Hello, I am helping a school in Vancouver with a food garden. They are interested in having a grape arbor. The soil on site is poor, and I am thinking of suggesting that plants be grown in raised planters. Can someone recommend a tasty grape that will be ripe after school starts that is easy to grow and disease resistant? Will planters work (the ones they have are 1m X 1m X 1m)? What kind of soil mix would you recommend? Karin
I grew a Lamont (white sweet table grape) in a pot for five years before it finally went into the ground. It produced good fruit, I never got to taste much of it cause the kids got to them first. Fruit was ready middle of Sept. You'll need to keep in mind that grape plants don't produce much in the first three years. Carol Ja
Karin: Vanessa Red is very disease resistant for a red seedless, and Interlaken, Himrod, or Einset for "green" seedless. Einset is resistant to botrytis which can be an issue in Vancouver. All are considered early, which means they can ripen completely most years in our climate. The vine(s) will need a full sun exposure. Container growing is practical, keeping in mind that your vines will not have even close to the root system of a ground grown grape. This will limit the quantity of fruit that can be sucessfully grown and ripened, so be prepared to prune appropriately. One cubic meter is great, much more than most container plants get. The soil needs to be easy draining, but you still need to retain some moisture, so a blend containing some peat, some perlite would be good. Try not to buy your peat from the $6 places; a good commercial grade will not break down as quickly, and you won't want to try to ammend it again later.. There are lots of seeded grapes that are also good (even better) to eat, but if your students are like my kids, they're too lazy to negotiate the seeds, so I'd recommend staying with the seedless. Carol: Was your "Lamont" grown here? It's not a variety I've been able to find in the literature, apart from some references to grape growing in Lamont CA near Bakersfield, and Robert Lamont in the Australian grape industry. Do you have any Leads? Ralph
WHOOPS!! Sorry Ralph, Jim was right it is a Lakemont. Not sure what or who I was thinking of when I wrote Lamont. Still tasty grapes. Carol Ja
Thank you Carol I feel better now. I had not heard of a Lamont Grape and Bakersfield is just down the road from me. Best regards, Jim
