Now that y'all have solved the grapevine fertilizer problem I had, I've another question for you. The vine has a lot of grapes forming, I mean A LOT! Should I thin some of the bunches out? I hate destroying food, but if it isn't going to develop I'll grit my teeth, grab my pruners, and take out--what percentage of bunches? Do I thin, and if so, how much?
We have never thinned ours. Not sure if you would need to there either. Do you prune your grapes? I assume you should be pruning while they are dormant. If you haven't pruned the grapes mabye that would be a reason to thin the fruit but I really don't have a great answer. Check with your county extension service for a better answer.
I do not thin mine either. Birds do it for me. Can you post a pic MG so we can see how close the clusters are ?
I have read that if you want to remove some bunches from your plant, then its ok; however, they say that you should always leave the bunches nearest to the main stem to maximize your harvest and to get nice, big grapes in your bunches. I do not grow grapes, but there are several folks on our gardening complex that do and they all do very well each year. Good luck, Jane.
Thank you all! I'll post a picture of our grape bunches as soon as my husband can take a photo (I'm camera illiterate with digital cameras). Carolyn, I have pruned our grapevine. It is a classic two-tiered T shape and runs along our pasture/orchard fence. Our county extension agent is great with cattle--with fruits and vegetables, not so much. I'll ask Texas A&M. We know a professor there who is very helpful. Mart, the birds take some of the wild muscadines that grow along the road/pasture fence, but for some reason leave our Mars alone. Perhaps they are too exposed, no cover, or the birds just don't like the taste? Sjoerd, if we do thin, I'll follow the "leave the bunches next to the main stem" approach. Eileen, that video was very helpful. If we get an abundance of lovely bunches of grapes, I'll send y'all some!
we have such a great resource here. we have the OARDC (Ohio agricultural research and development center) right in Wooster. and all the people from ATI(Ohio States agricultural technical institute) and the extension service too. I hope you get your answers quickly.
