Hand Pollinating Squash

Its that time again. The squash plants are blooming! Time to get out the tape and bright ribbon and start pollinating by hand! I love growing squash! I am obsessed with squash like other gardeners are obsessed with tomatoes! Since bees are the only insect that pollinate squash, I started doing the job myself in recent years. It has made a big difference in the number of squash produced. If you usually get a lot of flowers and very few fruits, you may have a pollination problem. Hand pollinating is so easy and its fun! (I think its fun anyway. You may look at it as a lot of work.)


Squash/pumpkin plants, unlike a lot of other vegetables and ornamentals, have both male and female blossoms. The male and female blossoms are very easy to tell apart.

The female blossoms have a receptacle to receive the pollen. This is a female squash/pumpkin blossom:

The male blossom has a small stick covered with pollen. This is a male squash/pumpkin blossom:

The male blossoms grow on a tall stalk, usually towards the center of the plant.

As you can probably guess, the object here is to get the pollen from the male blossom into the receptacle of the female blossom. Easy!

At first I used a paintbrush or a finger to capture the pollen and transport it, but shortly discarded that method. Its not necessary. There are usually several male flowers open for every female, so I just pick a male flower, remove the petals and rub the pollen against the female receptacle. You can use one male flower to pollinate 2-3 female flowers, if necessary.

Occasionally there will be a few female flowers open early without any male open to pollinate them. This can be frustrating! That happened to me this year. There were two female ambercup squash flowers open early and no males yet. I pollinated these with male blossoms from a buttercup squash plant nearby. They are both maxima so I know they will cross pollinate. Most of the squash I grow are maxima.

I do want pure seed to save for next year but I knew there would be a lot more squash blossoms coming later. More than enough to ensure pure seed for next year.

It is important, when pollinating to ensure pure seed for the following year, to pollinate the blossoms as soon as they open, very early in the morning of their first day before they are likely to be pollinated by a bee. I went out at dawn a few days later, my usual time, and found several female flowers just opening. Perfect!

I pollinated these with pollen from a just opening male flower of the same type and taped the blossom shut with masking tape. You can see the little bulb at the base of the female blossom.

This is a buttercup female blossom just opened this morning, pollinated and taped shut to prevent further contamination from bees with pollen from other maxima squash growing nearby. Cross pollinating squash plants won’t affect this year’s produce at all, but it will mix up what you get from the seeds the following year.

Some people advocate going out in the early evening and taping shut any female and male blossoms that you think will open for the first time the following morning. This will prevent any pollination before you get to them. I have not found this to be necessary as I am usually out in the garden at dawn, anyway.

I marked the hand pollinated ones with a bright pink ribbon so that I will know it is a “seed” squash when it is harvested. Anything that will last through the summer and into the fall and still be recognizable will do. It doesn’t have to be pink!

When fall comes I will leave these ones on the vine as long as possible to ensure ripeness. The squash grown for seed will need to be very ripe to get the best developed and driest seed. These will sit in the field in the sun long after the vines have died from frost. Then they will be brought inside and put in the basement to age at least another month before being cut open and used.

This year (2014) I have growing: 12 hills of ambercup and 10 hills of turban buttercup with 3-4 plants per hill of each, 3 pink banana squash plants, 1 spaghetti squash plant, 1 “upper ground sweet potato” squash plant, 2 “sweet mama” squash plants, 3 Hopi black squash plants, approx 4 Hopi gray squash plants and 2 acorn squash plants. Most of the ones I grew this year, except the acorn, are maxima, so cross pollinating would be a problem if done naturally.

I saved a bag full of good dry seed from the giant blue hubbard I grew last year but decided not to grow it again. Its not as sweet as the ambercup, which is delicious, but it is, nevertheless, a tasty dry squash. The hubbards are also more work to process and have to be cut with the axe, or a very sturdy knife and a hammer. I didn’t need another variety this year, so I left it out.

I planted the Hopi squash mainly for seed, although I have read that the gray is one of the best keepers out there. These Hopi squash were the original ones used for the “three sisters” system originating with the Hopi Indians. When I looked into growing them a few years ago the seed was almost impossible to find. I did manage to find one lady who sent me some in a trade and I have kept them until this year. I had my doubts that they would germinate after three years, but they did! They were slow to germinate and I am not sure they will have time to produce mature fruit this year, but I have high hopes! I do so want those seed to preserve and sell next year! We are losing so many good heritage varieties of all our vegetables!

