Skip to main content

Kyoho Grapes

In my previous post, I asked if you had to choose, which would you be?  A vegetable or a Fruit?

Going along with that theme, lets talk California grapes.  The Spanish Friars planted grapes in California in the 1700's.  The average American enjoys about 8 pounds of grapes a year.

My Father was an avid gardener. I've been lucky to grow up with having plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables in the house  for every season, either from the garden or local growers.

Every summer we would make the 40 minute drive to the local Japanese produce farm to buy a box of kyoho grapes. One time my father saved some seeds from the grapes we had bought and planted them. This kyoho grape vine is the testimony of success.

Kyoho is my absolute favorite.   I look forward to these grapes every year.   The skin is too thick and bitter to eat.  The flesh is super sweet and mild in acidity.

I never paid much attention to the garden, but lately I have gained a larger interest in watching everything grow.  When I arrived home, this grape vine was nothing but a vine.  Now it is singing with leaves and ripening fruit.  By August, the fruit will be a deep purple and ready to eat.


My shadow is giving a wave to all the Shadow Shot Sunday bloggers.  To learn how to join this meme, head on over to Hey Harriet's blog.

Comments

Sylvia K said…
What terrific shadow shots for the day! I love the green color and the grapes look delicious! Hope you're enjoying a lovely weekend!

Sylvia
Ralph said…
The lighting allows the grapes to be brilliantly bathed in sun or subtly cool in the shade. The vine is luscious, the leaves large and beautiful. This looks so nice, especially when compared to the usual suburban shrub all around. Nice fruit, wonderful post!
Yum! And to imagine that it was started from seed! In Karla's old house there was a grape arbor off the back of her kitchen, it smelled so good, and you could even enjoy the aroma through her kitchen window. It is enough to make you want to plant some grapes!
Oh... and I guess we'd both be fruit, we tend to be a little fruity;)
Karla & Karrie
BLOGitse said…
yummy, greaps! and great shadow shots!

I have moved to WordPress!
I hope to see you there.
Next week I'll be back on track and post a 'normal' SSS post.

Sunny greetings from Casa!
BLOGitsePHOTOS
What wonderful looking grapes..no wonder California has great wines..Our grape vine is small..concord grapes..Will take a few more years for fruit..How's mom? Have been busy with children visiting and loveing every minute of it..
Have a Happy SSS...xoxoRosebud.
whizkid said…
coming here after ages...so here's a wave back to you!
and i loved those grapes. :)
EG CameraGirl said…
I must be eating more than my share of grapes because I'm sure I eat more than 8 pounds in a year. :) It has never occurred to me to plant grapes from seed. What a great idea...except I already have grapes growing in my garden.
Arija said…
Ha, now I know why the Romans peeled their grapes!
Lovely shot and great story. My all time favourite is the Concord grape with its heady aroma. Once crossing Canada by car from E to W we indulged ourselves to a box of them and polished them off before we crosses the first province.
Hey Harriet said…
Oh how I wish my grape vine looked like that! Mine is a very sad looking specimen by comparison. I've never tried kyoho grapes before. Seems odd to not eat the skin of a grape! It's so great having you join in again. I've missed you!
A Wild Thing said…
I grew up with the same kind of grapes, love the sweet innards, love to spit the seeds and the skins and super loved the jelly Granny would make. Now my Dad just lets the vine grow for the birds to eat...thanks for the memories!
Marlene said…
The grapes and the vine look luscious. Wonderful shadow shot!
GalleryJuana said…
I''ve enjoyed reading all your comments.

Several have mentioned the concord grape. I'll have to look for that one to try.

SummerKitchenGirls,, too funny about why you'd be fruit.

Blogitsie, thanks for stopping by.

Rosebud, I bet you're looking forward to the grapes when they come in.

Whiz, nice to see you again.

EG, I tend to think that I eat more than 8 pounds too.

Arja, it's so easy to eat a box of delicious grapes, isn't it!

HeyHarriet, I've missed your Sunday meme too. Good to see you again.

Sweet Repose, wow homemade jelly.... delicious!

Marlene, thank you.
readingsully2 said…
Great great shot, Juana.
What a luscious green shadow shot! So pretty and tasty looking. Beautiful vine, too. Can't imagine growing that from a seed.
Barbara

Popular posts from this blog

bird watching and staying home for the summer

Usually summer means several bicycle-camping trips, but with COVID19 still around, we are staying home. In the meantime, I have been pretty productive with my 100 Self Portraits project. Watching the birds that come to the bird feeders has been my daily dose of joy. fledgling House Finch  Chestnut- backed Chickadee Dark-Eyed Oregon Junco Usually summer means several bicycle-camping trips, but with COVID19 still around, we are staying home. In the meantime, I have been pretty productive with my 100 Self Portraits project. Watching the birds that come to the bird feeders has been my daily dose of joy. View my art blog here: https://www.juanaalmaguer.com I have my art works available here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/galleryjuana

Blue-eyed Siamese Cat flies to Japan

Today was filled with my art and time with Sputnik. She was bathing herself which gave me the chance to catch a photo of her. I actually adopted Sputnik as a kitten in 1998 when I was living in Mexico. She made the long trip with me to Japan on July 25, 2004. It took me about 6 months to plan the logistics of bringing her from Mexico to Japan. Since I had to fly via the U.S. on Mexicana Airlines and Korean Airlines, that meant 4 countries and two airlines would need to approve her transport. There were many details to keep track of for each country and airline. After 6 months of stressful planning, 16 hours of two airline flights and layovers, She made it to Japan safely! Korean Air allowed her to fly with me as my carry-on luggage, which was a relief for me. No worrying about whether she was scared or left at the Los Angeles airport! I didn't give her any tranquilizer to sedate her. Yet, she was quiet the entire flight and went unnoticed by other passengers. I h

Cat Drawing, Sunday Sketches

Sputnik, February 05, 2011, pencil on paper While Sputnik was getting ready to curl up on her bed, I drew this quick sketch of her. To view more sketches, hop over to Sophia's blog .