2024-04-21 13:29:24
It all started with a man’s passion for grapes
“It all started with a man,” Ineta says with a laugh. “He thought of growing grapes, so we started growing dessert grapes outdoors.” Since their varieties are increasing every year, the collection of husband Jevgenij is also growing – as new as the day. It’s seedless, it’s a more interesting shape, it’s an unusual aftertaste.
If there were only 18 trees in the first greenhouse built, now there are over a hundred species.
And they looked for new varieties at merchants in Ukraine. “He loves with his eyes – he sees and buys without tasting,” revealed the interviewer. Everything is very simple, even before the Russian attack, he used to pick up and send by mail the twigs without roots just a few tens of centimeters in size. They were later planted in their homestead.
But what differentiates the hundreds of varieties? “It can differ in spiciness, it can differ in sweetness. Some are more sour, some have a pineapple aftertaste, others have a strawberry aftertaste. They are all different,” she says.
Buyers who come to the farm like to taste almost all the varieties and choose the one that best suits their individual taste. For example, children like extremely sweet grapes the most, while adults prefer more interesting flavors – they especially like the aftertaste of black currants, nutmeg or pineapple.
You won’t find grown berries in local markets, according to each order, the woman takes the freshly harvested harvest to the doorstep, and the majority are sold to people from Panevėžys. The biggest work is done by social networks, it is enough to announce the beginning of the season on the Facebook page “DvarUogė” and buyers will appear immediately.
Over the course of several seasons, there have already been regular buyers who request several kilograms of berries every few weeks. Relatives and friends also grab the harvest, so during the season several hundred kilograms evaporate quite quickly. However, the plants here only grow for a few years, so they are young trees. As they mature every year, so does the yield.
Dessert grapes are not only placed on people’s tables, but jam, grape juice or tea are also made from the leaves. True, some come to the family with questions – how to choose the breed you like?
The answer for them is very simple – you need to taste and understand what your taste is.
If Ineta herself likes grapes with a sharper aftertaste, her husband likes seedless ones, and her mother likes whole ones, it does not mean that such berries will be so liked by others.
Although neither berries nor grape leaves can be seen at the beginning of April, the buds of the plants should already be formed in the middle of April and will open immediately after receiving warmth. However, the first berries are expected in August, somewhere around Zholina, on August 15, and the harvest ends with the frosts.
Sheep and chickens are part of a sustainable vineyard
However, the husband’s passion for grapes also spread to Ineta herself and mother Jūra. The women themselves spend most of their time here, while the mother, who lives just a few meters away, constantly monitors the temperature in the greenhouses and waters the plants. Both the wife and the husband come to work with maintenance, just pruning the trees is a real job.
“They are like women – they need a lot of attention,” assures Ineta without suppressing a smile, talking about the care of dessert grapes. The greenhouses must have the right temperature, fertilizers, and soil, so the soil in both the greenhouses and the fields has been changed – instead of gravel, a lot of black soil and rotted manure have been brought in for the plants to grow.
“Now we are also experimenting with pure gravel, either it will work or it won’t. Of course, it looks beautiful when you are driving in Italy and the grapes are growing on the mountains. It’s not like that here, and I would say it’s a bit cold here,” she assessed the climatic conditions for the grapes.
Sometimes it is necessary to treat plants from diseases, to protect them from attacking wasps. Last year, a significant part of the crop was attacked by wasps, and only part of the crop was saved. The hot sun is also taking its toll and part of the harvest is burnt.
They try to harvest dessert grapes in greenhouses before frost, but the so-called technical grapes growing in the field can last even longer. Although such berries are mostly intended for making wine, there are currently no plans to engage in such activities.
As the entrepreneur said, the sheep, oxen, and chickens living on the homestead come to help in this farm.
Berries, leaves or other greens that are not fully attached are removed by the inhabitants of the homestead. “Sheep, I would say, are the main greenhouse factor that makes us organic. Because we grow organically, summer pruning takes place weekly. They eat all the greenery here,” the interviewer explains.
It is added that the crop is not sprayed with harmful chemical additives, but organic, certified additives help to grow berries.
The chickens eat all the bad berries. After eating sugar, they become extremely active and their mother has to catch them jumping over the fence, but they are not really drunk, she assures.
Speaking about the future plans of the “DvarUogė” brand, the woman says that she wants to expand the farm of dessert grapes, start producing gummies or jam. And Ineta’s husband will continue to look for new varieties for his already rich collection.
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2024-04-21 13:29:24