A generous
quantity of compost or well-rotted
manure should be dug deeply into
the soil to supply plant food; to en-
able the roots to have ample area
from which to draw food and
moisture and to increase the water
holding capacity of the soil. If the
soil is highly acid it will pay to add
lime 30 be mixed thoroughly with
the soil Bone meal is also good
for, this purpose as it furnishes both
lime and phosphate.
In ordering grapevines there is
. temptation to order the largest
size offered-2-year-o -old extra large
but this is not recommended.
A 1-year-old size will make fully
as rapid growth and bear as quickly
as the larger size.
There are many varieties of
grapes to choose from and they
are all tempting. In this area most
gardeners prefer to order an early
variety such as Moore's Early or
Fredonia. The later maturing va
riety, Concord, is standard through
out the eastern half of the United
States. The late varieties are not
so successful and are not recon-
mended. Ontario and Portland are
two desirable varieties of white
grapes. Delaware and Brighton are
red-skinned varieties that are fairly
dependable. The Caco variety has
not proved as dependable here as
1t has farther north.
While one vine is all that is nec-
essary for fruit and shade, most
gardeners prefer to order two or
three so as to prolong the fruiting
season as much as possible. How
ever, as mentioned above, the very
late varieties are not recommended,
although if the fruit is bagged and
protected satisfactory results may
be obtained, 1t Is only the late
varieties that may be stored for
winter use. In a cool, moist situa-
tion they will keep for several
weeks
While grapes have their share of
pests, most of them are neither diff
ficult nor costly to control. The
Japanese beetles feed on the foliage
and will strip the leaves from a vine
unless protected. Ordinary hydrat-
ed line busted on the foliage is
an. effective repellent, although
mixture of aluminium sulphate and
hydrated lime is longer lasting.
Occasionally, trouble with a fruit
rot is experienced, but one or two
dustings or sprayings with Bor-