Growing Grapes

When we started our grapevines in 2008 we had only chosen them to provide shade over our rabbit hutches. If you've ever experienced Texas direct sun, you know that it's super bright and extremely hot even in May. The rabbits needed shade and we needed something that wouldn't harm them if they got ahold of a leaf or two. There wasn't much plans for what kind of grapes we wanted. We just started planting whatever we found on sale.  With the vigorous vine growth, dark red seeded grapes and prolific production I'm sure we will figure it out. I had kept the tags for them, so now all I need to do is find them.

Little did we know back then that we had stumbled upon a real winner for shade. This is only TWO grapevines. They span an area of over 50 ft by almost 8 ft. They are loaded with grapes and if everything works out, we will have a bumper crop this year.

Trying to figure out what to do with all of the grapes is going to be a challenge. Jelly is at the top of the list for sure and maybe a start to some wine-making. We will just have to see what works out. In the mean time, I'm going to try cooking some of the leaves for a delicious recipe of Stuffed Grape Leaves. We've tried them at Costco and liked them.  I can't wait to try the new recipe.

Developing Grapes

Last year we began harvesting grapes in late August so I better start planning on what I need to do. I've started buying more jelly jars, but I don't have a lick of wine-making equipment or know how. This will be yet another test of how fast I can learn it. It seems to be the way we work around here!

Ripe Grapes 2010

Whatever we choose to do will be a bonus for us. The vines are doing a great job of adding much needed shade anyway. Hopefully there will be more stories to tell about what these grapevines can do for us.