I like to putter in the garden. I often just walk around and look and putter when I am relaxing. This is when I do the pollinating of squash blossoms, tying up and de-suckering the tomatoes, lifting up the stray cucumber vines and so forth – the little things. I keep everything I need in a little basket with a handle and take it out with me on all of my walks. I don’t take the hoe!

Every part of the squash plant can be eaten, including the leaves and tender shoots.

I plan to cut off the side shoots when it gets too late for the plant to grow squash that will ripen in time. These tender shoots are going into soups and stews. I want to try them chopped in omelets this year. The young leaves can be picked now and used as wraps around some meaty concoction, much like a grape leaf can. We have lots of wild grapes too. I think I’ll experiment this summer with leaf wraps!

I have collected a selection of squash recipes that we have found to be delicious and have made many times. Winter squash and sweet pumpkin are interchangeable in any recipe, since they are the same thing. No canned pumpkin will ever taste as good as the home grown vegetable.

*Note: All spices are dried and ground. If you wish to use fresh, you will need to research the amount.

****************************************

Squash Pie

1 1/2 cup squash, cooked, mashed and unseasoned
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 eggs
2 teaspoon all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon mace
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk

Mix all dry ingredients together. Add squash. Beat eggs in another bowl and add milk to eggs, then add to squash mixture. Pour into an unbaked pastry lined pan. Bake at 350F until firm in center, about 1 hour.

****************************************Squash Loaf

3 cups sugar
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon cloves
2/3 cup water
3 1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon allspice or 1/2 tsp mace
1 cup oil
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 1/2 cup squash, cooked, mashed and unseasoned
2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Heat oven to 350F, grease 3 loaf pans. Mix sugar, oil and eggs. Add squash. Sift together all dry ingredients and add to squash mixture. Add water and pour into pans. Bake 1 hour.

****************************************

Squash Soup

2 pounds uncooked squash
1.5 pints of stock, chicken or vegetable (can be made with bouillon)
1 medium onion, diced
1 garlic clove, crushed
Cream to add before serving, amount is optional
Salt and pepper to taste.
Sprinkle of nutmeg or cinnamon, optional

In a large saucepan, slice and saute the garlic and onion in oil or butter until tender. Add squash, stock, nutmeg or cinnamon, salt and pepper. Boil and cook for 25 minutes until squash is tender. Puree mixture with a blender until smooth and return to saucepan. Before serving, add cream and gently heat. Do not boil.

*Stock amount can be changed, depending on how thick or thin you want your soup.

**Add thick applesauce for a special taste treat.

****************************************

Squash Muffins

1 cup squash, cooked and mashed
1/3 cup oil
1/4 cup light corn syrup
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon mace

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease muffin tin or use papers. Mix together squash, eggs, oil and corn syrup in large bowl. Stir until well mixed. Stir all other dry ingredients together in smaller bowl. Add dry ingredients to squash mixture. Fill greased tins to the top. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until lightly brown on top.

* Very good with raisins added, add raisins to batter if desired.

****************************************

Squash Dessert Squares

1/2 cup shortening
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups squash, cooked, mashed and unseasoned
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease square pan. Beat together shortening, brown sugar and white sugar until light. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in squash. Combine dry ingredients and gradually stir into beaten mixture. Spread in greased pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Cool in pan. Spread with orange icing (optional). Cut into bars.

Seedling Are Coming Up!

 

Russel Lipins

The lupins are coming up! These are Russel Lupins. They come in various colours but purple is the most dominate. Since these are from open pollinated seeds, they are probably purple, but I'm ok with that. The odd one might be a different colour. I'm hoping to get one red one.

These seeds were planted in December and put outside for the remaining winter months. I lost track of them outside when the snow was deep, but found them again a few days ago. I brought them inside and put them under lights in the warm house. Now they are coming up! I planted with them with several other perennial seeds but these are the only ones up, so far. It has only been three days. I'm sure the others will start sprouting in the coming weeks. 

