To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: [NAFEX] Grape cultivars
Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2007 11:58:32 -0400
Speaking of grape cultivars. . .
I have a single vine of Canadice. It's growing in the only spot
where I can put a grape. Unfortunately, it ripens too early. "Too
early" means I am out of town on my regular summer vacation when it
gets ripe enough to attract the critters, so I don't get any of the
grapes. If it ripened in September instead of August, I might have a
fighting chance.
I live in eastern Mass., in Zone 6. The spot where I can put a grape
doesn't get quite full sun, and it took several years for this vine
to start bearing. So I have a couple of questions:
1) Can I graft something to this grape rootstock to save time over
planting something new from scratch?
2) If I plant a different grape, is there anything in particular I
ought to know about removing the current grape vine, or replenishing
the soil? There are a lot of rocks in the area (this in New England)
so digging a giant hole is not really an option.
3) Any recommendations for good September (or October?) grapes for
eastern Massachusetts? I can get sweet, mildly flavored grapes in
the supermarket, and am looking for something with some flavor,
although I prefer some grape flavors to others. I like the flavor of
Concord, but I prefer seedless. My uncle has some NY Muscat that's
very tasty. I don't care for Niagara.