Quick grape report. As you may have read here, I've been cultivating a Suffolk Red grapevine and after several years, I finally have actual grapes growing. As of last weekend, there were dozens of bunches. Today, there aren't that many. And not because of birds.
The grapevine is suffering from something called "black rot" which is a common fungus that eats the grapes and turns them into shriveled "mummies." So for the last couple of days, I've been pruning away any infected grapes and leaves. I'm hesitant to use a fungicide because I'm all green and organic like that, so I'm hoping the pruning will do the trick. I've also thinned the vine a little bit to allow more air and sunlight to the lower-hanging fruit.
At this point, I would guess there are about ten or twelve bunches left that appear healthy.
My next problem, should the grapes survive to maturity, will be to keep the birds away. Netting and perhaps a rubber snake might do the trick.