Grapes are easy to grow, they're fast growing, can be adapted to all
parts of the country, are fun to eat, can be eaten fresh, in juice or
dried and they make excellent ornamental plants and a great arbor
plant. Today we're in the central valley of California visiting a
private home that has integrated formal European gardens with the lush
California tradition of growing fruit, especially grapes. Here we'll
learn about planting and growing grapes, training and trellising them
and cooking with them in unusual dishes.
Rebecca is a Garden Smart viewer that lives in the central valley of
California. She has a beautiful home and gardens. The gardens are the
formal style with unusual plantings. She, her husband and daughter love
Europe and were trying to create something that looked more European
than the San Joaquin Valley, which they love. The yard has a pool and
fountains and beautiful topiaries and different types of roses, which
are enormous in the spring. They used the boxwood hedges to frame
certain plantings and create outdoor rooms. They've had some great
parties in the back yard, the patios are wonderful. Over 1 patio hangs
a chandelier from a tree. They have a seating and eating area beneath
their grapevines. They also have a lot of unusual trees, including a
lot of fruit trees. They decided that if they were to have a tree it
must provide multiple functions. Thus when they bought the house 15
years ago they gutted the landscape and began replanting with fruit
trees. They probably have 30 or 40 different varieties of trees, most
of which are fruit bearing and provide the most amazing display of
color during the spring. Charlie particularly likes the big Pecan tree
which provides a lot of shade. There are also peach and plum trees. One
is an Elberta Peach, it is a free stone and wonderful for baking, very
juicy. The color is wonderful and since the fruit is ripe today, you
can peel the skin off. This peach is great fresh, but because it is a
little soft the flesh doesn't hold up when canning. The plum is an
Elephants Heart and it too has a great color and is very sweet and
beautiful. There are several plants that have just "arrived," things
like Morning Glory. Their neighbors have the plant and it has moved in
here, as well. Rebecca also has 3 fig trees, although they have never
planted fig trees. This area is called Fig Garden, at the turn of the
century, the area was divided into 6 acre lots, for gentlemen farmers.
And those farmers grew figs. So many years later figs are volunteers,
they just show up. Also this backyard has outdoor rooms intentionally
placed so they can be enjoyed. The formal hedges have soft branches,
etc. cascading over them. In one is the Elberta peach which has a Royal
Anne Cherry next to it which is a pretty yellow cherry. Next to it is a
White Indian peach, then a triple graft Plum. It has Kelsey plums,
Santa Rosa plums and one other Rebecca can't remember. Next to that is
a nectarine. Since this is California they just must have grapes and a
beautiful grape arbor. To learn more about grapes we turn to Kevin
Neely, Rebecca's old friend, from kindergarden. Kevin is a local
nurseryman and local grape expert.
Kevin talks to us today about planting and raising grapes. Kevin has
started digging a hole for a grape vine, this area has great soil for
grapes. Grapes like a location with full sun and very well drained
sandy loam fertile soil. You can use a good premium planter mix with
native soil as a backfill mix. Grapes are long lived so you want to
amend the soil when planting. In this mix there is fir bark, kelp,
oyster shell and a little manure. Watering depends on the type of
grape. The hole Kevin is digging is about twice the width of the root
ball and the depth is about the same as the root ball. Kevin is
planting a variety called Lady Finger, which is an excellent green
table grape and one of the most popular in the Fresno area. Thompson
Seedless and the Flame Seedless are two others that love heat. People
want a seedless grape thus have gone to the Thompson Seedless, Flame
Seedless and The Lady Finger, all can be thrown in the refrigerator and
popped in your mouth, like candy. It's a matter of personal preference
whether one chooses a green grape, a red grape or a blue grape. If in
the north you'll need to be more selective about grape varieties and
need to grow a more hardy variety. Do a little research online and you
can find the right one for your area. When planting look at the roots,
this plant is good, very well rooted. If it were heavily rooted, break
them apart a little. Kevin pulls it out of the container and puts it in
the ground. This is critical, make sure that the top of the root ball
after planting is a little above grade. You want a slope. If it were
low, water could pocket in there, causing root rot. Plant it like it
was in the container, with a little of the roots exposed to the air.
Use your backfill and gently slope the soil away from the top of the
root ball. This soil is sandy loam, which is excellent for grapes
because it has excellent drainage and provides the nutrients needed.
Add a little water to pack it down, help it settle in. Once in the
ground Kevin looks at staking. You want a good sturdy stake, then put
it into the ground maybe 2 feet because it will support the grape for
the duration. At some point you will probably add a wire system at the
top. Usually wire is placed 2 to 2 and 1/2 feet above grade with the
top wire approximately 5 feet above grade. That is an individual
decision, the room you have will help make the decision. One of the
biggest problems our viewers have with grapes is how to train them and
prune them. How do we get the best grape production? Kevin considers
this plant to be about 1 year old. He looks for the strongest shoot or
the most vigorous to create the trunk. He brings it to the stake and
with a good twine or tree tie, ties it to the stake. This will
ultimately be the big trunk we normally associate with grape vines.
Once you've selected the trunk and attached it, you can then prune
every lateral branch off because you want all the nutrients to go to
the main trunk and onto the leaf surface so it grows and gets stronger.
After several years of growth, Kevin would pinch the main shoot,
creating some lateral growth or shoots. Those shoots will come out the
side. At that point you can put up a wire system or make a trellis
system to train the shoots laterally, that will be the fruit wood.
