Mutt & Jeff are in

[jobe05]

I was at Lowes the other day and by chance they had a couple of Muscadine vines called "Cowart". Self pollinating and vigerous growers...... Had to do it.....

This one is Mutt (not as filled out):

And Jeff: (looks like an easy trainer)

Here are some of my other Wine freindly Plants:


Peach:

Another Peach:

And another Peach:

My line of 2 peach and 2 pear trees:

And my Rasberries: (and the horse raddish on left)

And a few pics of the whole back yard from my deck:

And a few scuppernog vines I'm trying to root:

 

[PolishWineP]

Nice work!

 

[grapeman]

I'm jealous. Look at the grass and other vegetation. Looks like mid-June up here. We barely have any grass and the tree buds are just breaking good. Looks great!

 

[bilbo-in-maine]

Way to go! You took the plunge. Now, if the scuppernongs are vigorous,
where do they go? You have more trellis building coming up.

 

[jobe05]

Scuppernongs I suspect will be very vigorous so I can extend the one trellis out (toward the fence, on jeffs side) then swing the trellis back toward the porch. In the future, Im going to have a hot tub room under the porch leading off the family room and am thinking the extra vines will serve as a nice screen for privacy as well as make good wine.....

 

[jobe05]

Well..... Its been a year and Mutt and Jeff have grown a bit:


Last year:

This year: I think they like that I took care of them during the spring freeze that we had. The one on the right (Mutt) is load with little shoots with potential fruit on them, the one on the left has none. It was that way last year also, I thought it was because they were young, this year it could be because of the freeze..... next year.... I replace it if no fruit!

Was at the store again today and the vines were on sale for $9 each, so I could resist. Got 2 Catawbas abd a concord. Timmy (my son) and I love fresh grapes for eating..... I guess everything can't be for wine.......... Did I say that!.......

And then there's the Elderberries that I got from Marge. These are the Wildwood II's. THese are wonderfull plants. As you can see from the fence, they are a full 4 feet tall. The one on the right is starting to get little blossom..... Balls? on it in a couple of spots. It is very early for that I would think. Poor baby, it's so confused and scared, it has been through so much, it's saying "I'll give you fruit, just leave me alone"..............

Edited by: jobe05

 

[Wade E]

Nice Jobe but I dont see the Black Currants!

If you get a hot tub make sure you get one with an ozonator. It will
help you so much keep the water chemically balanced and clean. I use to
work for a hot tub company and had 1 with and 1 without that I just
sold last year and couldnt believe the difference. I always had to play
with the chems on the 1 without and almost never with the 1 with.

 

[jobe05]

The hot tub will deffinately have a ozinator on it. Have looked at a lot of them, and tested out quite a few. We were just going to go cheap, 2 to 3 thousand dollars, but cheaper here isn't better. So now we are in the 4 to 6 thousand range, but it will be worth the extra.
The currants, 4 black, 1 red, 1 pink and 1 white is in the garden. I haven't prepared any beds for them yet so I left tem there. They are only about a foot tall, but producing good size fruit. I will get them in the permanant location next spring while they are still dormant.

 

[Wade E]

The company I used to work for was Thermo Spas and they are a really good brand, another good brand is Hot Springs.

 

[grapeman]

Your little vines certainly have grown this year after the frosts. They will appreciate the company from the other vines. Those Elderberries will start producing more next year and soon be covered in blooms and then berries. This week I pulled out several huge clumps of Elderberries. They would each produce enough for a 6 gallon batch each if left, but I don't make much each year. I've noticed dozens of small ones all over this year. They are all growing wild, but are the same as cultivated varieties I have seen. They probably escaped from someones garden years ago.


Don't let the currants fruit too heavily this year, it will limit their growth. Only a foot tall with fruit is a little small for fuiting. I'm guilty of leaving a little now and again on a new plant, just to get a taste of things to come.


I've been busy clearing more brush around the edges of the vineyard, to let in more light and to plant this years vines that will be coming soon.

 

[NorthernWinos]

Looking really nice....I had missed your Posts last year and sure like looking at your photos this year....Thanks for Posting here again.

 

[jobe05]

I got a nice surprise today... I was at one of my other offices thats out in the country (Asheboro), and was walking out back when I looked out into the over grown Field behind the building and found that it was overgrown with hundreds of elderberry bushes.....


I dug one up that was about 6 feet tall, had 2 long stalks (Looks just like the Wildwood I got from Marge) and 2 new stalks about 3 feet high. These are already starting to get the blossom heads on them, and a lot of them. So maybe I will get 3, maybe 5 gallons of wine from them this year.Edited by: jobe05

 

[Wade E]

Very cool Jobe. Theres gold in them there hills!

 

[grapeman]

Jobe, they probably won't transplant and bear real well this year if to that stage, but look out next year. Also some of the wild varieties aren't all that good. Go back to that spot later this year and pick enough for a batch- try that and see how good the wine is from it. If it meets your expectations, mark some this fall and get them next year before the buds swell a lot and plant then.
Nice find!


PS-I've pulled up dozens of big clumps this year to expand the vineyard.

 

[jobe05]

I suspect it will have a hard time adjusting, but I couldn't resist, it came right up out of te ground. The root system was almost on top of the ground. I notice it when I moved an old board that was laying in between 2 new shoots that were about 2 feet tall, when I moved the board, the 2 new shoots fell over to one side and the one I pulled up moved. Very small root structure for a tall plant, root ball would have easily fit inside a gallon container, comfortably. I do think it was growing right on top of the ground in the underbrush of dead leaves and stuff.


Edit: You keep telling me about all the stuff your pulling up, I'm going to show up on your trash heap next time I come to NY!Edited by: jobe05

 

[JWMINNESOTA]

Is there something you can use to help ease the shock of transplanting? Seems like years ago we used B12, but then, it was years ago...

 

[jobe05]

Good question JW. So far, I have transplanted elderberries several times, The first time when I got theme from the supplyers, I put them in a huge 5 gallon pot (maybe bigger), and I had one in a one gallon pot. I planted the 1 gallon pot in the garden with the black currants. It was shipped from the north so all were dormant when I got them except thetwo from Marge, she is in Kansas. When I got tem, they were leafing out everywhere. Put tem in the big pot for a little over a onth, then transplanted into the garden. They droop for a few days, I think because of te amount of water I have to use initially to insure the dirt is packed in around the roots, then they perk right up. So far, with limited experience with elderberries, I already know that they do not like clay soil, water and fertilizer.

 

[NorthernWinos]

To ease transplant shock of any plant...choose a smaller plant and transplant as early in the season as possible.