How about a few notes from anyone growing grapes in Maine. What types do you grow? What are the difficulties?
I have seen a few around but not many especially in Washington County.
Thanks
I have Lakemont and Concord, both are doing well. I am new to grapes though, and further south than you, so try looking on the Fruit forum for more info.
I grow Concord, makes a great grape jelly. My grape vines are about 12 years old and have been transplanted to different locations and once out of the ground in bare root and peat for a year twince in its life time too, grapes are amazingly resilent for me.
If I remeber I will ask my husband what kinds he grows. there is a white grape and I cant remember the name of it.
There were a couple of neglected 50+ year old Concord type black slip-skin grapevines on the southern Maine property I purchased in 2000 that I have tried to "bring back". lack of full day sun makes ripening iffy with indian summer needed to achieve good sugar levels. I also have fungal and insect attacks every year that I don't really fight. That being said I do get a small harvest every year and could be making jam/jelly. Usually we just eat whatever is ripe out of hand as we pass by and throw the sour ones to the chickens at the end of the season. And they do look nice on the arbor I built for them.
I have a vine for ornamental purposes on a trellis on the North side of the house, but it has been skeletonized by bugs, more than other years. I sprayed, and hopefully killed them off. I saw big ugly caterpillars that looked somewhat like tomato hornworms. They were a pinky brown & then turned light green. They seem to roll up leaves for hatching, so I am not sure if the insecticide could get inside to kill whatever it is that is inside. I did pick off the rolled leaves I could reach & stomped on them.
There have been some wild grapes growing in a back field of my house that have been there 30+ years. I am not sure of varietal but used to eat them off the vine years ago and they were tart but good. I am mid coast area.
