Vitis labrusca Hybrid - Alden Grape

The Alden grape is a deep blue, Concord-colored variety with characteristics similar to California grapes. Its meaty, non-slip-skin texture resembles vinifera grapes, and the flavor is excellent. Joe Volk from Pennsylvania (North American Fruit Explorers) strongly recommended Alden as part of our offerings.

Growing Notes:

• Size & Ripening: Alden grapes are among the largest of the American varieties, ripening a few weeks before Concord.
• Pruning: Requires close pruning, leaving about half the buds compared to a pruned Concord.
• Pest & Disease Management: Prone to black rot, so spraying (at least once) or bagging the clusters may be necessary.
• Primary Use: Best for fresh eating.

Growing Requirements:

• Zones: 5-7
• Spacing: 6 feet apart on a 6-foot tall trellis.
• Climate Adaptability: Thrives in moderate climates with good heat, drought, and sun tolerance.

Plant Characteristics:

• Pest Resistance: Good
• Disease Resistance: Good
• Drought Tolerance: Good
• Heat Tolerance: Good
• Humidity Tolerance: Fair
• Sun Tolerance: Good
• Wet Soil Tolerance: Poor
• Shade Tolerance: Poor
• Salt Tolerance: Fair
• Deer Resistance: Poor
• Thorns: None
• Plant Type: Vine
• Soil Type: Adaptable
• Edible Type: Fruit
• Self-Fertile: Yes
• Fresh for Kids: Excellent

Shipping Restrictions:
Due to import restrictions, we are unable to ship grapes to California, Europe, or Canada.

This information is accurate to the best of our knowledge. Comments and feedback are always welcome.

The small home owner may not have room for grapes in his garden or even have a fence to grow them on. Planning to use them as part of the overall landscape picture is the answer. Grapes are so beautiful, so highly decorative, so exceedingly graceful in or out of fruit that they look well anywhere.

For humid areas such as ours air circulation is important to minimize black rot. Black rot is a fungus that is naturally occurring in our environment. It looks like a brown freckle on a leaf.

Black Rot on Grape Leaf

It spreads by rainfall hitting the leaf and the spores on the brown area are released by the splashing rain and land on another place on the leaf or developing grapes. An infected fruit will finally shrivel up like a hard raisin becoming unusable. Growing a grape on a high wire (6') will keep the plant off the ground and let air circulate under and around the plant. Grapes naturally grow up trees, where the air is less likely to have mildew etc. So keep them off the ground. The Munson system is often used in home plantings. It is particularly suitable for humid climates, because the fruit is produced high above the ground where it is less subject to injury by diseases.

Pruning
Grapevines require drastic annual pruning, undertaken in late winter or early spring. The many pruning systems can not be described here, but essentially they boil down to two: cane pruning and spur pruning. The point to remember is that grapes are borne exclusively on "one-year wood," the woody canes which were the green shoots of the previous season. The wood of some varieties yields most heavily from the 3 or 4 buds closest to the trunk; so these are pruned by cutting back several canes to "spurs" of 3 or 4 buds and trimming off everything else. The spurs yield sufficient crop. The canes of other varieties bear best from the 4th to the 10th buds, counting out from the trunk; so these are pruned by cutting back several canes to leave 8 to 10 buds each according to the vigor of the vine and counting from the trunk, then trimming off everything else and tying these & "bearing canes"; to the trellis. In cane pruning, 2 short spurs are also left well placed near the head of the vine, not for crop but to provide well placed & "one year wood" for the following year. How many buds to leave on mature varieties. Amount left can vary with vigor of vine.<a this. like look may Concord A pruned. this Blanc Villard>

Canopy Management
Tipping vine growth in June for bunch grapes is good culture. Remember to retain 15 or more leaves per shoot in doing any hedging. At fruit set or shortly hereafter, selectively removing 1 or 2 leaves in the fruit zone is an excellent means of assisting with disease control, especially for botrytis bunch rot and powdery mildew. Clusters and berries that freely develop without contact with other objects tend to be freer of fruit rots and exhibit more uniform berry ripening than do clusters that are contacting trellis or grapevine parts.

Planting
Plant in good soil, average in nutrients. Keep out weeds and grass. Grapes have extended surface roots and suffer from competition with grass and weeds. Keep well watered. After growth begins
pinch back growth except the growth you've chosen to be the future trunk. Setting a vertical stake for the grape to grow up the first year will help it reach the horizontal wire of the trellis. MUSCADINES: (Vitis rotundifolis) are native to southeastern United States. They do well under high temperature and humidity found in that area. The Muscadine sometimes is called the Scuppernong, and many know it by that name. It is more resistant than most to drought conditions and also to disease. Under favorable conditions the vines are very long-lived, but they are not hardy in the northern United States because of the low temperature conditions which prevail in that area. 0* is at it's lowest temperature.

There is a non-infectious Edema (oedema) which is when the leaves develop bumps or blisters that can be tan or brown. It occurs when the leaves/plant is laden with water...when the roots absorb water faster than it can process it through the leaf cells. To help prevent they recommend a growing medium that drains well, spacing plants apart so they can get more light and keep humidity low and water moderate.

Disease control for Apple, Peach, Almond and Grapes.

We are using this new spray at our nursery and will give more hands on information as we learn about the product.

