Fruit of the Vine

Grapes abound on my Pergola made by the Amish

Five years ago, within my budget of little time and money, I began working on building a patio with a grape vine overhead. My entire backyard project is ten years in the making and I am still working toward completion.

Nevertheless, this year I should enjoy the fruits of my labor on the patio section and I believe my Grandfather would be proud. I planted two grape vines 5 years ago, one is Swen Red grapes for eating and the other, Bluebell for making jam. 

I selected these two vines for their ability to flourish in my zone of weather patterns and to have organic grapes that have several medicinal values. The parts to my wooden Pergola kit were custom made to size by the Amish. The ordering and coordination was done through the Peaceful Valley Furniture store in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The customer service and workmanship was impeccable.

---

Peaceful Valley's Pergola

So while my grape vines where growing along my new fence, the Pergola was delivered at the end of August and pouring the cement footings was paramount before the weather turned cold at night. I didn't have the time to complete the top of the Pergola until November and the sand for the patio stones sat all winter long in a pile.​

I installed Bistro style lights across the Pergola's top and each light bulb you see in the image to the right uses only 1 watt of electricity. They are LED bulbs and they are operating off of Solar electric power. The entire set of lights consumes a total of 15 watts of electricity, but is providing a light level equivalent to 375 watts of old style Edison incandescent bulbs.

---

First crop of Bluebell grapes

At the end of last year's growing season I had a small crop of grapes, however the night before harvest, the birds, squirrels and cats had a war. Despite my Owl facsimile, the next morning I found all the red eating grapes gone. Not one was left. The squirrels must have torn open my netting, the birds ate the grapes and cats ate some birds. The patio floor told the tale of a brutal scene. Smashed red grapes with squirrel and cat foot prints stained the stone, bird feathers were everywhere and a torn off bird's leg was left behind. For some reason, most of the Bluebell grapes survived and I was able to make a few jars of jam.

This year after the arrival of the patio table and benches, all made from 100% recycled plastic, many friends and family have expressed their enjoyment of the ambience created under the grape vines. Almost everyone has asked me why not grow grapes for making wine? My Grandfather made wine with his grapes and I remember all the work involved. So I am leaving the wine making to the professionals. The only thing left for me to do is buy a stronger netting before this year's harvest.

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
Contribute your comments!​

---