How to grow grapes in your backyard?

How we grow Grapes in our backyard garden in Vancouver.

Vitis Vinefera

Grapes are one of nature’s most impressive fruit. It is a very rewarding plant, easy to grow in the garden, and graceful for their beauty and produce.  They are so beautiful when the grapes are green as well as matured.  Home grown grapes are superior in taste, less in pesticide, and cheap too.

Do you know a bunch consists of 25 Ruby Roman grapes cost $250? You need not be rich to have home grown grapes in your back yard. What you require is a will to grow, a small piece 2x 4  feet of sunny land, a trellis and patience for 3-5 years for the vine to establish.

Grapes can be planted on the side of fence, arbors, trellis. If you got 2x4 feet space you can plant a grape and guide them to any place where you got sunshine. It can be grown in large container too. 
Common varieties grown in Vancouver area are Vitis Vinefera, Grape De chunac, Thomson seedless, Concord etc

You can buy plants from the nursery. Heavily rooted, medium size plants are the best.

Grapes essentials

Sunlight	Fruit needs plenty sunlight. But you can plant it anywhere and take the vine to sunny spots
Soil	Slightly acidic.
Soil drainage	Fertile well aerated soil. Heavy clay soil may delay maturing. Heavy clay soil can be changed by adding more organic matter like peat moss   and soil
Pollination	Mainly self-pollinating

When to transplant?

Plant grapes in early spring.  A sloping or raised site provides adequate drainage.

Spacing & Planting

Take a pit 12 to 18 inches wide and deep to avoid overcrowding of roots. Since roots will reach into the soil 12to 18 inches, it is better to improve the soil to that depth. Plant at a depth of 6 inches in Vancouver. If it is colder place like Calgary or Edmonton plant at 8 inches deep.  Spread the roots and cover them. Fill with top soil, one handful of bone meal and little organic material. Water well. When it shoots, remove all but 2 or 3  strong shoots.  Allow 8 x 8 ft for each vine. If the vine is planted from pot, soak the roots in water for 2-3 hours.

Both types- Vitis Vinefera in blue bucket. And
Grape De Chunac grapes in white bucket

First few years of grape

Don’t let the vine bear fruit until the third growing season. Fourth year allow small crop. Fifth year vine should reach full production. Cut all shoots back to 2 or 3 growth buds.

Fertilization

Fertilize vines in winter ie February and March. Fertilizers applied in summer or spring encourages excessive growth.  Apply aged manure in late fall or winter. Mushroom manure, cow manure, bone meal etc are good.  One cup or 250 ml of 20-10-10 NPK high in nitrogen and less phosphorous and potassium  is required for each vine. For vines less than 5 years use half cup fertilizer. Fertilize 8-12 inch away from the stem. If the plant was unattended for a long time to stimulate growth by applying 56 gm (2 ounce) of ammonium-sulphate around the base of each plant in winter or spring. Always water the soil immediately after the fertilizer. Do not overdose. Excess fertilizer may kill the plant. If you feel you have applied more fertilizer , dilute the soil  with water or remove if you can. No need of applying calcium, because grapes like slightly acidic soil.

Pruning

Prune mature grape wine during late winter dormant season or very early spring before growth starts.ie mainly in Nov and Feb in Vancouver area. Don't prune when the new shoots are forming in March April. You will bleed them to death. Pruning means removing 50 to 70% of the previous year’s growth. Pruning is a must in each winter or spring.  There are different styles of pruning depending on the verity and growth habit. Some varieties are pruned long and some require short “spur” pruning. The vine bear fruits on the present year branch. Second pruning can be done after the flowers are blossom. Cut out the shoots which have no fruits to get the energy into fruits.

In Vancouver new buds will form by beginning of May. New bunches of grapes will form by June end. Keep only  3 to 4 bunches of grapes on each shoot if you are planning to produce large perfect grapes. Pinch out tips of shoots in summer after 15 leaves. Eighty bunches for each vine is ideal. Usually buds with in the middle portion bear more fruit than those at the end.

First 5 years
Don’t let the vine bear fruit until the third growing season. Fourth year allow small crop. Fifth year vine should reach full production. Cut all old branches back to 2 or 3 growth buds. New shoots will appear soon.

Harvesting

Grapes will be ready for harvest between August and September. Fruit requires sunlight to ripen. If it is covered with lots of foliage remove some.  Early ripening grapes are better in Vancouver since heavy rain in September and October will spoil the grapes. Moreover animals like raccoon, rats will eat the fruits especially when rains. Enjoy the gracious plant and the fruits.
 If the spring rain starts earlier and new buds grow earlier, and the average temperature in summer remains high, the grape will mature earlier by end of August.  Choose a dry day to harvest. Wet grapes will spoil fast.

