Grape Cluster Problem

I was wondering if anyone had an idea of how to take care of this problem? 

We have 15 grape vines with a lot of grape clusters on them.  And, we also have a lot of wasps and yellow jackets that eat them every year just as they are ripening, because they are next to our orchard(we don't have this problem with the grapes in the greenhouses).  We have lava rock walls half-way around them to protect them from the wind during the winter. 
So, we are trying to come up with a way to protect the clusters from the wasps.

We thought of covering the whole plant with fabric like window screen to keep the wasps out.  But the lava rock walls have spaces between them and any wasps can get through. 

If we covered the whole plant and rock wall with a 4x4x3 foot frame covered with screen fabric, that would work but consists of a lot of labor to make them, but we would re-use them every year.

The best idea and maybe the least amount of effort we can come up with is to loosely wrap each cluster (there are a lot of them) with window screen type of fabric to keep the wasps away from the grape clusters.

If birds were the only problem we could just cover each row with netting, like we do our raspberries.  But, wasps can get through the netting.  If we can get a large roll of window screen type of fabric netting and cover whole rows (we haven't looked for it yet) that would probably be the better.

Maybe some of you can see a solution which we don't see yet.  Thanks, Lee Garrett.

Our outside grapes

New green beans in the greenhouse.

We have new green bean pods in the greenhouse, but the green beans in the garden are barely starting to grow, because of the lateness of warm enough weather here (Eastern Idaho short growing season).  We couldn't grow all the food that we need without the greenhouses.

Green bean pods

Greenhouse #1

Greenhouse #2

Garden green beans

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Some of our cows from the past and present.

      Milkshake gave us Brian the day this picture below was taken.  Later that day she wasn't attentive to Brian as she had always been to her calves.  And, she was standing out in the pasture staring off into space and not acting like her old self.

      The next morning she was on the ground barely breathing.  So, we called a rancher friend who came over with some bottles of calcium and we fed her intravenously, but later that day she died.  Because Milkshake was an older cow, she was susceptible to Milk Fever.  Milk Fever is not really a fever but a condition called Hypocalcemia which is low blood calcium levels.  The low calcium causes problems with muscle function and causes weakness, and eventual heart failure.  Older cows and certain dairy breeds are more susceptible to the problem.  But, we didn't know about Milk Fever before this happened.  It was a very sad day to lose Milkshake.

      After Milkshake died, Brian had to be bottle fed.  We used 12 ounces of dry milk re-placer powder, mixed with 8 cups of warm water.  This was mixed in a bowl with a whisk before pouring it into the bottle.  We fed Brian two bottles a day until the bag of milk re-placer was used up.  This lasted about 8 weeks.  We started feeding him three times a day for the first few days until he got used to the re-placer, then changed to twice a day using the same total amount.  When the bag of milk re-placer was almost gone we tapered down the amounts, to wean him off of it gradually.  Tapering down the amounts of milk re-placer is better for the calf’s system.  The picture below shows Nick feeding Brian a one quart bottle of milk re-placer.

      The picture below shows Brian some time before he was sent to be butchered.

This is Yum-Yum our newest steer.

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Our challenge with grapes.

Grapes: 

      We have encountered challenging problems with growing grapes here, due to the severe winter cold.  Our grape vines near the orchard died their first winter.  After planting these grapes we tried to insulate them with straw to protect them from the harsh winter freezing.  We used flakes of straw about 2 inches thick laid over the plants.  A flake is a section of hay or straw that naturally flakes off of the end of a bale after the twine has been cut.  This solution didn't work the way we had hoped.  Half of the vines died completely, the rest died back to the ground and the root only survived.  Since it takes grapes two or three seasons to start producing, these roots started from the beginning again. The grapes came back and started growing but we wanted to figure out what to do to help them survive, or we would encounter the same problem in the coming winter.

      We checked with people around the area and found out that there was one person who was having success, by planting them along a rock wall.  So our solution was to stack up small 18 to 24 inch high lava-rock half-circles around the vines with the open side facing south.  This has worked very well and all the vines have survived well and are producing.
As shown in the picture we now have 15 grape vines growing near the orchard, each with their individually stacked half round rock wall and all are doing very well.

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Our orchard is bearing apples, pears, and plums.

The area that we live in is very windy and knocks the blossoms off of our fruit trees.  We are never sure if we will get any fruit.  So I checked our trees and all of them have small apples, pears, or plums.  Hopefully our fruit doesn't get knocked off by the wind when they get bigger.