Wintersewing has been successful for me in previous years. Its a good way to germinate perennial seeds that need a winter outside to germinate. 

Super Food Antioxidant Jam

High Bush Cranberries

This year I have decided to make a jam that includes all the "superfood" berries that grow up here. God has really blessed us up here in the wilderness with wild food and medicinal herbs growing all around us! 

Buffalo Berries

This jam will contain: rose hips, wild blueberries, wild strawberries, wild raspberries, Saskatoon berries, high bush cranberries (Viburnam edule), low bush cranberries (also called lingonberries, Vaccinium vitis-idaea ), & a few buffalo berries. Yes, Saskatoon berries grow up here! 

I am collecting and freezing 
the berries now and will make the jam for sale in the winter. 

Low Bush Cranberries - Lingonberries

I am not selling it online, unfortunately. You can only get it in Fort Nelson. 

Wild Crafting in the North

We live in the Northern Rockies of British Columbia, Canada. Short growing season, super long days in summer and short days in winter, but we love it here! The days we get in the winter are short but very sunny. The more southern warm regions of BC are usually rainy and rarely sunny in the winter.

We live in a very small town in the wilderness, the "bush" as it's called. There is little up here but wilderness and this gives us a great deal of access to the wild things.

Bearberry leaves drying under a tarp outside 

I am constantly amazed at the number of medicinal herbs and berries that grow up here! I spend much of my summer time gardening and collecting plants from the surrounding wilderness. I gather as many herbs as I can and hang them to dry out of the sun and rain. Sometimes in the house, sometimes in the shed and some on the porch. I make herbal salves in the winter. 

I recently lost a large amount of yarrow to a bunny rabbit who lives nearby. We occasionally leave things out for him, but this time I didn't leave the yarrow out on purpose. I just didn't think about it and left it outside on a rack to dry under a cover, out of the rain, just until I could get it properly hung to dry. The next morning it was all gone, every last piece! He ate all the fireweed (willow herb) flowers too, not the leaves, just the flowers. I guess he likes fireweed flowers and yarrow. He likes spinach too...

Yarrow drying in the shed

I have learned a lesson here and put all my herb bunches up out of the rabbit's reach, if I don't hang them right away. I don't bother with the feverfew, as I know he won't eat it. Nothing eats feverfew! lol! It's fabulous for headaches, even migraines, but it's the most awful tasting stuff growing. I have gotten used to the taste and am thankful for it, if I have a migraine. If you have migraines, you know what you will go through to get relief! Feverfew doesn't grow wild up here. I plant it on purpose. 

I love yarrow! It's one of my favourite herbs and is good for just about anything. It's particularly good at healing and preventing infection in wounds. It also makes a good herbal tea base. We use a lot of it. 

I guess I will have to collect more fireweed flowers too. They make excellent tea and jam! Fireweed is also called "willow herb" and has some good properties. We may sell the dried fireweed leaves, and the flowers, if I have enough to sell, after the rabbit's visit.

Another herb that grows up here in plenty is usnea, sometimes called "old man's beard". It's not really an herb. It's a lichen that grows on the trees. It is, like yarrow, a marvelous antimicrobial dressing for wounds. It goes into the healing salve, along with the yarrow and several other healing herbs. 

We hope to have our herb and seed store up and running this winter. When we lived in Ontario, we had a successful online seed store and we hope to start it again, selling the seeds along with the dried leaves and salves. 

Cherry Pie Jam

This is one of our favourite jams and it taste just like cherry pie filling! I make it with sour red cherries. They have a different (better for jam) flavour than the black sweet cherries. It's almost a different fruit. 

This jam is made with a little almond extract added. The Almond gives the cherries a great flavour boost and is often added to commercial cherry pies. We love it! Almond is one of my personal favourite flavours and gets added to a lot of things. It really goes well with cherry. I have had a lot of compliments when serving this jam. 

The first thing I do is pit the cherries. You can do this with a cherry pitter but I prefer to just use my hands. I discovered this quick and easy method when we made dozens and dozens of jars of cherry jam for sale in the orchard store in years past. Using a pitter is just not feasible for more than a few cups of cherries. 