Tastes.

Grapes taste sweet, sour, and bitter when we chew the skin. The smell and aroma is mouthwatering. We over emphasize sweetness as a yardstick of its taste. In Pune, India grape farmers sell sweetest one within India and the  less sweet is exported to Europe.  In Europe they prefer less sweet. Appreciate the natural flavor of a fruit than sweetness in it. Seedless is genetically modified (GM). Grape seed contains some vitamins and oil.

Growing grapes  in Kerala.

In Kerala there is an increase in grapes growing. Grapes grow well anywhere in Kerala. What is required is the right variety, pruning, fertilizing, and patience to wait for 4 to 5 years to establish the stem.   
Bangalore purple grows well as per Chandra Sekharan Pillai , a gardener in Trivandrum. see his Video 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOPo38xpZH4
The common fertilizer used by Kerala growers are cow manure, neem cake, peanut cake, and organic material like dried leaves. One farmer told it blooms three times in a year. In Trivandrum one of the farmers pruned and applied the manure on the same day. Click the following URLs to know about Kerala grape growing techniques. You are born to explore the possibilities, and do something creative. Wake up the Creative Genius dormant in you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-j5OIqf3D8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCsBitmO6EI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ww3XntrmhA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6XLiConfcU
http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/x6897e/x6897e06.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewMS5p2oEWA
http://www.nhb.gov.in/Horticulture%20Crops/Grape/Grape1.htm

How to grow blueberries in Vancouver backyard

How to grow Blue berries  in backyards of Vancouver BC

"Will it grow in backyard.” Asked my curious neighbors and friends eight years back when I started planting blue berry in my backyard. They never seen this.  They were doubtful whether it will succeed. But now they are all surprised  to see them growing. Now they are all inspired by our backyard blueberries.

Climate

As per Plant hardiness zone map or agriculture zone map, areas of Vancouver, Burnaby, surrey,  Delta and  Richmond   falls under zone  8b. Since there is microclimate difference between the terrains it may vary between  7 to 8, and   it cannot  precisely classified into a single zone.

Blueberries that can grow in  zone 8b are classified into different classes depending on the ripening.  They all ripen between June and August.

Season Ripening	Name	Remarks
Early ripening	Duke, Sparton. Reka, concord, stanly
Early midseason ripening	Patriot, North country
Mid season	Bluecrop, Blueray,  Northsky, Toro
Mid to late	Chandler
Late season	Brigette, Legacy, Jersy





Blueberry in pot

 The most common ones are Duke, Reka, Bluecrop, Blueray, Sparton, etc.  in Vancouver climate


Blueberry essentials

Sunlight	Fruit needs plenty sunlight
Soil	Acidic between 4.5 and 5.0. Blueberries are like heather and  rhododendrons. Most of the other  fruits do well between 5.5 and 6.5.
Soil drainage	Adequate draining is important.
pollination	Mainly self-pollinating, not all. But it will be better to have different varieties within 100 feet, so bees can travel and do cross pollination.

Spacing.



Blueberry in pot in beginning of spring

Blueberries can be planted between 6 feet  to 8 feet apart, but in back yard 4 to 6 ft is enough. It is better to plant them in short blocks like 4 or more different types in one block rather than in long big rows. With this you can control the PH or acidity of the soil in one block by adding ammonium sulphate or organic material. This will help cross pollination between plants too. 

When to transplant?.

Transplant it in early spring or fall. Dig a hole 2 ft deep, 18 inch wide.  If the soil is not acidic add 50 ml garden Sulphur. Spread peat moss, one fourth sand and cotton seed meal at the bottom and around the pit. Wet fully or soak the pot 2-3 hours before planting. Plant the blueberry. While transplanting, place them on the same level with the ground as was in the pot. Don’t plant it deeper or bury the crown.

Soil
Plants require right Ph to absorb nutrients. To make the soil acidic mature plants need 6 oz or 170gm ammonium sulphate at each application. Apply first  in early spring and then second  in late spring  when berries are first formed. Dissolve in water  just before applying.  or water after application

  Container

If grown in container remove from the pot lightly rough up the surface of the root ball every year. Cover the roots with ½ inch soil or peat moss. Water well.

Fertilizing

Blueberries like acidic fertilizer like Azalea or Rhody. Use 1 ounce or  2 table spoons of 10-20-10 ie NPK or similar in late spring for newly planted stock when buds begin to break in the spring.  Six weeks after applying fertilizer  apply two tablespoons of ammonium sulphate per plant. Continue ammonium sulphate application at six weeks intervals two or more times during season. Caution: Blue berries are very sensitive to over fertilization. Frequent manuring is better than overdose. For subsequent use apply 1 ounce in early spring and again in late spring for best results.  After fertilizing always water well. Or dissolve in water.  Add fertilizer away from the stem.

