Manual of American grape-growing

by U. P. Hedrick

Ripening Dates and Length of Season for Grapes

Every grape-grower should know when his varieties may be expected to ripen and the length of season that they will keep. The commercial fruit-grower by all means should have this information. It is not sufficient that he know only roughly at what season his varieties ripen; for, to take the turn of the market, he must know exactly when a variety will ripen and how long it will keep. He needs this information, also, that he may distribute his labor better throughout the picking season.

Unfortunately, the data as to ripening time given by originators and introducers of varieties are not always reliable. This untrustworthiness of data is readily accounted for in several ways: First, growers do not generally agree as to when grapes are ripe nor as to how long they are fit to eat. Again, much confusion as to when varieties ripen and how long they will keep arises from the fact that grapes ripen at different times in different places, and it is difficult for the grape-grower in Maine to make allowance in season for varieties, the time of ripening of which is given for Maryland. There are also other causes than the seasonal differences in grape regions for variability in ripening time; thus, some soils are warmer and quicker than others, and on these grapes ripen earlier. Application of nitrogenous fertilizers may delay the period of ripening somewhat. Grapes ripen perceptibly earlier on old plants than on young ones. Lastly, every vineyard in a particular region has its own particular climate caused by the lay of land, nearness to water, air currents and altitude which cause small differences in ripening.

The following table taken from Bulletin No. 408 of the New York Agricultural Experiment Station gives the ripening dates of grapes at Geneva, New York. It is necessary that the reader know something about the conditions affecting the ripening time at Geneva. The latitude is 42° 50' 46". The altitude is 525 feet above sea level. The vineyard lies a mile west of a relatively large body of water. The soil is a cold heavy clay which must delay ripening time somewhat. The land is level. The data are given as an average for three seasons, 1913–1915.

The figures given for "weeks in common storage" cover a variable number of years, but for all varieties three or more years. The grapes, after being picked, were at once placed in common storage in a room on the second floor of a building. There conditions were not ideal, and no doubt the season of storage would have been prolonged somewhat had the fruit been kept in a better storage-room.

Table V.—Showing the Ripening Time of Grapes

	Weeks in Common Storage	Very Early	Early	Midseason	Late	Very Late
Agawam					*
America			*
Barry	28			*
Beacon	7			*
Bell	8		*
Berckmans	21			*
Black Eagle	18			*
Brighton	20			*
Brilliant	11			*
Brown	6			*
Campbell Early	12		*
Canada	17				*
Canandaigua	20				*
Carman	17			*
Catawba	21					*
Champion	6		*
Chautauqua	10				*
Clevener	13				*
Clinton	21					*
Colerain	8			*
Columbian Imperial	7				*
Concord	8			*
Cottage	5		*
Creveling	16		*
Croton	23	*
Delago	25					*
Delaware	15		*
Diamond	10		*
Diana	17					*
Downing					*
Dracut Amber	9		*
Dutchess	23			*
Early Ohio		*
Early Victor	11	*
Eaton	6				*
Eclipse	7	*
Eldorado	17	*
Elvira	18			*
Empire State	24				*
Etta	15					*
Eumelan	17		*
Faith	11			*
Fern Munson	11					*
Gaertner	17			*
Geneva	22		*
Goethe	18					*
Gold Coin	10				*
Grein Golden	12				*
Hartford	8			*
Headlight	8	*
Helen Keller	26				*
Herbert	27			*
Hercules	13				*
Hicks	10			*
Hidalgo	12			*
Hosford	6				*
Iona	13				*
Isabella	11			*
Janesville	13			*
Jefferson	18					*
Jessica	12		*
Jewel	12		*
Kensington	19				*
King			*
Lady Washington	16				*
Lindley	27			*
Lucile	9			*
Lutie	4	*
McPike	7			*
Manito	7				*
Martha	10			*
Massasoit	16			*
Maxatawney	12			*
Merrimac	31			*
Mills	29				*
Missouri Riesling	6				*
Montefiore	9			*
Moore Early	6	*
Moyer	9		*
Nectar	10		*
Niagara	10		*
Noah	10			*
Northern Muscadine	9			*
Norton	7					*
Oporto	12			*
Ozark	11				*
Peabody					*
Perfection	8			*
Perkins					*
Pierce					*
Pocklington			*
Poughkeepsie	15		*
Prentiss	16				*
Rebecca	18			*
Regal	16				*
Requa	30			*
Rochester	7			*
Rommel	10			*
Salem	27				*
Secretary	25				*
Senasqua	13				*
Stark-Star	10					*
Triumph	15					*
Ulster	21				*
Vergennes	28				*
Wilder	11				*
Winchell	6	*
Worden	6		*
Wyoming	9		*

Plate XXII.—Lindley (×1/2).

Lucile (×1/2).

CHAPTER XVII