growing grapes

Sure, your plan will work. You will need bird netting after the grapes go into verasion - start turning color I don't know where you live but you can do an internet search for nurseries that sell what you are looking for or call your county agriculture department.

Some things to consider;

• A mature (which is many years away!) plant will likely yield 8 to 10 pounds of fruit - depending on how you trellis, prune, vine maturity, climate,etc. It takes about 15 pounds to yield a gallon of finished wine. (6 to 7 gallons per 100 pounds of fruit). If you only have a few plants, your biggest problem may be producing enough fruit to produce a manageable quantitiy of wine. 6 vines will likely produce fruit for about 3 gallons; personally, I find small quantities like that harder to work with. Do you have room for another 6 vines?

• Where are you located? Here in northern california there are numerous quality vine (grafted field plantings) sources - but the smallest lots they sell are usually bundles of 25. For small quantities like yours, I suggest two strategies; 1. local nursery. But be REAL careful about source - and ensure that the vines have been cleared by your County Ag department. 2. Go get cuttings from existing vines and 'grow your own'.

• You'll likely plant in the spring - after frosts, but before bud break. Around these parts, that usually means early March.

• Plan on 3 years before you can take fruit with grafted field plants; 4 years on self started cuttings.

Last - be prepared for an obsession. I started with the idea of "a few vines". I now have around 200 amongst three different varietals!

good luck -

Did I read that right? 200 plants? You must have some land. :) *blush* (with envy) -- that's my dream too. Right now, it's all about getting professional grapes from local vineyards..

Cheers,

David