People tend to not prune grape vines enough thereby not getting a lot
of grape production. All the energy is going into the vegetative growth
when you want it to go into the fruit. When pruning for winter go back
4 to 8 buds on the laterals. Depending on the variety you can either
spur prune or cane prune. Since there are a lot of steps to pruning
grapes go online to your county extension agent or our web site has a
link below. Once a grape vine is growing well it could produce grapes
for many years. To keep them growing Kevin likes a balanced fertilizer,
a triple 15 or 16 works well. If the plant is starting to grape out
Kevin suggests using something with a low nitrogen to get the root
system established before you push a lot of growth. If using a good
slow release fertilizer you can put it on 3 times a year and it won't
burn.
We next look at growing grapes on arbors and look at those
requirements. When vines are large and there a many of them there is a
lot of weight, thus a strong structure is needed. This arbor has 4 x
4's with 2 x 6's supporting it. It is a beautiful piece of woodworking
but here the arbor is used more for ambience and aesthetics than for
producing grapes. In a backyard environment like this the homeowner
usually doesn't prune properly, not like in a commercial operation. The
homeowner usually just cuts them back if they get too dense. The trunk
will get large, even more so it you take off the sideshoots. If growing
grapes in a lawn area be careful if using herbicides. Grapes are very
sensitive to a number of herbicides, so keep lawn herbicides away from
grape vines. When harvesting grapes off the vine, wait until they sugar
up, so you can eat them. Many eat the grapes too soon. However if
harvesting for jelly you might want to pick them on the tart side but
for table use pick them when they taste the best, for juice let them go
over a little, allow them to build up sugars so they will be even
sweeter. Thank you Kevin for showing us about grapes-how to select
varieties, plant them, train them, trellis them and grow them. We
appreciate the lesson.
Adams Holland with Echo restaurant in Fresno today is with Jerri Banks
a New York based, beverage designer, one of the worlds most famous.
Jerri loves using grapes in wine. For this drink she also uses several
other fresh ingredients, fresh lemon thyme and Cardamon pods. She
crushes the grapes and the other ingredients, adds some simple syrup
and some sliced lemon to the white wine. Jerri likes to add a few
grapes as a garnish. It makes a delicious drink.
We've seen what grapes look like in a backyard setting now we look at a
commercial setting. Jim Howard with the California Table Grape
Commission provides us with some interesting grape facts. These grapes
are Crimson Seedless, one of the finest varieties you'll find in local
stores. These grapes need about another month before harvesting, at
that point they'll turn uniformly red, sweet and delicious. When ready
they'll be shipped to a store near you or to more than 75 countries
worldwide. California produces 98% of the fresh grapes grown in the
U.S. The average American eats more than 8 pounds of fresh grapes every
year. That's a good thing because grapes are more than a delicious and
wonderful snack, they're also packed with phytonutrients, compounds
found throughout the grape but particularly in the skins of the grapes
of all 3 colors. Research is finding that those compounds can fight
diseases like cancer and heart disease. Red wine is considered
beneficial to your health. Red wine is made from grapes and that is
where those nutrients come from. A good eating tip- next time wash your
grapes, dry them, put them in the freezer, when it's hot you'll have a
delicious little bite sized popscicle. As well, grapes can be used in a
variety of dishes and we next visit a wonderful chef.
Malachi Harland is the executive chef at the Chef's Table. Malachi
loves using grapes because of their versatility. He uses them in dishes
ranging from frosted grapes to a savory duck sauce both of which he
will prepare today.
He starts with a Maple Leaf Duck breast. He has seasoned it lightly
with salt and pepper and browned it, skin side down over a low flame
for about 10 to 15 minutes, until it's cooked about medium rare. He
adds a mixture of mushrooms-oyster mushrooms, beach mushrooms and baby
shitake mushrooms. Any mushrooms you can buy from your local store
would work. Saute them lightly in a little butter. He then prepares the
sauce. Malachi uses port wine that has been reduced half way, then a
little whole butter, some fresh ground black cracked pepper and some
pickled grapes. Add about 1 ounce per serving of the port wine to the
pan. Then use equal parts of pickled grapes. Once this comes to a
simmer which happens quickly, add a teaspoon of butter, it blends
beautifully and starts looking like a sauce, thickening up nicely. Add
a little bit of fresh chives to the mushrooms. Spoon them on the plate,
they will be on the bottom. Next add a little watercress to make a
little salad, place them on top of the mushrooms, being careful not to
bruise them. Let the duck cool for a good 5 minutes, allowing the
juices inside to redistribute. Slice the duck, with the resulting
pieces medium rare in the middle. Put the end pieces down first, put
some grapes around, then drizzle on the sauce. It has a nice color from
the port and it tastes great. It is simple to put together, delicious
and fun to make.
Now that we have our main dish Malachi has a great, simple desert. He
calls this frosted grapes. Here they serve them as a garnish for
champaign and green grape creme brule or as an after dinner treat
alongside coffee or something else before going home. First you take
some egg whites, one egg white for a dozen grapes works well. Froth the
egg white with a whisk, it takes about 20 seconds. Then take the
grapes, any grape will do, coat each grape with the egg white froth,
then drain them slightly, then roll them in sugar. It's like making
snowballs. Let them air dry. The sugar will become slightly crunchy but
is a nice contrast to the sweet center. It is nice and tasty yet still
has that grape flavor.
Malachi thank you for showing us these recipes. They are delicious.
Links:
Kevin McNeely, Riverside Landscape and Nursery Supplies (559-275-1891)
Piccadilly Inn, Shaw Avenue
The Chef's Table
California Table Grape Commission
Fresno County Office of Tourism & Film
Grapes Varieties for the North
Pruning Grapes
Recipe: 'Sans'gria
Blanco
Recipe: Maple Leaf Duck Breast
Recipe: Frosted Grapes
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