The Backround of the Grapes
There are grapes on my property. More accurately, the grape plants originate on the property of my neighbor to the south. The vines weave through and over the half height metal fence into our yard. It makes for great hiding places for my cats during the summer.
Every year I cut the vines back and every year we get more. The grapes, a couple of green (concord?) plants and one red plant, usually have tart skins and do contain seed, so they aren’t something we go out and gobble up raw.
A few of years ago we built a trellis on our side of the fence (just to the west of the existing plants) with the idea that we could put in a few grape plants of our own (we planted 2, one survived) and if the neighbor’s grapes could make it, they would also grow supported by the trellis. None of the grape vines made it to the top of the 10-12 foot trellis the first year, and they were barely reaching last year (2005), but my sister and I harvested what we could. She spent quite a lot of time making grape juice and jelly out of it, and I was the happy receiptient of the fruit of her labor (haha).
This year she didn’t have time to do the jelly herself. So I decided to do it, if she would teach me how to can. We are planning to do it Sunday evening.
