Growing grapes and making wine in Bellevue
Posted in bonsai orchard, bonsai vineyard on May 3rd, 2009
With ten grape vines in pots, and another ten fruit trees, I’ve been doing a lot of hand watering. It’s become quite a chore, so I’ve decided to put in a drip irrigation system. This will have water coming from a garden hose, through a pressure reducing fitting, into a feeder bottle so that I [...]
Posted in bonsai orchard, bonsai vineyard, viticulture on Jul 16th, 2007
I wrote before that watering my bonsai vineyard can be tricky. Too much water reduces the quality of the fruit and can delay dormancy. All plant life needs water, however, and too little can harm the vine. If you’re growing grape vines in pots, none of the local knowledge about climate, soil, and irrigation apply. [...]
Posted in bonsai orchard, cherry wine on Jun 19th, 2007
When selecting my cherry trees, I was thinking in terms of making red and white wine from sweet and tart cherries. I need clear juice to make white cherry wine and red/black skins to make red cherry wine. That means at least four different cherry trees: two tart and two sweet, and at least one [...]
Posted in bonsai orchard, cherry wine, enology on Jun 17th, 2007
Isn’t cherry wine is supposed to be red? I mentioned white cherry wine in passing here, but most people think of cherry wine as a red. The only commercial cherry wine I’ve tried is a red – crushed, fermented on the skins, then pressed. Every recipe I’ve seen involves either fermenting on the skins or [...]
Posted in bonsai orchard, cherry wine, gardening on Jun 14th, 2007
Surefire is one of four cherry trees growing in my bonsai orchard, and the only one that will produce fruit, if just a handful, this year. It’s a tart cherry with red skin, flesh, and juice; I can’t wait to make red cherry wine and liqueur from it. I bought the tree this year, so [...]