These are not wild grapes, they are eating and jelly grape vines that were carefully selected for our area but they were allowed to run wild, they were planted into the food forest and they were allowed to climb a support tree there, and climb it they did..

Grapes gone wild in the food forest

The grapes are hanging well over our heads, some are ten plus over our heads, most will be able to be gotten with the ladder in place.. at least 50 percent of the harvest could be harvested from the back side of the tree, the non-sun side. where the grapes were just hanging in little clusters down.

Patrick thinks he can help harvest the grapes above our head if he hits them with his paw!

The Leaves took a heck of a beating, hey all have tons of little holes in them, the best leaves to harvest for canning are a vine that grew up and out and found a spot along a fence line, it raced off and while it is young and did not produce any fruit, it has lots of great looking leaves for me to harvest and can up..

These grapes have amazing depth of flavours this year in the drought

We picked two huge bowlfuls of grapes, and filled the Juicer to the full line and let it go.. beautiful quarts of outstanding juice to be made into syrup or jellies..  The juicer makes the flavour so deep and rick compared to the simmering I am used to, so clear as well..

I have a lot of extra grape vines, I intend to cut them this fall and make a few grape vine wreaths for the farmstead..  how often do you prune your grapevines in the food forest, every year like you would for the main gardens or every second or third year.. Do you let them climb up the tree enough to need a ladder?

He is a total tree cat! Where we go.. he must follow!