The grape varieties grown by home gardeners are hybrids or crosses among two or more distinct species.
The European wine grape, Vitis vinifera, is part of most grape varieties used for grape juice and wines.
The fox grape— labrusca, the muscadine grape—rotundifolia, and the Southern summer grape have all been used as parents.
In the past several years, many varieties have appeared on the market. Some have been produced primarily for the humid Northeast, others for the Prairie States, and still more distinctive ones for the West Coast.
Culture of Grapes
The culture of grapes in the home garden does not vary greatly from one section of the country to another.
The fruit clusters arise from buds on two-year wood, so growers should strive to produce ample two-year wood to increase the yield.
This is brought about by severely pruning the wood that has borne grapes the previous year and adding ample plant food in the soil to stimulate rapid growth.
There is a difference of opinion among commercial vineyard operators as to the time and type of fertilization.
Soil conditions govern these, depth of the soil, amount of soil drainage, and the kinds of grapes suitable for the area.
Preferred Kinds of Grapes
Until recently, most varieties grown in the Northeast were selections or crosses of native species. Today desirable varieties also have European crosses in them.
One of the preferred kinds for the Northeast is Seneca, an early white grape, which is almost purely vinifera.
Ontario, another desirable white grape for this section, is distinctly American. Finally, Delaware is the standard red variety of superior quality.
Concord is still predominant as a black grape, even though it is one of the oldest in the area. Buffalo is a midseason blue dessert grape. Alden is equally fine, as is Steuben, which is noted for its spicy flavor.
With the production of seedless varieties suitable for the Northeast, an increasing number of home gardeners are planting Interlaken Seedless and Himrod. These are both early grapes, while Romulus is a midseason type.
In The Northern Part of The Midwest
The grapes grown in the East do not prosper. Winter extremes are too great, and many vines are injured.
However, there are high-quality varieties for the Northern Prairie, among which are Beta and Bluejay, which thrive as far north as Southern Manitoba.
Fredonia, which is popular in the East, and Moore’s Early are also hardy. Portland and Lindley do well in many areas.
The Southern Plains
Most of the varieties are suitable for the East and can also be grown for the Southern Plains, with Fredonia, Delaware, Ontario, Urbana, and Kendaia among the more popular.
Many French hybrid grapes are being grown in the area, especially from Indiana to Missouri.
Among those most often seen are Seibel 5279, an early white, and Seibel 13053, a blue grape with medium clusters which is productive of red or rose wine.
Couderc, a late midseason blue, has compact clusters and medium-sized berries. Among the seedless types, Himrod and Concord Seedless are the most popular.
In the South, muscadine varieties dominate, with Eden, Scuppernong, and Thomas popular. Delaware, Catawba, and Moore’s Early also thrive.
In The Far West
The home gardener grows grapes for table use and unfermented juice. The table grapes grown in California are of European species.
The natives and hybrids with vinifera, are known as slip grapes because the pulp slips free from the skin but does not in the European grapes.
Among the table grapes grown in the far West are Pearl and Csaba, which has a muscat flavor.
Delight, a seedless variety, is popular from Vancouver to California, but the most popular table grape is Thompson Seedless, a high-quality product. Ribier is a black table grape, while Scarlet has less color but equal quality.
In the Northwest, several of the varieties popular in the Northeast also thrive, especially Fredonia, Seneca, Niagara, Delaware, and Concord.
44659 by Peter Tew