This Ain't No Ripple!

Ripple!

It is just like a fine wine. And I can't stop drinking it. It's smooth. It's tasty. It goes down the gullet just right. This ain't no Ripple! This is a Château Lafite Rothschild or something similar. I have no idea what a Château Lafite Rothschild tastes like. But Google tells me this is a fine wine. It ain't no Ripple!

I am, of course, being a tad facetious. I don't drink anymore and even when I did drink, my first choice was not wine. And it certainly wasn't Ripple! That was my mother's wine of choice. Ripple was big in the 1970's. It was produced by E&J Gallo in Modesto, which just happens to be my home town. It is described as a "low end fortified wine." That means CHEAP. Which means it always had a prime spot in my mother's refrigerator.

It didn't last long. Mom loved her Ripple. She wasn't alone. So did a lot of people. This list includes Fred Sanford (Redd Fox) of "Sanford and Son" fame. Fred could never get enough Ripple. He was famous with combining E&J Gallo's favorite concoction with champagne. It was a creation he dubbed "Champipple."

Ripple!

I bring this admission to you because, I will admit, that I have been enjoying the table grape alternative to Ripple wine. These table grapes have been on sale at my local supermarket. They are priced at 98-cents per pound. That's my kinda price. I love table grapes. I love cheap table grapes even more. So, every four to five days I find a reason to visit my store of choice to pick up another 4-5 pounds of cheap red or green, Ripple type, table grapes.

Are they great table grapes? Of course not! They are kinda sweet and kinda crunchy. They're also cheap! Good enough for me. But, I had forgotten about the "fine wine" of table grapes that I planted and grew long ago. It's just been so long that I had forgotten about that signature taste. Not anymore. I am extremely fortunate.

Thanks to an extraordinarily nice lady who is a member of the Sacramento Chapter of the California Rare Fruit Growers (CRFG), I am once again enjoying the "fine wine" of CA table grape production.

Diamond Muscat Grapes

You will not find these grapes in your local store. You  probably will not find them at a farmer's market. You will find these types of special grapes growing in selected California backyards, and I am one of those fortunate few who will get to enjoy and savor that special taste again.

I had forgotten about these signature table grape tastes. Oh my!

The first selection I would be gifted with is a variety that I grew at one time, but also had to leave behind (divorce). I've never forgotten about the Diamond Muscat. I even wrote about this variety once, singing its praises. This was another "impulse purchase" on my part. It would turn out to be the greatest table grape that I would ever plant, harvest from and eat.

Diamond Muscat Vine

The Diamond Muscat is one excellent table grape. It has been a decade since I last tasted one. Thanks to a wonderful gift that came out of the blue, I get to sample seven pounds of them. Seven pounds of Diamond Muscat grapes may seem like a lot to some people. It probably is to most. But for someone as table-grape-obsessed as I am, seven pounds of Diamond Muscat grapes is a "snack."

If the gift from this lady had ended with a full box of Diamond Muscat grapes, I would be so very grateful. But, it didn't end there. Oh yes, there's more! This is a table grape that I did not have previous experience with. Yet, I can tell you, without a doubt, this one is also very, very good.

It is called Summer Royal. It is known as a Thomcord type of table grape. Introduced by the USDA Agricultural Research Station in Fresno in 1999, this is one fine grape variety to snack on. I had never tasted it before. Yet, if I ever get the chance to plant another vineyard again in my lifetime, the Summer Royal will be part of that list.

Summer Royal Thomcord

So, which table grape variety is better? Diamond Muscat or Summer Royal? I can't make that decision. I can only tell you that I am enjoying both of them. What a nice gift for a fresh fruit afficianado to enjoy. Thank you kindly, my very special friend.

So, there you have it. No more Ripple-type table grapes for me! At least for a short while, I get to snack on a bit of home-grown heaven.

Is it Spring Yet???

California Humor

This is a question that millions of people in California are asking at the moment. This is especially true if these Californians like to plant vegetable gardens. Which many of them do. By the way, do you like that photo to your immediate right? I sure do, which is why I STOLE it from the Facebook Page of a high school classmate.

