Grower's Tithe

 

Day 346: Here you see the grower's tithe. That is not to say that this portion of the grape yield will be set aside for my little feathered friends and furry foes; no, this is the portion they left for me, and it's just an ounce shy of a pound: ten percent, as tithes are generally said to be. Had I not picked them yesterday (and some of the fruit is a little tart), today's rain would have ruined the bunches. Even so, it's a better yield than I've had in the thirty years past, with one or two exceptions. I suspect that Interlaken would not be recommended for Growing Zones 6b-7a, although the plant itself is hardy to those temperatures. It's in the length of season where it falls down. We just don't have enough days between hard frosts for the fruit to ripen. This year, it got an earlier start, a little boost from a warmer Spring. That said, I am grateful for what harvest hangs hidden in the leaves where the jays and chipmunks never think to look, and even if I don't get grapes, every year I use a few dozen leaves for dolmas. It's called making the best of things even when they don't work out exactly as planned.