Caution
Avoid using fresh cow or steer manure.  Never use mushroom manure since it may contain salt. You will kill the plant. Avoid homemade compost too, since it may be sticky on the roots and it may contain salt. It is sticky  too acts like clay  and the roots cannot breathe easily. I killed around 20 plants by using mushroom manure and home-made sticky compost.

Mulching.

It is better to Keep 2"-4” mulch over the roots to conserve moisture, to add organic matter and to  prevent weeds. Add grass clippings, bark mulch, dried leaves, sawdust, etc are good every year. The fibrous roots will establish rapidly on the top mulch.

Pruning.

It is better to allow new plants to get established before bearing fruit. Avoid bearing the fruit on the first year. Keep minimal or avoid fruits in the first 3 years by pinching the blossom.  Prune the base growth to let it grow higher.

1. Cut  old, weak , low spreading branches near ground to soil level in every  2-3 years during winter. Leave mainly strong erect branches.
2. Prune dead wood, and non-vigorous branches.
3. Thin out to get a balance.
4. Pruning to be done when the leaves are fallen. In BC it is November. Keep only 6 to  8 shoots in a more than 10 year old bush.

Blueberries can be easily grown in the backyards of Vancouver, Burnaby, Surrey, Delta, Coquitlam  etc. I am growing them for the last eight years. You will get delicious organic fresh fruits from June to August at your convenience. Enjoy the organic fruits.

Burnaby backyard garden 2015

Burnaby backyard garden 2015 .

The weather was good.  Our planning went well. We have grown, kale, Swiss chard, beans, tomatoes, grapes, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, apple, and plum in our small backyard. We shared the produce with our friends and relatives. We saved some produce for the winter months in the freezer. We kept the seeds for next year.

When thousands of backyards are wasted with weeds and grass, we fed honey bees  and humming birds with honey from the flowers, birds with seeds, raccoons  with grapes, and our friends with organic vegetables. We all share the same garden God created. We go hand in hand. There are plenty people who don't have a piece of land to grow veg. When we share our produce with our friends  they are so happy of the organic vegetables. Some of them texted " Thank you so much for the most delicious vegetables." Yes, organic food is tastier, nutritious and pesticide free.

Look at the following table, vegetables we Vancouverians import from other countries.

Country	City	Distance-KM	Vegetables and fruits
USA	California	1750	Cauliflower, broccoli, tomatoes, plum, apple
Mexico	Mexico city	4767	Tomatoes, Kale,
China	Beijing	8572	Garlic, Ginger, egg plant
Ecuador		7132	Curry leaves
Peru		8015	Quinoa

 We can substitute  many vegetables with the locally grown  vegetables. Our old generations were living healthy with the locally grown food for centuries together. They were much healthier than us.

Why backyard veg is superior to imported veg

Research has shown vegetable we buy from supermarket loses up to 57% of nutrients on its ways from the farm to kitchen but the pesticides won't deplete that fast.   To reach the destination without spoiling, the produce is harvested  before  it is matured. Most of them are sprayed with fungicide while being transported. When imported veg is farm grown they are often sprayed with pesticide.  Imported veg are costlier than locally grown because they require chemicals or thermal control to keep the shelf life . They have to be safely transported form long distance. So locally grown is mostly pesticide free, economical,  fresh, nutrient,  and tasty.

If every household is trying to grow little in their backyard like Kale, Swiss chard, garlic, curry leaves, egg plant, tomatoes etc. we can reduce this huge imports as well save more.

 God has given the land to produce the food. Many of us won't realize it. We make huge mansions on it and a flower garden in front, mainly to show others. They realize the importance of a kitchen garden only when they are stuck with cancer or diabetes or other illness. Sometimes it is too late. By gardening  at our back yard, we did our part. We multiplied the resources and  talents God has given. If we can produce this much, you too can. We will guide and educate you to grow organic food that is delicious and pesticide free for your family and for the community. Let us build a healthy community and a healthy future generation.

Curry leaves, a tropical plant

Gold plum



Gold plum, very delicious,  very rare to be seen in the market. 

Gold plum- on the way to friends and  freezer

Matured pole beans. open the pod and keep in freezer for winter soups.




Most delicious yellow tomato we tasted. Lemon boy.Star of 2015

Pole beans



How we take seeds from tomato.

Kale

Fig- This tree is  the child from the biggest fig tree in Vancouver

Blue hubbard squash . Very tasty closer to kabocha squash

Blue hubbard squash cut.

Pole beans # 1 tender for soup or  curry.
#2 ready to open . Keep in freezer for winter soup, avial and sambar.
 #3. Dried ready for seed.