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The grape escape: Gardeners relocate Welch’s vines as redevelopment nears

The Welch’s vineyard used cuttings from the original Acton grapes grown by the plant’s originator, Ephraim Wales Bull.

By Dakota Antelman ·

Parker said Acton grapes require aggressive pruning to give them their best shot as surviving the transplant process. Photo: Dakota Antelman/The Acton Bridge
Grape expert Tim Parker said Acton grapes require aggressive pruning to give them their best shot as surviving the transplant process. Photo: Dakota Antelman/The Acton Bridge

With garden shears and five-gallon buckets, volunteers and town staff went to work, prepping historic Acton grapevines for a move. 

The micro-vineyard that has flourished at the former Welch’s headquarters on Baker Avenue also includes Niagara and Everest grape varieties. With Welch’s gone, developers plan to redevelop the area for housing.

Locals put their heads together to save the grapes and lauded the site’s owner — Taurus Investment Holdings — for its help.

“It’s good all around,” Orchard House volunteer and gardener John Althouse told The Acton Bridge.

Concordian and grape expert Tim Parker prepares a cutting from the Acton grapevines at the former Welch’s headquarters on Baker Avenue. Photo: Dakota Antelman/The Acton Bridge
Concordian and grape expert Tim Parker prepares a cutting from the Acton grapevines at the former Welch’s headquarters on Baker Avenue. Photo: Dakota Antelman/The Acton Bridge
Timothy Wheeler House board members Ray Andrews and Phil Swain helped prune the grapevines and hope to grow the plants at the Walden Street senior living facility. Photo: Dakota Antelman/The Acton Bridge
Timothy Wheeler House board members Ray Andrews and Phil Swain helped prune the grapevines and hope to grow the plants at the Walden Street senior living facility. Photo: Dakota Antelman/The Acton Bridge

The Welch’s vineyard used cuttings from the original Acton grapes grown by the plant’s originator, Ephraim Wales Bull. Gardeners sliced new cuttings on March 28 and planned to redistribute them.

Later, an outside crew will dig the vines’ roots out of the soil with construction equipment. 

Concordian and grape expert Tim Parker said the Hugh Cargill Community Garden will get grapevines. The Orchard House and Timothy Wheeler House are also getting some. 

The Orchard House is one of several sites around town getting transplanted grapes from a micro-vineyard on Baker Avenue. Photo: Dakota Antelman/The Acton Bridge
The Orchard House is one of several sites around town getting transplanted grapes from a micro-vineyard on Baker Avenue. Photo: Dakota Antelman/The Acton Bridge
Hugh Cargill Community Garden Coordinator Michelle Wiggins cuts through a grapevine with help from Hugh Cargill gardener Tim Parker. Photo: Dakota Antelman/The Acton Bridge
Hugh Cargill Community Garden Coordinator Michelle Wiggins cuts through a grapevine with help from Hugh Cargill gardener Tim Parker. Photo: Dakota Antelman/The Acton Bridge

Natural Resources Director Delia Kaye said some of Acton’s farmers asked for cuttings. 

Staff in the Minuteman Technical High School horticulture program were interested, according to Town Planner Elizabeth Hughes, who said she’d give some to the current owner of Bull’s Lexington Road home. 

“It’s very risky moving them,” Parker acknowledged. Organizers are hoping for the best.

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