The climbing plant needs a lot of heat and a lot of sunlight so that the grapes can fully ripen. The harvest takes place in the second half of the year, with the different varieties having different ripening times. To increase yields, pruning makes sense.
In the garden, the harvest season of grapes begins in August
table grapes throughout the year
The grape season extends over late summer and continues into the autumn months. The cultivation of grapes takes place in Mediterranean areas, where the harvest lasts from July to November. In the supermarket, table grapes are in season all year round. They are imported not only from Europe, but also from South America. If you want to reduce the ecological footprint of these long transport routes, you should avoid flying fruit and wait for the gardening season.
Harvest time in the garden
While the harvest window opens from August to October in wine-growing regions, the harvest season is somewhat shorter in cooler regions. In the garden, the grape harvest lasts two to three weeks in late summer, depending on the variety planted. Early-bearing vines are harvested from August. Late breeds bear from September to October. The harvest period can be extended to a maximum through a targeted combination of early and late maturing cultivars.
Grape Varieties:
- early harvest: 'Michurinsky', 'Flame Seedless' and 'Vostorg'
- medium early varieties: 'Narancsizü', 'Dornfelder' and 'Husajne Chalgi'
- late harvest: 'Theresa', 'Angela' and 'Christine'
Increase the harvest
Grapes are ready for harvest as soon as they have fully developed their varietal colouring. The stalk becomes increasingly lignified and the sugar content of the pulp increases. If in doubt, you can use a taste test to check the stage at which the fruit is ripe.
cut fruit wood
In late winter, perform a radical pruning and trim off the fruiting canes. As a result, the yield in the next season will be lower. However, the other grapes ripen better. The spur pruning is recommended for varieties that develop fruit on short wood. These shoots are reduced to two to four eyes. If the grapes grow on long shoots, shorten the branches to four to eight vegetation points.
Perform summer pruning
As soon as water shoots form on the old wood, you should remove them. They do not develop flowers and are in competition with the fruit wood. If the fruit load is very strong, thinning out in June is recommended. In the months that follow, focus on removing bothersome side shoots on the main shoot and those branches in the grape zone that grow strong, long and overhang. Remove leaves that are too large and obscure the grapes. This procedure ensures that the fruit buds get enough light and can dry well.
tips
With table grapes that ripen late on south faces, you should exercise caution when pruning them in summer. As long as the fruits have not yet developed a layer of wax, they are susceptible to sunburn and turn brown quickly.