Most consumers aren't familiar with the rich flavor of muscadine grapes. It's a cultivated taste, because muscadines literally assault the senses of smell and taste. The berries are sweet, full of complex flavors, and the fragrance is enjoyable. So far all muscadines have some seeds. Fry seedless is mostly free of seeds, but production has been disappointing. Some older varieties had tough skins, but the skin toughness had reduced through breeding. Someday, we should have a seedless muscadine worth planting. Most consumers are not familiar with the rich flavor of muscadine grapes. It is a cultivated taste.
Muscadines produce small clusters instead of big bunches, but they produce many, many clusters and mature vines have the potential to produce 15 tons per acre. Muscadines have poor storage potential so they are best used for juices, jellies, and wine or local market and pick-your-own sales.
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Another factor to consider when planting muscadines is pollination. Some varieties are self-fertile, which means they produce both male and female flowers while others produce female flowers only. In a single row, every third vine should be a self-fertile type. In a larger planting, every third plant in every 3 rows should be self-fertile. Most of the superior varieties used to be female types, but with today's selection of varieties the majority of a vineyard could be planted with self-fertile varieties. Development of varieties with a dry stem scar has also been very important in recent years. These varieties have much better storage potential.
Muscadine Grapes: Soil and Fertility
Muscadine grapes are native to much of the southeastern United States. This means they are a natural choice for the southern gardener.
Muscadines tolerate damp soil, dry soil, and everything in between. They do seem to prefer a slightly acidic, fertile, and sandy loam soil that is high in organic matter. They don't like very wet or highly alkaline soil. Iron chlorosis can be a serious problem if soil pH is too high (above 7.5). It can be corrected by regular foliar applications of chelated iron. Try raised beds if soils are too wet.
Muscadine grapes are native to the southeastern pine forests, where temperatures seldom fall below 10 degrees Fahrenheit and rarely below 0 degree Fahrenheit. The forest floor is covered with a thick mat of leaves and needles. In cultivation, they still seem to enjoy a thick layer of mulch to help regulate moisture levels and to keep the soil cool through the heat of summer. Unlike other grapes, muscadines enjoy a moderate level of fertility. During the early years, nitrogen is the only nutrients they require.
Fertilizer should be applied one time each in early March, May, and July and placed 12 to 18 inches from vines. Select only one fertilizer for each application. Once a vine is 4 years old or older, it should receive 3 to 5 pounds of 8-8-8 or 13-13-13 fertilizer in early March. As soon as you see that fruit has set, an application of nitrogen should be applied.
Training and Pruning
Muscadine grapes should be planted during the dormant season (December through February). One- and two-year-old plants are available but two-year-old plants do appear to be more vigorous. No soil preparation is needed for muscadines, but they do benefit from the application of and organic mulch and require good drainage.
There are two main training systems commonly being used to train muscadines. The cordon system for muscadines is similar to the one used on bunch grapes. One of the main differences is the spacing.
Muscadines are much more vigorous and require more space. On the cordon system, the plants are spaced 20 to 25 feet apart in the row and the rows are spaced 10 to 12 feet apart. The other difference is the spur development. With bunch grapes, select a 1-year-old twig and prune it back to the two buds every six inches, but the spurs are allowed and encouraged to branch until a mass of possible 6 or 8 spurs are remaining at each spur location. Each year, the spur cluster is pruned back to 4 to 8 subspurs with 2 to 3 buds each. Remember, too, when spur pruning that grapes produce on new growth from buds on last year's wood. Wood that is 2 to 3 year's old will not produce like last year's wood.
The other training system is the modified Geneva Double Curtain. This system uses 2 wires spaced about 4 feet apart on the top of 5 ½ - to 6-foot posts. The vines can be planted 15 to 20 feet apart with the rows being 10 to 12 feet apart.
The vines are trained to the top of the trellis and then encouraged to branch, developing a T, where the spurs are to originate. Each year, the vine is pruned back to the lateral, leaving 4 spurs with 2 to 3 buds each. As growth begins in the spring, the strongest shoot on each spur is selected and allowed to grow down its assigned wire. As the vines grow, they will meet the adjacent vine somewhere in the middle. This type of spur pruning is easy to manage and seems to work well for muscadine grapes.
Harvesting
Muscadine grapes are best harvested when fully ripe. You will usually see a color change and the fruit will begin to soften slightly. Because the small clusters rarely ripen all at once, they are harvested by hand or with a catching frame ( a light frame covered in fabric), which is hung under the vines as the vines are shaken or bumped to dislodge the fruit. Harvesting will need to be done 2 to 3 times until all the fruit has been removed.
Growing Muscadine Grapes Made Easy
Olby Beauchard is a grape growing expert and wrote the above article. He is also a contributing author to [http://www.grapegrowingformula.com]. This site provides information and tips on grape growing and wine making. Want to learn more about how to grow grape? Visit my website [http://www.grapegrowingformula.com/growing-muscadine-grapes/] for helpful tips and information on growing, planting, and caring for your own grapes.
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