It is possible to grow grapes in the UK as long as you choose grape varieties which are suitable for growing in your region. In my case however I simply bought a rootless stick from a small village market in Languedoc Roussillon for a mere £2.50.

I chose a red grape variety called Alphonse Lavallée which is well-known as a good accompaniment to cheeses such as Comté or Gruyère for example. I did have second thoughts about buying a red grape variety since I was concerned about the weather in England, in particular the fact that it would need a lot of sun to ripen into red grapes. East Anglia enjoys some of the driest weather in the UK and just £2.50 I was happy to give it a go if only for the decorative quality of the vine.

I planted my twig two and a half years ago in my south facing garden and I have trained it to grow along the top part of a white painted brick shed. I was amazed to see some healthy shoots sprouting from such a small and frail rootless stick.

I have always been told that you need to treat vines in order to avoid diseases of all types and get a good supply of grapes, in particular the Bordeaux mix is a must to prevent black rot. However I was curious to see if I could get a good harvest the organic way.

And I am delighted to say that I harvested about 8 pounds of grapes just before the first frost arrived a couple of weeks ago. A third of it was not quite ripe but it is ripening nicely at home next to the supermarket bananas.

As it was quite a lot of grape to store in so many punnets all at once I tried to make some jelly. I enjoyed making my first ever jam but I did not strain the liquid for long enough to give it a translucent jelly-like quality. Still it makes a nice jam which I have used with the big apples that I bake in the oven (cored & stuffed with jelly). Similarly I can use this jam in an alternative to gravy by mixing a couple of spoons with some white wine and add it to the tray used to cook my Sunday chicken in the oven.

If you are looking for a good grape jelly recipe I recommend the BBC Good Food website which provides easy recipes for beginners like me.