Candy on the Vine

I love to walk around my garden and snack on what fruit is available growing in my own garden.  At the moment, that would be table grapes.

This is the first year that the table grapes have started to produce. 

I am realizing that I need to learn a few good pruning techniques to produce larger grapes as I would categorize mine as small to medium with some large.   My grapes are not big in size, but they are certainly huge in flavor; juicy and sweet.  A better grape...not likely!

I share my bounty with bees, wasps, and ants.  These insects are proficient at getting at the inside grape flesh and leaving the thin outer skin. 

As I walk past the grape arbor, I stop to pick a handful of the ripest, plumpest grapes (avoiding the stinging-type pests); and, I shove them into my mouth.  One mouthful is quite satisfying, but I usually manage to relish two or three handfuls per pass.  

I also recognized that the grapes last longer on the vines, rather than cutting a few bunches and bringing them into the house.  So, I do all my grape eating outside, fresh off the vines.

Since I grow three different varieties (Reliance, Himrod, Concord - all seedless), I sometimes go a bit crazy and sample a mix - pure ambrosia.