Astroman:

Did you mean to say the seeds are not too big? Some of these varieties are known to have seed traces that are not too big but are noticeable under some conditions. I never noticed it in Glenora or Canadice but did in some others...I think Mars in particular. Hopefully they will be better another yr. I've know some people who eat seeded grapes seeds and all. So I don't think it will hurt you. Just chew less and eat more!!

The Fruitnut

I tried some of my Muscat Ottennel that weren't quite ripe. The seeds are few but huge. I recall Joereal saying he eats the seeds and all so gave it a try.

They were not only of disagreeable texture, but they also had a bitter flavor.

I recently began eating watermelon seeds and I found that transition easy. If other grape seeds are as unpleasant as the ones I tried, I won't be eating those.

Oops, sorry for the typo. The seeds are NOT big, just woody and a bit annoying.

I have seen reports of seedless varieties occasionally producing a seed or two, and rarely, many seeds once, but two years straight seems weird. Have they produced seedless grapes previous to the last two years? If not, then I would suspect they are mis-identified and not really seedless varieties (which would seem very unlikely with so many varieties). If they have been seedless before, then something weird is happening. If these are really seedless varieties, please save the seeds! I know several people who would really be interested in them as many would be from seedless x seedless, which is normally not possible without embryo rescue.

Also, has your weather been unusual these past two years during mid to late spring? Unusually hot or cold temps around the time the seeds normally abort could possibly affect the seed development.

~kiwinut

Kiwinut,
My vines are still young. My Glenora last year produced its first fruit: some with seeds, some without. Ones with seeds were large berries, without seeds were tiny. This year, all the Glenoras had seeds and were uniform in size.

It is likely my Canadice has been misidentified, as I've only known green seeded grapes from it - no color in them. That has born three years, all with seeds.

The Jupiter, Reliance and Suffolk Red have never produced grapes without seeds in the two years they have born fruit.

Nothing too unusual about our Springs, although we've had the hot/cold shifts that are normal to our climate. I did notice that the grapes flowered around Memorial Day this year, which was unusually hot.

Could my "Canadice" be propgating the seeds in the other varieties?

Thanks again for the suggestions.

"It is likely my Canadice has been misidentified, as I've only known green seeded grapes from it - no color in them. That has born three years, all with seeds."

Not likely, they are certainly misidentified cause Candice grapes are RED! : (

I also eat seeds and hulls. I just don't chew the seeds.

Robert