Using Our Apple Press This Fall

Using Our Apple Press:
Our procedure for harvesting and pressing apples for cider is as follows.  We pick three to six 5-gallon buckets of ripe apples at a time, and process them within two or three days.  First, the press is set up with a large container underneath for the cider to drain into, which also has a strainer set on it to filter out any large pieces that may fall in.  Then, the apples are washed in a bucket of water before they are processed in the press.  But, we can usually skip this step if the apples look pretty clean, and if we know there hasn't been any chemical spraying on the trees.  Next, one of us puts the apples into the hopper, skin and all to grind them up, while the other person turns the grinding wheel handle.  The chopped up apples drop into a mesh-cloth-lined tub container under the hopper, where the chunks collect until the container is full.  While the tub container fills up with chopped apples, occasionally one of us pushes the pieces down to pack the container more tightly until we are ready to press it.  When the tub container is full, we put the round tub-ram into the tub and press the cider by cranking down the large pressing screw on top of it.  The container with the strainer on top catches all of the cider, and then food safe bottles are filled with cider, and frozen.

When we pick the apples we only take home apples that we have picked on the tree.  We don’t take any off of the ground, and if we drop one then it doesn't go home with us.  This way we don’t have any sanitation problems.  Most of the apple trees in this area are flood irrigated so there is the chance of getting apples with e-coli or something else on them if they have been on the ground.  Although, sometimes we will take home apples off of the ground and feed them to our animals, but we keep them separate from the apples that we eat.

When our son was very young we pressure canned some of the apple cider in canning jars just for him, in case of bacteria.  But, we have never had any problem with drinking fresh pressed apple cider, or cider frozen for later use.

The picture shows apples getting chopped up in the hopper, and then collecting in the mesh-lined tub   Notice that the cider is already starting to flow before it is pressed.

Below Nick is turning the pressing screw and pressing some ground up apples into cider.  On the top of the stainless steel container is the strainer to keep out any chunks of apple that could miss the tub and fall into the cider.

We also use apples we pick for applesauce and apple pie filling.  Transparent apples make excellent applesauce and pie filling, but are absolutely horrible for cider.   We prefer Strawberry Crab and McIntosh the most for cider, and mixing these varieties of apples makes very good cider.

This is an excerpt from 'Food Self Sufficiency: How We Do It.'

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Our Potatoes in Our Small Greenhouse.

These are a few potato plants in our small greenhouse, compared to a farmer's potato field across the street.

Potatoes in Our Small Greenhouse

Farmers Potato Field across the street

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Pumpkins started in peat pellets and transplanted into the garden.

Two or three days ago we transplanted some pumpkins into the garden.  I've included an excerpt from my e-book 'Food Self Sufficiency: How We Do It In A Severe Climate.'

Pumpkins:

            Pumpkins are started in peat pots around the second week in April.  About the second week in June they can be planted in the garden if there aren’t overnight freezes.   In the fall as the pumpkins ripen and the nighttime temperatures get to freezing, we snap them off of their stem, and take them down into our basement.  We place them on a blanket and space them so none are touching, which will prevent them from rotting.  There they stay until we are ready to process them for pumpkin pie.  Pumpkins that don’t get used for pie are fed to the cows and pigs. 

Pumpkin Pie and Pumpkin Bread mixture:

When the pumpkins are ready to use we clean the pulp and seeds out of them and cut them into pieces.  The pieces are put into a steamer/juicer and steamed for 20 to 25 minutes.  Next the soft pulp is scooped off of the rind, and the pulp pieces are put through a food strainer with a pumpkin screen.  The puréed pumpkin can then be put into sealable freezer bags of two cup portions and put into the freezer.  We put them into two cup sizes because most recipes call for 16 ounces.  Then it can be taken out of the freezer and thawed when needed for bread or pie recipes. 

Previously instead of using a strainer, we would bake the pumpkin in the oven until the pieces are soft, but this is much more time consuming.        

Pumpkins in Peat Pellets

Transplanted Pumpkins

Irrigation pump maintenance.

A couple of day ago I replaced the window screen covering on the foot valve of our irrigation pump, and thought the information might be useful for someone else.  So, I included an excerpt from my e-book 'Food Self Sufficiency: How We Do It In A Severe Climate.'