Her name is Penelope. Which, as you might be able to guess, is not her real name. I made it up to protect her identity. Penelope, as you might be able to tell, has a wicked sense of humor. She had that in high school. She has it now. In spades. If I run across a Facebook post from Penelope, I'm guaranteed to laugh. She's that good. It's why I've used her name for a character in a book I'm writing. Perhaps, one day, I'll actually get around to publishing it.

Don't give up hope, Penelope!

Pooch Park, Citrus Heights, CA

Truth be told, however, Penelope has a point. Like her, I'm getting tired of waiting for spring to hit the Golden State. Californians are normally spoiled rotten by six month summers. In 2022 however, our normally temperate weather suddenly went south in October. It started to rain and snow in December. It hasn't stopped since and the weather hasn't warmed up either.

While the non-stop rain has stopped some work in the garden, I've been able to "plow" ahead with other work. But, when I say "plow," I don't mean using an actual plow. I'm just working. The mostly clay soil that makes up most of my backyard is very easy to work with at the moment. You can dig a hole two feet deep with a post-hole digger in two or three minutes.

Try doing something like that when clay soil is dry and has the consistency of concrete! It will take a tad longer in two to three minutes! And, if you're lucky, just might result in major back surgery!

Easy Dig Post Hole

But, I digress. I did use our wet weather to indeed dig a hole two feet deep. In fact, I dug two of them. Those two holes are now home to two "sticks." They look like sticks. They are just sticks! At the moment. But soon, those two sticks will take on the names of Himrod and Flame.

Got any ideas of what those might be?

If you guessed the answer of "table grapes," points to you my friend. They are indeed two separate and well known varieties of seedless grapes. These are the types of varieties that I was hoping to pick up when I attended the most recent Scion Exchange hosted by the Sacramento Chaper of the California Rare Fruit Growers. I came away with carefully pruned scions (sticks) for Himrod, Flame and Kish Mish (Thompson Seedless).

Himrod is apparently a close cousin to the Kish Mish,* as is the most popular table grape grown in California today: Thompson Seedless. The Himrod variety is actually a cross between the Thompson and Ontario varieties. It is considered to be the most successful table grape variety released by the Cornell University Breeding Program in 1952.

Emerging Kish Mish

The Himrod is designed to grow well in cold weather regions. In California, where it is just a tad warmer during most years, Himrod also does well. Thanks to California weather conditions, which range from warm to hot, the Himrod is considered to be an early-ripening variety.

Flame Seedless, meanwhile, is pure California. Hybridized and released by the USDA Agricultural Research Station in Fresno in 1973, it caught on quickly. Thousands of acres of Flame table grapes are planted from one end of California to the other. If the table grapes you purchase from your local neighborhood store during the summer are red in color, chances are it's the Flame.

Why plant table grapes? Because I absolutely LOVE table grapes. Is that good enough? No matter how many pounds I purchase from the store, it's never enough. I always run out. I always want more. The best answer to this table grape addiction is to plant your own. Since one single vine can produce as much as 100 lbs. of table grapes, I won't run out until I'm absolutely sick of of them. That sickness is temporary, however. The urge to consume table grapes always returns.

The gardener in me loves to experiment. Rather than amend the soil that came out of both planting holes and use it for growing both table grape varieties, I instead filled both holes with good, old-fashioned, smelly, amended steer manure compost. In other words, cow poop.

Planting Medium

All gardening is local. All gardening can be experimental. What works for me in Northern California may not work as well in other parts of the country, or the world for that matter. The urge to experiment with different growing methods and mediums comes from arborists and others who always advocated for a new approach, rather than the tried and true.

I'm sure Penelope would approve.

Table grapes grow and produce rather quickly in California. That's the reason why so many of them are produced here and shipped to destinations all over the world. The weather, soil and water here are perfect for wine and table grape production. California weather is just about perfect for growing anything and everything under the sun.

Provided the weather warms up. Right, Penelope?