I freeze the cherries first. It is necessary to make them soft enough to push the pits out. It also helps break down the cell walls to release the juice. I learned that when making wine years ago. It works for other fruits as well, especially dry things like rhubarb.

Thaw the cherries in a very large bowl until completely soft; then, using clean hands, squish the cherries with your fingers and push each pit out into your hand as you work your fingers through them. If you can get past burying your hands in the juice and cherries, this can be fun. Collect the pits in one hand while pushing them out with the other. Drop them as you work into a small bowl at the side. This will stain your fingers red or purple for a day or so but when you tell people you have been making cherry jam, it suddenly becomes more exciting. Don't promise samples to too many people. This jam is amazing and you won't want to give it all away. You can also buy cherry pitters that do many cherries at one time, but I find them expensive and the work is slower and more tedious. 

When the cherries are all pitted, I run a hand blender through them until they are all finely chopped. I have also, on occasion, squeezed out the pulp as dry as I could get it with my hands, placed it on a cutting board and chopped it, when I didn't have a blender. That works too, but the blended jams are smoother. I blend most of the jams I make. We just like the smooth jams better, personally, than ones with chunky fruit pieces in them. You can always make both kinds and label them "smooth" or "chunky", like peanut butter. We made and sold a lot of jams in our store in the orchard and most people preferred the smooth ones. 

Recipe: 

4 cups chopped, pitted cherries in juice

4 1/2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract

1 small box powdered pectin (Certo)

IMPORTANT NOTE: Do not multiply this recipe. It will not gel unless you make it one recipe with 4 cups of cherries at a time.  

Put the 4 cups of cherries in a pot with a lot of room at the top and put on the stove at medium heat. Stir often to keep the cherries from scorching on the bottom. Add 2 teaspoons of lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon of pure almond extract and one small box of pectin powder. DO NOT add the sugar at this stage. Stir and blend well (I use a whisk for this). I use generic, no name pectin most often. I have used Certo and Family Value. They all work the same if making full sugar jam. Just make sure you follow the directions closely. DO  NOT add the sugar too soon with the pectin. If you do, it won't gel properly.

Bring the cherries, stirring constantly, with lemon juice, almond extract and pectin to a full rolling boil that won't be stirred down. Boil hard for just over one minute. Turn off heat. Slowly add 4 1/2 cups of sugar, stirring well. Turn medium heat back on and continue to stir as it comes to a boil. Bring it to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down again. Let it boil for just over one minute a second time, stirring constantly and watching it closely so it doesn't boil over. If it reaches for the top of the pot, lift it quickly off the heat for a few seconds. Then return it to continue boiling. You may have to do that a few times as it boils. WATCH IT CLOSELY! Jam in the burners and all over the stove is a very sticky and sugary mess to clean up. It's also a waste of fabulous jam! 

Pour into sterile, hot jam/canning jars. Top with sterile seals and rings. Boil in a water bath for a full 10 minutes. Remove and let cool. Remove rings before storing. 

NOTE: I use bleach water to sterilize everything, i.e. jars, seals, rings, spoons, strainers, funnels, lifters. I slid into making jams and jellies from years of making my own organic wines, so aseptic techniques are a habit for me. I sterilize everything used for canning anything and for making things with yeast or bacteria culture, such as yogurt, buttermilk or soft cheese. Bleach works well if thoroughly rinsed. If you don't rinse it well enough, it will kill the yeast and/or bacteria you are trying to grow. Not as necessary in jam making, however. Still...rinse well. You don't want jams that taste like bleach either.

In the water bath, make sure you have at least 2" of water over the jars to get a good seal. Less water and you might have some jars that don't seal. Listen for the pop and make sure every lid is conclave to be sure it is sealed. They should all seal within a minute or two after removing from the water bath. Store in a dark, cool, dry place that doesn't freeze. Refrigerate after opening. Keeps for at least a year when properly sealed and stored. 

If you make cherry jam that doesn't gel, just call it "syrup". Cherry syrup is fantastic on waffles, pancakes, yogurt and ice cream! Try a little in your coffee too!