On the canal bank we have an electric pump which pumps water to the water lines in the garden and orchard area.  Our irrigation pump is bolted down to a small concrete pad, on the canal bank. It has a three horsepower electric motor which is wired for 220 volts. To the left of the pump is the intake hose which has one end that sits in the water, and the other end attaches to the water pump.

Foot Valve

Window Screen To Filter The Foot Valve

On the end of the hose which is in the water is a one-way-valve, called a foot valve. This valve allows water to be pulled into the pump, but it doesn't allow the water to drain back out when the pump isn't running. This keeps the pump primed with water, and purged of air so that it runs correctly and produces water pressure.  Over the foot valve we put screen to help filter out small debris and keep the sprinklers from getting plugged up.

Our Irrigation Pump

Directly below the intake hose connection to the pump is a pressure gauge, and a low pressure shutoff switch. When there isn't enough water in the canal and subsequently in the pump, the low pressure shutoff switch shuts down the pump, so that it doesn't wear out the pump blades and get ruined. If the pump is running without water in it, the impeller blades inside will wear out due to friction and the pump will have to be replaced.

Directly above the pump is a pipe cap that is removed so that the pump can be primed with water before turning it on for the first time.  To prime the pump, the cap is removed and water is poured into the pipe until the water level is up to the top.  Then the cap is replaced and tightened.   Priming the pump with water removes any air so that it can pull water by suction, up out of the canal. 

The gray box in the picture is the electrical box which contains a breaker type of on/off switch.  The pump can be turned on and off with this breaker switch. 

Behind the electrical box is an inline filter, which keeps sand and dirt out of the water lines so that the sprinklers won’t get plugged up.  The blue hose to the right carries the pressurized water to our watering system.  From here the water goes through a buried irrigation line that takes the water to the garden and the orchard area.  

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Our Golden Cross Bantam corn is just coming up.

 Our Golden Cross Bantam corn and an Excerpt From 'Food Self Sufficiency: How We Do It In A Severe Climate.'

Golden Cross Bantam

Corn:
Corn is planted in raised rows which are about 6 inches wide.  Each seed is pushed about an inch deep into the ground, and spaced two or three inches apart.  The corn needs to be planted in a square or rectangle patch as opposed to a single row, so that the wind can pollinate each stalk from the stalk next to it.  If it is planted in a single row it will not pollinate itself, and then no ears will develop.  Typically pollinated corn will produce one to two ears per stalk.  When the ears are close to harvest time, the ears turn dark green, and after 20 days of appearing, the silk strands at the end of the ears will turn brown and wilt.  To check the ear, we peal back the husk leaves and take a look at the corn kernels.  If the kernels are of adequate size and show a milky juice when punctured with our thumb nail, then the ear can be harvested. We harvest the corn by grasping the ear and giving it a sharp downward twist.    

We have found that corn is affected by a freeze, depending upon its size.  If it is smaller, or taller than 3 or 4 inches, it seems to have a tough time with an overnight light freeze.  We don’t know why the 3 or 4 inch size isn't affected as much, but precautions should be taken in case of an unusual overnight freeze.  One thing that works well is to cover the sprouting corn with loose straw which insulates the plants against light freezes, and the sprouts simply grow up through the straw.  In some years our corn produces many ears, and in other years we don’t get very many.  It just seems to depend on if the growing season is cold and overcast both early and late in the season, which slows down the plants growth and doesn't give it the necessary growing time to mature.

The corn variety which we usually grow is called Early Sun Glow.  This variety will germinate when the ground is still cold, which is a beneficial feature in planting because of our long winters.  Another corn variety which we grow is Golden Cross Bantam.    

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Thinning Strawberries

Strawberries:
We don’t know which strawberry variety we grow either.  They were all free, given to us by neighbors at different times.
Strawberries should get plenty of water in order to produce many large berries.  Like the blueberries and raspberries, we also use netting over the strawberries when the birds start eating them.  The netting has to be elevated above the plants a few inches or the birds can get to them by walking on top of the netting and pushing it down with their weight.  
In this picture Becky and Nick are thinning his strawberry patch.  In the fall strawberries should be thinned out to reduce crowding, but, this only has to be done every other year.  If they get too crowded they will produce very small strawberries.  When they are dug up to thin, the older plants should be discarded and the younger ones should be replanted 6 inches apart.  The older plants will be thicker where the stems meet the roots of the plants.  This section of the strawberry plant is called the crown.  The thinner crown will be the younger plants.  The whole patch should be watered thoroughly after replanting.

Thinning Strawberries

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