Kid's Play Fort
For a long time I said that once we built the kids a play fort, I was going to plant grapevine at the base and train them up over the structure. I thought it would be great for my boys to be able to pick and eat grapes while they were up there playing. Initially Dr. Wife poo-pooed the idea, saying that it would turn into a big mess and look terrible, but I think she's come around now. We built the play fort this winter, and as soon as it was finished I began plotting and planning.
I decided to plant three colors of muscadines: Supreme (black), Florida Fry (bronze), and Darlene (red). Special thanks to Danny Gabb for the Supreme and the Florida Fry. I ordered the Darlene muscadine from Ison's in Georgia. They've got everything muscadine at Ison's, and I recommend them highly. I also order strawberry plants from them every year, and have ordered fruit trees from them also. I planted the vines at the base of the corner posts, and have been training them to the structure using 14-gauge wire recycled from an electric fence. Every time I'm out there with the kids I pinch back any side shoots to encourage the vigorous growing tips to follow the wires.
All of the vines have grown very well, and I fully expect them to reach the ends of the trellis wires by the end of the growing season. I rigged up a drip irrigation system to keep them well watered, and so far the kids haven't been too rough with the vines or the drip lines. This spring, only the Florida Fry flowered and set fruit. Of the varieties I planted, it's also the only self-fertile one. It has around 7 or 8 clusters of grapes, each with 5 to 7 grapes, which I can't wait to ripen so the kids can pick them. If the birds don't find the grapes, I'll be posting a follow-up blog entry in August when they do.
I decided to plant three colors of muscadines: Supreme (black), Florida Fry (bronze), and Darlene (red). Special thanks to Danny Gabb for the Supreme and the Florida Fry. I ordered the Darlene muscadine from Ison's in Georgia. They've got everything muscadine at Ison's, and I recommend them highly. I also order strawberry plants from them every year, and have ordered fruit trees from them also. I planted the vines at the base of the corner posts, and have been training them to the structure using 14-gauge wire recycled from an electric fence. Every time I'm out there with the kids I pinch back any side shoots to encourage the vigorous growing tips to follow the wires.
All of the vines have grown very well, and I fully expect them to reach the ends of the trellis wires by the end of the growing season. I rigged up a drip irrigation system to keep them well watered, and so far the kids haven't been too rough with the vines or the drip lines. This spring, only the Florida Fry flowered and set fruit. Of the varieties I planted, it's also the only self-fertile one. It has around 7 or 8 clusters of grapes, each with 5 to 7 grapes, which I can't wait to ripen so the kids can pick them. If the birds don't find the grapes, I'll be posting a follow-up blog entry in August when they do.
Play Fort = Grape Arbor
Supreme muscadine trained on play fort.
Florida Fry muscadine trained above the slide.
Darlene muscadine climbing up wire by swings.
Cluster of Florida Fry muscadine grapes
Cluster of Florida Fry muscadine grapes.