*The Kish Mish table grape is the grandaddy of the table grape industry. Originally believed to have been sourced from Afghanistan, the Kish Mish made its way across Europe and the Mediterranean. Once established in various grape growing regions, it quickly became the table-grape of choice. It is known by a variety of names. These include Sultana, Thompson Seedless, Lady de Coverly and many others. It's believed that early California plant breeder Felix Gillet was the first or among the first nurserymen to bring the Kish Mish to the United States. The Kish Mish adapted well to the California climate and was highly prized because it was one of the first seedless grapes. Today it is known and sold under the name of Thompson Seedless.

Une Belle Journée (A Beautiful Day)

Going somewhere???

To be brutally honest, it was anything but beautiful. It was another dark and dreary day in normally "sunny" California. Our beautiful weather was nowhere to be found. Even those who insist upon a changing climate in the Golden State may have been secretly longing for just a tiny bit of global warming to peak through those sullen, downcast clouds.

Alas, no bit of warmth or sunshine was to be found on this day. However, there was plenty of rain. There was also plenty of snow in the higher elevations of Northern, Central and Southern California. By the time that Mother Nature gets through with California the mountains will be packed with snow and my Northern California garage will be transformed into an indoor swimming pool.

The inclement weather, however, did not stop hundreds of fresh fruit connoiseurs from using our drenched weather conditions to "flood" into the annual California Rare Fruit Growers (CRFG) scion exchange. The event hosted by the CRFG's Sacramento Chapter drew a boatload of fans. Some of whom actually may have arrived via boat.

CRFG Scion Exchange

Heavy, non-stop, rain and brutally cold (for California standards) conditions will not stop those who love fresh fruit from accomplishing a singular quest: The creation of even more fresh fruit that fans can harvest from front, side and back yards. The scion exchange, and the practice of grafting, can transform one variety of peach on a single tree, to a single tree that produces five varieties of peaches that all ripen at different times of the summer.

Or, if peaches really aren't your "thing," you can do the same with apples, figs, nectarines, cherries, mulberries, pluots, plums and, and, and (you get the picture). Judging from the pictures that came out of yesterday's event at the La Sierra Community Center in Carmichel, it does indeed appear that apples were the "in-demand" variety in 2023.

This is a good thing. Because I must have personally unpacked at least 500 gallon-sized bags that held scions from trees with names ranging from Admiral to Zonga and all letters in-between. Who knew there were so many?

Fruit Trees!

California's fruit tree providers were in attendance. How could Dave Wilson Nursery pass on an event like this? This one event not only drew people looking to acquire cherry or pluot trees, but rare types of fruit that carry names like Dragon, Moringa and Inga Ice Cream.

Many of these are tropical fruit varieties that can be a bit hard to find at many nurseries. But, you will find them at Alora's Light Nursery. Plus, you will find the mind behind Alora's at the CRFG scion exchange.

As for me? I came for the grapes. No, not wine grapes. Call me a table grape guy. I gave up my collection of nine table grape vines during a divorce in 2016. I have missed them ever since. There's nothing quite like harvesting and munching on a never-ending table grape supply.

Alora's Light Nursery

Although I may never get the chance to grow nine different varieties again (which may be a bit much, but I will debate you on that point), I did pick up scions for the Himrod and Flame varieties. Although many believe that the Flame is a seedless offshoot of the old Flame Tokay grape, that isn't the case. I had been hoping to acquire scions from the Flame Tokay grape, a seeded variety that is still grown in some parts of San Joaquin County, especially around Lodi. Alas, none were available. Maybe next year.

The Himrod variety came out of New York in 1952, but may also have its roots in Turkey and elsewhere in Europe. Because it is considered to be a good producer in colder areas of the country, it ripens early in California's famously warm and temperate climate. That's my type of table grape! Plus, after this never-ending winter, I'll take some of that warmth!

The FRUIT You Can SALUTE!

I am a big fan of the CBS Network Radio show called Mystery Theater. The program, which ran from 1974-1982, was a throwback to the Golden Age of Radio. Tributes by hundreds of fans about this show can be found online today, and thousands of shows can be easily accessed on YouTube and elsewhere.