Baking Winter Squash

We baked our 50+ lb Hopi black squash today. It's the largest squash I have ever grown! Hubby cut it into 16 pieces, each weighing between 1200 and 1500g each.  I knew it was a 50 pounder! 


We wrapped each piece in foil and are baking it today. We can't get it all in the oven at one time, it's so large! 

It lasted a long time and wasn't beginning to go yet. I might have lasted through Feb. We still have another, smaller one that hasn't ripened to full orange yet. I'm sure that one will be good for another month or so, maybe longer. 

I added the knife for size comparison. This squash is a dark, bright orange. Does it have more beta carotene maybe? That would be a big plus. :) 

We love it. We eat it as a cooked veggie with just a pinch of salt and butter. Delicious! It makes great pies, muffins, cookies, loaf and cake squares too! 

This is the longest I have kept one. I think the difference is that this year, I kept it at room temperature instead of in the root cellar. It was dryer and warmer on our dining room floor all winter. 


We go through a lot of squash in a year! 

Bringing in Your Plants

Autumn is just around the corner! It's September now. The days are getting shorter and the nights cooler. It's time to bring the houseplants back inside.

Trays for the plants have always been a concern for me. I bring in a lot of geraniums and so forth from the garden and start many plants indoors early in the spring. This year I am going to use boot trays under the plants! It's an idea that just came to me while shopping at Home Depot today. It's the only thing I could find that is big enough for this pot but it works perfectly. I can add other pots to the tray as well and use them in front of the patio doors too! I love the idea!

I planted most of my plants directly into the garden in June this year, so will have those to dig up and plant into pots with fresh soil shortly. I will have to look carefully to make sure there are no earthworms, earwigs or other insects coming in with them.

I'm buying more boot trays today!

Cannas from Seed

I have successfully grown canna lilies from seed for a few years now and am always on the lookout for more canna seed. I love cannas! They are so tropical looking and perfect for filling in holes anywhere! 

Dwarf Yellow

This past winter I started many different canna seeds that I received in a trade. The above pic is a few that I grew from those seed. Some turned out to be large flowering dwarf yellow ones, very nice! One tall peach, beautiful! Several tall with very small yellow flowers but large tropical leaves and, so far, one dwarf gold colour. I will put the ones with small flowers together in bare spots in the new large flowerbed at the front. The nicer ones will go into the courtyard, the pond and various pots. 

I have developed a technique that usually works well. Canna seeds have a coating that has to be opened to allow water to enter and germinate the seeds. This is not so easy to do. Many seeds need scarification (as this is called) but cannas are particularly difficult. The first year I tried several different methods but the only one that worked for me was using a rasp in the drill on high speed and holding the seed to it with a pair of needle nose pliers. This year I have a whet stone that I used with success. 

The seed only needs a very small and very shallow opening in the black coat to germinate. I don't want to harm the seed inside or it will not grow. After this step, I soak them overnight in warm water before planting. If done correctly, they will germinate in about 2-3 weeks in warm temps in potting soil indoors. Many that I have started in this manner in Jan-Feb have grown to bloom in the same season, even in Ontario, especially the dwarf varieties which don't need a long growing season. 

One Peach Canna

Growing cannas from seed is very rewarding! I like all the tender bulbs that go into cold storage for the winter. I can put them where I need them in the spring, filling in holes and covering dying daffodil leaves as they age. Dahlias are another favourite for the same reasons. 

This coming winter I want to grow more cannas. I would love to trade for canna seeds that are not yellow. I have only yellow cannas now. I would like some with red leaves and some with fancy striped leaves and some with large red flowers. If you have seeds from these varieties and would like to trade, please contact me.

Pumpkins and Squash

These are the pumpkins we are growing this year! They are Halloween pumpkins but we are also growing some squash for eating. It's the Okanagan where everything grows well! I haven't tried growing large, winter squash in the far north yet, but I intend to soon with the help of a greenhouse.

These are our butternut squash plants, Growing fast and healthy with many blooms. Butternut squash makes great soup! We will revisit these squash when they are ready to eat in the fall with soup recipes.

These are our sweet dumpling squash plants. As the name implies, sweet dumpling squash is very sweet. They are tiny apple sized squash that are easy to fill and bake for one person. All of our squash plants are so green and healthy!

