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September 16, 2025

This Week's Garden Gab​
​GRAPE ADVENTURES

Hi Reader!

I'm the kind of gardener that will try to grow anything, but growing grapes was not on my radar at all.

Early one Sunday morning in the Fall of 2023, I stopped at a Walmart before church to pick up something in the gardening department. Passing through I saw a bin of discounted grapes. All were about $6 each.

They were bare root and about 12" tall... Concord, White, and Red options. I was all in. I picked a RED SEEDLESS variety and I had big plans for that little grape baby.

In this edition:

• Planting the new grape vine
• Summertime blooms
• Fall Grapes everywhere
• What I did with them

Planting:

I was so excited to plant the grapevine. I'd read they could be grown in a container so that was my plan. I put the vine in a 10 gallon tall grow bag and sat it in a sunny part of my yard.

When the weather turned cold I thought I should bring it inside but when I tried to lift it, the main root of the plant had grown through the grow bag and into the ground. That grapevine wasn't going anywhere. So, I protected it from the cold and had little hope for it.

However, in the Spring of last year, it started leafing out.

It went through the summer heat, no flowers but it looked happy.

It lost all it's leaves last winter but this year it put on a ton of leaves and flowers. It flowered a lot!

All those little flowers turned into tiny grape clusters! I was so excited. The thing was growing so fast that I had to rig some kind of a trellis!

I'm not good at building anything but I took my 6-foot stakes, ladder mesh, and zip-ties, and I Lego-ed a pretty sturdy arch trellis that still stands today.

All summer long I watched this vine cover the trellis and make a beautiful covered arch, all while the grapes matured and sweetened. I was so excited! This variety would be excellent for dehydrating to make raisins. I put hosiery and/or organza bags on the grapes to protect them from the birds and squirrels.

​

Just a couple of weeks ago, I walked out there near the vine and I got the strongest whiff of wine! The whole area smelled like fresh squeezed grapes. I knew it was nearing the time to pick them.

A couple of days ago, I picked grapes!

I harvested 12-lbs of beautiful grapes!

There was just one problem.

When I tasted them, they were NOT SEEDLESS! UUUGGGGGHHH!!!! Plus, the insides were like Muscadines! I don't like muscadines because of the jelly-like innards. YUCK!

I was so disappointed!

They were very sweet though, even the green ones were sweet. The taste was on point! But I didn't want any of them.

So, what was I going to do with 12-lbs of grapes that I didn't want? I wasn't about to waste them so I had to figure out what I could make. I didn't want to Can them or make jelly/jam, however, in my search I saw a simple recipe for ..... GRAPE JUICE! 🍇🍇🍇

I did it!

The recipe was so easy! I will post below in case you ever run into an abundance of grapes.

In the stock pot, I added the grapes with all stems removed. I covered them with water and turned it on a medium heat. I mashed them a bit after they heated up, then let them simmer another 30 minutes or so.

Then I strained the a few times to remove the seeds and skins which had all separated. The recipe said add sugar to taste but when I tasted the juice, it didn't need anything else!

It was naturally sweet and delicious.... and such a pretty color!

I put the juice in mason jars and will put a couple quarts in the freezer.

I had no intention of making Grape Juice but this is what I'd call a happy accident! Nothing gone to waste. My time and effort in growing the vine and trellising it was all worth it.

I am not giving up on growing a grapevine though. I've already chosen a variety from a reputable nursery that is truly SEEDLESS. I've learned a LOT buy growing a vine this year so I am ready for this next season of growing grapes!

Edification: GRAPE JUICE RECIPE​

You can download the recipe at the link below! ENJOY!

​Easy Homemade Grape Juice - WholeMade Homestead.pdf​

That's all I have for this edition. Feel free to write me at jangardener@gardenease.org if you have any questions or comments.

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I'll see you in the next edition!

Jan🤗

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If you have questions, comments, praises, complaints, or ideas about gardening or about the newsletter, you can reach me at: jangardener@gardenease.org