The following was received via email: I was directed here when I enquired at Minter Gardens about growing grapes. I'm trying to find out what vines grow well in a typical small Vancouver back yard, south-facing but surrounded by trees, and what varieties are suggested for making wine a few years down the road when the vines have matured. I've been successful in growing kiwi, but these are relatively easy, and I don't know if there's a comparison. I know you don't have to prune kiwi vines except to keep them out of the neighbour's trees. But re grapes, I don't want to invest years of time and end up with a dissappointing fruit. Also, I'm not yet familiar enough with vinifera which will grow here, other than a friend's concord, which are good for eating, making jelly and little else, though we have made wine from them. So, having read all this, can you please point me in the right direction? Are there some experts in the group that would be able to give advice? I'd like to plant a few vines this spring.
This thread might answer part of your question: http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=42&highlight=grapes
You might like to visit the Food garden here at UBCBG to see how kiwi can be grown to be highly productive in a small space. 4 female plants grow , two on either side of the slightly lass vigorous male. The plants are trained on a wire frame about 6ft high and are pruned by cutting back the leaders and then taking the lateral shoots back to 3cm spurs. Harvesting is very easy!
wine grapes The following are wine grape varieties for coastal areas reccomended by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries. Auxerrois castel 19637 kerner madeleine sylvaner madeleine angevine ortega siegerrebe schonberger These varieties can probably be ordered through your local nursery. As for the pruning of your vines, grapes produce fruit on the current seasons growth. After establishing a permanent framework all new growth can be cut back hard in the dormant season to 2 0r 3 buds. After fruit set and when the young fruit is about the size of a pea prune off extra growth two sets of leaves beyond the fruit cluster, this will consentrate energies to the fruit and not more vine and leaf growth.
I have had abundant results with a variety called Glenora, black seedless. I planted it about 5 years ago, and this year (the first year I have noticed so many grape clusters), I have made grape pie, upside-down grape cake, chicken with grape sauce and lots of jelly. I didn't know anything about this variety when I planted it (did it as a lark next to a clematis arbour ), and the profusion of production this year caught me by surprise, so I went to the Net to find recipes to use up the grapes. They are also OK as table grapes.