We are also growing some Hopi Black squash. It's an old rare heirloom once grown by the Hopi natives. It has a great sweet flavour and is darker with more beta carotene. It has a lovely flavour, a lot of meat and a smaller seed cavity, making it good for baking and making into pies.

We have one more type of squash growing in our garden. It's a cushaw or mixta variety, usually grown only in the deep south but we are trying it here. We only have the one plant but it's doing very well. It's large, green and healthy!

We will have all of these squash seeds for sale this winter! (Provided they produce fruit that matures and the seeds get saved properly, of course.)

We plan to sell the Halloween pumpkins in the fall and to roast the seeds. The squash seeds can also be roasted and eaten in the same manner.

We are growing these particular varieties because most of them do not cross with the others, being from different squash families (there are 4 families of squash). The seeds will be pure and we can use them to grow the same ones next year, except for the pumpkins and sweet dumpling squash. Both of these are of the c. pepo family and will be cross pollinating, so we won't be using those seeds for planting next year. We will just buy more seed next year for these varieties, if we wish to plant them again. 
 
You can also prevent them from crossing by using the tape method described here, "Preventing Cross Pollination".  It also describes simple hand pollinating which can be done to provide more squash. It's not necessary to use the tape if you are not concerned with keeping your own seed.

Squash can replace pumpkin in most recipes and many people like it better. We will post some great squash recipes when they are all ripe in the fall. 

In addition to the pumpkins and squash in our garden, we are also growing some heirloom tomatoes which you can see in some of the photos above. Unfortunately, these were planted a bit too close to the pumpkins...

Growing Grapes

I have learned a lot in the past year about grape culture. I read everything I could get my hands on about growing grapes as soon as we came to the Okanagan for the winter  and I have learned a lot more with experience this year.

The above is a picture of what our grapes look like now. It's about 500m of wine grapes growing on a fence in a straight line, more or less. Approximately 1/4 of them are dark purple, the rest are green. Some are specifically for making wine and jelly, and some are seedless for eating. The dark purple ones make fantastic grape jelly!

When we arrived here in the fall, the grapes were one big mess! 500m of a 10' x 10' ball, all the way down with many side shoots and lateral shoots from the ground and all over the trunks. It had been ignored all season and for years.

Grapes are pruned in the winter when they are completely dormant. The next February I cut them all back to just 2-3 large trunks each. That is all that a grape root can handle. You really only need one main trunk that divides into two horizontal pieces (called cordons) tied to a wire about waist high, but because single trunks sometimes die, it's safer to keep two or even possibly three.

Early Spring Growth

The winter pruning also consist of leaving just two buds at each growth spot along the cordon. These will produce the next year's long stems. The long stems are tied to the high wire as they reach it and trained to grow along it. Only the tendrils are tied to the wire. You can choke and damage that vine if you tie the main stem. I like to use tin ties for this because I can undo them and move them around as I check the grapes. 

It's important to plant your grapes on a fence going north and south. This way you can remove leaves to give them the morning sun fully but keep the west side shaded. 

The hot afternoon/evening sun will burn the grapes making them not as good for making wine and jelly. The grapes form near the buds on the cordon so they are shaded by the top vines and leaves growing on the above wire, (see pictures).

East Side of Grape Vines

Only two clusters of grapes are allowed to remain on each stem. More than that will make smaller grapes. I continually remove any others growing higher on the vine. Once the grapes form, I remove any leaves on the east side that grow to shade the grapes. 

All green growth below the waist high wire, with the cordons growing on it, will get rubbed off or cut off as the season progresses. Nothing should be growing below the grapes. In the spring and early summer this is almost a daily job.

Every morning in the spring, I walk along the grapes removing low sprouts, removing leaves shading the grapes on the east, arranging the grape clusters to hang freely as they grow, pulling the few weeds too close to the grape trunks to be sprayed with weed killer. The new strong vinegar weed killer works very well! As the long clusters develop, the few small grapes growing at the tip will be removed. This will encourage large grapes on the cluster and ensure that they all ripen at the same time. 

I love puttering along the grapes in the early morning. It's a quiet and stress relieving activity that I look forward to.