Regalia®-NEW Fungal and Bacterial Disease Control
Regalia triggers a plant's natural defense systems to protect against a variety of fungal and bacterial pathogens. Used in tank mixes, program rotations, and stand-alone, Regalia provides proven control of important fungal and bacterial diseases including Powdery Mildew, Downy Mildew, Botrytis Gray Mold, Early Blight, Late Blight, Citrus Canker, Brown Rot, Greasy Spot, Bacterial Leaf Spot, Target Spot, Gummy Stem Blight, Walnut Blight, and others.

Regalia has been successfully evaluated by many university and independent researchers on a vast range of crops and diseases. Results prove that Regalia is as effective as many leading conventional fungicides.

How Regalia Works
When treated with Regalia, the defense systems of crops are 'switched on' to protect against attacking diseases. Research shows that plants treated with Regalia produce, and accumulate, elevated levels of specialized proteins and other compounds known to inhibit fungal and bacterial diseases. Regalia induces a plant to produce phytoalexins, cell strengtheners, antioxidants, phenolics, and PR proteins, which are all known inhibitors of plant pathogens.

Regalia is rain fast in only one hour, so growers can get important sprays out and protect crops even in tough weather, or when moisture conditions are conducive to disease development.

Regalia is recommended as a preventative treatment.

Powdery and downy mildew and Botrytis

Grapes
Season-long control depends on preventing early-season infection. University field trials indicate that Regalia provides excellent early-season and mid-season control of Powdery Mildew, and Regalia synergizes with DMIs and quinoxyfen when used in rotation. Oils cannot be safely used with sulfur, but Regalia can be used with sulfur in Powdery Mildew control programs. And, with a zero-day PHI, growers can also get effective late-season control of Botrytis Bunch Rot with Regalia.

Brown Rot Blossom Blight and Fruit Rot- Fruit rot is managed by controlling blossom and twig blight in the spring with preventative control measures. For maximum control, apply Regalia at pink bud and full bloom. If disease pressure is high, an additional application after petal fall is recommended. Pre-harvest sprays for fruit rot control should begin four weeks before harvest on a 7-10 day interval. Rate 1.25 tablespoon per gallon of water.

Powdery Mildew- Applications of Regalia should begin within 2 weeks following petal fall and continue on a 7-14 day schedule depending upon disease pressure.

Regalia is the alcohol extract of giant knotweed. Giant knotweed, Polygonum sachalinensis is a plant that produces many defensive chemicals. These help protect it against insects, diseases, and even other plants. Knotweed defensive chemicals also can have profound effects on other plants and animals, causing beneficial changes in metabolism. Extracts from the giant knotweed, for instance, can protect plants against pathogens that cause powdery mildew, grey mold, insects, and many other diseases. Substantial yield increases are often seen because the treated plants remain free of disease, and their lifetime is extended [12, 13]. Knotweed extracts have low toxicity to mammals and provide protection by boosting the immune system of the plant. Animal tests have also shown that extracts and pharmaceuticals isolated from giant knotweed or its relative, Japanese knotweed, Polygonum cuspidatum, protect against cancer, are anti-inflammatory, lower blood cholesterol, protect against diabetes, and improve cardiovascular health. The extracts of giant knotweed must be handled with care because they contain allelochemicals (chemicals that inhibit growth of competing plants), and may inhibit the growth of the treated plants. The pigments emodin and physcion were responsible for the growth interference [14]. The interference pigments have been employed in the treatment of inflammation in humans.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reviewed the acute toxicity and genotoxicity of the extract and has approved its safety noting that the extract is mildly irritating to the eyes. The extract is approved for use with all foods [15]. EPA maintains a fact sheet verifying the safety of the product [16]. Reynoutria sachalinensis (an alternative name for P. sachalinensis), a naturally-occurring plant currently found in 25 US States as an ornamental plant, is an invasive weed, and a grazing crop. In fact giant knotweed and Japanese knotweed are both invasive weeds in Europe and North America. For example giant knotweed threatens to displace native riparian forests in the state of Washington [17]. Harvesting the weed to produce biopesticide useful in both organic and conventional food production might be a project for improving both the forests and healthy food production. The knotweed extracts appear to have a double benefit, guarding the health of the food crops and treating the ills of consumers.

Pruning Muscadines
The Muscadine has a boundless enthusiasm for growth, and you must restrain it or you will soon have jungle of vines. Therefore just as soon as you can, establish a main trunk for the vine. Tie this to the post and cut it off when it reaches the top. The trunk then may be allowed to develop about eight arms near the top. These should radiate outward like the spokes of a wagon wheel. To support them properly, wires should be stretched between the posts, thus forming a canopy. The main arms of the Muscadines do not produce fruiting shoots. One-year-old canes growing from these arms are pruned back to provide fruiting shoots. To prune properly, cut back the previous season's side growth, allowing about six buds to remain on the canes. Each year for best results, cut out one of the main arms. Then select a shoot near the top of the trunk to replace it. If this is done faithfully you will renew all of the arms every eight years. If you don't do this, the old arms in time will become so heavily spurred that their fruiting vigor will be reduced.

We've chosen the most disease resistant varieties we know of for less care landscaping. If however you have a problem and are not getting good results, bag the grape. A waxed white paper sac, stapled over the stem with the growing cluster inside, keeps insects and disease out.
Wax Paper Bags It is easier to pick 25 of the best bunches on a mature vine and bag them than it is spraying a fungicide before it rains. The Japanese rely on bagging for most of their fruit. Taking off all other bunches and choosing only 25 will also enhance the size and flavor of those 25 bunches. Apply the bags when the grapes are pea size. It can even be done at fruit set. The Villard Blanc grape pictured in our catalog was taken after we removed the bag from the bunch.