Good news and a few questions.

[dgibby]

First, the good news. I have 3 buds on my night blooming cerus. This is the first time in 10 years that it's produced buds. I am so stoked! Can't wait until it blooms. I'm getting no sleep-keep running out with a flashlight to see if it's flowered yet.

Second, more good news. My grape arbor is almost finished! Yea!

Now for the questions. I'm in coastal SC. Does anyone know what type of grapes do best here? I want seedless table grapes (not wine-making). Any drawbacks to growing them. Any special needs in fertilizing, type of soil, etc? Can I grow kiwis on the same arbor? Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me.

[bvar22]

1. Can't help you in South Carolina,

but we are building an arbor too.

Last Spring we planted 6 different varieties in 2 short rows to see which would grow here.
Two of the six are doing great.....but we misplaced the planting diagram, and can't remember which one are which. So we are building an arch/arbor out of woven/intertwined Hickory branches for the two remainders. Sooner or later, we may be able to determine which ones we are growing.
Eventually, we would like to have about 20 good vines, mostly for consumption, and sun drying for the Winter months. Wine isn't completely out of the question.
Muscadines are popular here in Central Arkansas.

Good Luck with your grapes.

[dgibby]

2. I have a few mystery plants myself.

I started out with containers and plant markers. Found lots of plant markers all over the yard-think the squirrels must have had a field day!

Your arbor sounds great. Hope you'll post pictures of it. How's the rest of your garden doing? As I recall, last year's was beautiful-reminded me of my grandfather's garden. He could grow anything. I think he rolls over in his grave with my pitiful attempts! :rofl:

As for the grapes, I'm planning to grow several types, all seedless. Guess it will be a grand experiment. Think I'll call the Clemson extention and see what they recommend. If nothing else, it will be an adventure!

[bvar22]

3. The County Extension is a wonderful source of information.

They are funded by Big Ag and tend to push chemicals and the latest High Producing Hybrids (quantity and long shelf life over taste and quality), so take a grain of salt. We love our County Extension (Arkansas), but don't always take their advice.

Some of our best info has come from friends and neighbors who have been growing stuff here for years.
Most people LOVE to talk about their gardens, even to strangers if they are polite. (Brother/Sister Gardeners are never really strangers.)
The local Farmer's Market is also another good place for information on what grows well in your area.

Our garden is coming along, but everything is very late due to Monsoon-like rainfall in early Spring that made planting impossible, and a tornado that passed very close. We didn't suffer any damage, but some of our friends and neighbors did. We spent a couple of weeks helping them clean up between rainfalls. As a result, we are about 3 weeks behind.

We are also now unseasonably hot & dry ( 9 degrees above average and NO rain)....like Mid/late July...maybe too hot for a good garden. Everything still looks OK, but we are a little concerned.
Oh Well, such is LIFE.

I have some photos that I will be posting, maybe later this week.

BTW: I LOVE seedless grapes and raisins...better than candy.

[dgibby]

4. I thought we were the only ones getting the monsoons.

My front yard looked like a moat. Now it's hot and humid-you could drink the air! I'm just now getting my garden going, but am going to need soaker hoses and shade cloths to pull it off. Keep your fingers crossed. I'd be happy with a few homegrown tomatoes at this point.

[druidity33]

5. kiwis and grapes...

I recently purchased some Hardy kiwi and saw kiwi vines there that were GIGANTIC. TrippleBrook farm in Southampton, MA has vines that climb over 100' up and spread out over 200'! Most of their vines are growing up the trees. The oldest ones are about 24 years old. I was told if conditions are right, one 9' section of vine can hold over 150 pounds of fruit!

I've adjusted my plans for the kiwi accordingly. I fashioned a "bender" in the woods (10-40' tall, thin trees bent and lashed together, while living and growing) and i will train the vines to crawl over it and run up a tree or two.

Needless to say, unless you want the two vines to really compete, i'd put them in different areas altogether.

Best of luck!

[The empressof all]

7. Oy with the Kiwi

I cut mine back practically to the root last year because they got so heavy they broke the trellis. They've already grown enough to cover the new one....In fact they're coming back fuller and bushier.

If you're gonna grow the kiwi though you do need a male and a female vine in order to get fruit. I'm already planning for the kiwi harvest. Last year I did jam which was pretty good. I'm gonna try doing some kiwi/strawberry pies and stick them in the freezer and I might even try some kiwi bread. I know I'll be sticking some in the dehydrator. My zuchinni's and tomatoes are gonna kill me in the kitchen already with the zuchinni bread and green tomato cakes.

[druidity33]

8. yup

i was told, the more you cut back, the bigger they get.

Guess that means i'll only selectively cut. How old are your vines? BTW, i have 2 male and 3 female vines, so i should be set with the sex thing. And i've heard kiwi preserves are pretty rockin'.

;)

[The empressof all]

9. I can only guess..

They were already established when we bought the place so I would think at least 15 years old. Some years we get bushels full and some years nary a one. This is the first pruning I've done of them so you could imagine how overgrown they were. I have one vine of each gender and that's enough! I'm thinking maybe kiwi wine this year. :shrug:

[WolverineDG]

6. LOL! I know the feeling

I was so stoked when I planted my garden, I kept running outside every few minutes & yelling "BLOOM DAMMIT!" :rofl:

Congrats on your success & hope you have wonderful flowers!

dg