Birds Attack!

I recently returned from a week vacation expecting to find that the grapes in my yard had turned from green to purple in my absence.  Instead, I found that I had no grapes at all, save four measly green grapes on an otherwise empty cluster.  I quickly called my sister to check on the six vines at her house, and with the flock of robins circling her backyard it didn’t take long to deduce that my vines were under attack. 

I had read about the threat of birds to vines over the years, but like my black rot the season before, apparently it took firsthand experience to cause me to act upon it.  Fortunately, since the vines at my sister’s house tend to be a few days later in their cycle, those grapes were still in the process of turning to a plump and delicious purple, and therefore might still be salvaged.

Tony, Assistant Bird-Netting Installer

My sister and brother-in-law promptly bought and installed a bird netting that covers and encloses the grapes and foliage, yet is barely visible from more than a few feet away.  After a few birds attempted kamikaze runs and entangled themselves in the netting, we finally got the net tight enough to keep the pests out and for the most part keep my harvest intact. 

As you’ll see from these pictures, just a couple days later the grapes had turned completely purple and are already sweet to eat.  But table grapes aren’t what I’m after, and baring another unforeseen attack, I might actually be just a few weeks away from harvesting my first crop.