The introduction to each show ran like clockwork. It featured the long, drawn-out sound of a creaking door that opened slowly (which was actually the creaking sound made by the producer's well-worn office chair). Host E.G. Marshall would tell listeners to "come in," and prepare them for the "sound of suspense" and "the fear you can hear."

Producer Himan Brown had a rolodex of actors as long as my arm to call upon. If you listen to any of these shows, you're going to hear the voices that made Fred Flintstone or Herman Munster famous.

E.G. Marshall

I'm going to borrow this sinister format for a bit to inform you about an upcoming event that is far less sinister. However, it is a lot more fun and rewarding, especially if you love fresh fruit. It is the annual Scion Exchange hosted by the Sacramento Chapter of the California Rare Fruit Growers organization.

It is a collection of "fruit you can salute." How about the "treat you can eat?" It is a collection fruit that you can grow at home in your own front, side and back yards. A solitary apple, plum, cherry or peach tree can be transformed into a fruit producing monster through the process of grafting. Even a NON-produing fruit tree such as a Purple Ornamental Cherry Plum tree can be transformed into one or more fruit producers through the process of grafting.

The 2023 Scion Exchange event is coming up this Sunday, February 26th. It will be held at the La Sierra Community Center at 5325 Engle Road in the community of Carmichael (Sacramento County). The event begins at 11:00 AM SHARP! The $5 entrance fee at the door will give you access to hundreds of varieties of peaches, nectarines, plums, pluots, cherries, pears, figs, pomegranates and much, much more.

Hale Peach

If you are looking for an older, elusive variety of fruit that can no longer be found in most big box stores or commercial nurseries, chances are you will discover that hard-to-find variety at the upcoming scion exchange. If you are a fan of home-grown peaches for example, it won't be hard to find the somewhat elusive 49er or Hale peach varieties. You might even find a scion or two for the Sun Crest variety, a peach so famous that a California Sun Crest farmer wrote a book about it.

A lot of the scions that will show up at events like these hail from test or heritage orchards that are maintained throughout northern and southern California. This includes Luther Burbank's Gold Ridge Experiment Farm in Sebastopol. Other scions were procured from the Guadalupe River Parkway Conservancy fruit tree orchard in San Jose. It might even be possible to secure scions from fruit varieties that sprang from the orchards of gold rush era grower Felix Gillet. These are the earliest fruit tree varieties brought to California, most of which came from farms in France, Germany and elsewhere in Europe.

Bigarreau de Mai

The Cerisier Bigarreau de Mai may be hard for some of you to pronounce, unless you speak the French language. But I can tell you from experience that it is one fine cherry. Roughly translated, it means Sweet Cherry in May. It is a very old variety that was once widely grown in California. Are you going to find a tree like this in any nursery or big box gardening center today? Probably not. But you might find a branch (scion) or two at this Sunday's scion exchange.

The process of grafting is an art and science that does take time and practice to become proficient in. But, practice makes perfect. I discovered that plum and pluot trees were the easiest to graft. That is where I experienced most of my early success. It wasn't long before I gained the experience needed to conduct grafting experiments on cherry, peach and nectarine trees. Grafting tools can also help.

In other words: If I can do it, so can you! If you need help, you will find plenty of it, including demonstrations at the scion exchange. You will also find root stock trees that you can purchase and experiment with.

2018 Scion Exchange

There are some items that you should bring to this Sunday's event if you wish to attend. Organizers are *requesting* exact cash for the $5 entrance fee (avoid $20 bills if possible). You will also need masking or painter's tape that you can write on, plus a pen or pencil or both. Finally, it's also wise to bring a one-gallon plastic bag to hold all the scions that you plan to collect.

More details about the event can be found here. Best of luck. In the words of the late, great E.G. Marshall: "Come in. Welcome." Prepare yourself for the "treat you can eat" at the annual CRFG (Sacramento Chapter) scion exchange.