We are in a really cool and damp weather cycle at the moment with daytime temps ~15F below normal. Grass and weeds are taking off with this weather. The chardonnay, chenin blanc, and auxerrois vines have slowed a bit with the cooler weather. Just finished 4300 holes for the new incoming plants next week. Pretty excited to get them going. Looking ahead the current weather pattern stays in place for a few more days and then it starts to change for the better. At this time of year you can’t believe how many layers of clothing we are wearing while working in the vineyard.
We have had 14 straight days with precipitation each day or night, from drizzle to downpour. The next 5 days look the same. Was able to squeeze in a phomopsis/downey treatment but ground is saturated, grasses are long and we’re getting behind in shoot thinning. Bright side…blocks with freeze killed buds look better, now that secondaries are emerging and our new plantings are getting plenty of water. There’s always a bright side!
Jeff, really a rocky start to the growing season this year - too warm, too cold, too dry, too rainy. Hopefully, some sunshine coming soon!! ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
No rain today, first in 15, but no sun either. Only older lower vineyard is below the deck.
The cloud deck lifting but low clouds still trying to pour over 3,400 foot Park mountains to our south.
And young Cabernet learning to compete and not be dependent on herbicides.
Yesterday the sun came out for the first time in two weeks. Was also very windy and cold, starting off in the low 40’s. We did have a 5 minute drenching in the afternoon. This morning it was 38F and now the sky is clear and sunny. Tomorrow and Wednesday we are going to be back under the clouds and wet. Look’s like Thursday I will be back on the crawler with another treatment. Right now we are just about finished with our first past through shoot thinning. CF and Merlot will be down slightly from the freeze but all else is on target. Below is a shot of us shoot thinning the Sauvignon Blanc.
Yesterday and today we had cold brisk winds with low humidity which caused the state to issue fire warnings for the region. It was so cold this morning compared to the weekend that we had multiple layers as we planted tall graft vines this morning. The northwest part of Connecticut had snow flurries. This afternoon it moderated and we made the 3K vines planted in 3 days. Still have 1200 to do but should be completed in moderating weather in the next 2 days. A few views of the planting from day 1 … EnoViti: Planting Day 1 .
The cold overcast conditions have really slowed growth. Visually, I look like three weeks behind where I would normally be at now. On the other hand given the daily rain, I am a little surprised how little disease pressure there is currently. All I can see is a little black spot on a single rose. The grapes look clean.
As for freeze damage, unless a miracle occurs, I ended up only losing three of my 375 vines which is way better than expected. If I add in where I lost a single trunk of a double trucked vine the damage goes up but still numbers less than a dozen.
I hear you, Brian. My backyard tomatoes and peppers look to be about a month behind schedule. All of the farmers that I talk to at the market say they are in the same spot.
As of yesterday we finished a 4300 tall graft planting of cabernet sauvignon(1 clone), cabernet franc(2 clones), chardonnay(2clones), chenin blanc(1 clone), and auxerrois(2 clones). We are pretty beat even though our awesome friends did most of the work… EnoViti: Planting Day 1 . It was a good opportunity to educate kids that came out to help as well…EnoViti: Circumventing Child Labor Laws . We marked a few of plants they planted so that they can follow the growth over this and subsequent seasons. Many of our previously dug holes coincided with frog mating season. I cannot describe how many frogs(oodles) and a lone salamander we had to pull out of the holes before planting vines … EnoViti: Planting Pitfalls . And every afternoon like clockwork the planting crew was entertained by a turkey group with the toms displaying their virile selfs. Temperatures have been cooler than normal which is good for planting. Looks like we have a chance of rain coming in this weekend…hope so.
Hi Gary, What is meant by this? I’m assuming it’s 4,300 vine-lings and that they are extra tall…(above or below the graft?) Could you explain the whats and whys. Thanks, Jeff
Hi Jeff - The graft union is about 6 inches below the fruiting wire. the plants themselves are about 32-34 inches not including roots. There are several pros,and a few cons, to planting tall grafts. I’ll add to this tomorrow morning.
As mentioned I would add to the post above on tall graft grapevines. These are some pros and cons that come to mind…Cheers, Gary
pros :
- straight trunk
- reduced labor to introduce(no trunk training or rabbit guards)…makes up for significant portion of upfront expense
- super low suckering
- renewal zone near fruiting wire
- up to 30% more fruit in first 10 years( most coming within first 3 years)
- appears more winter hardy(combination of rootstock antifreeze carbohydrates & height off ground)
- no evidence of trunk splitting in freeze-thaw winter climates
- deeper planting if water resource limiting or water use restricted(France)
cons:
- upfront higher cost including shipping cost
- nurseries do not have as off the shelf dormant grafts every year
- not amenable to winter burying…risky in cool-cold climate boundary areas
- for small operations(like ours) need posts in ahead of time so that one can quickly set trellis as the plants will take off quickly after planting
First signs of bloom spotted. I guess the slow growth had me expecting bloom would be delayed.
We have been in and out of warm and cool humid days. The new dormant tall grafts(4200) that we planted May 14-19 have a good healthy start with 3-8 inches of growth thus far. The older plants are motoring along through the first set of catch wires and are requiring shoot positioning attention.
Last and this year we have noticed a good population of gypsy moth caterpillars. Over a dinner discussion another grower to my west along the Connecticut River is having trouble with the caterpillars chewing on his young chardonnay leaves and by and large leaving his pinot gris alone. The pressure on the chardonnay might be that they are closest to his forest line(mostly oaks). The cause for the population growth seems to be that the dry Spring and early Summer has reduced a fungal population that kills the larval caterpillar form. I’m finding that our population is being kept in check with the spined soldier beetle. At first I started finding shriveled carcasses of the caterpillar around in the vines and then we came across a spined soldier beetle that had just speared a gypsy moth caterpillar. Early today while doing some shoot positioning I came across another carterpillar being stalked by the ‘beneficial’ beetle. I just let them be to allow the natural course of things take place.
Add - Link to images of beetle spearing gypsy moth caterpillar … EnoViti: Soldier Patrol in the Vineyard
In our part of the northeast we have been watching rain go around us such that we have not had appreciable rain since Memorial Day weekend. Incredibly dry Spring & Summer for us again which makes 4 years in a row. Only a small prospect for rain upcoming. Most people love this as it makes for terrific beach and boating weather.
Sorry, been too busy to write. June is THE month in canopy management. Will write in detail soon but all looks great. The vintage is pretty much in Mother Natures hands now.
Came home after a 12 day vacation to some burned leaves on my Roussanne vines but not on anything else, at least not widespread. Last spray was 3 days prior to leaving and there was no sign of problems when I left. Other varieties that are more prone to sulfur burn are fine so I’m not sure what happened. Roussanne hasn’t really worked for me as this is the third year of poor fruit set but the burned leaves are a new issue.
I don’t check this thread, but just did for pretty much the first time! Brian, there is no such thing as a 12 day vacation during growing season!
A couple of years ago, my vineyard got hit with sulfur burn. Heartbreaking. I have changed crews for spraying and they seem to be up on the latest and greatest. And of course twice as expensive.
We are having multiple days, now, of 100 degree temperatures. Sunburn is the current worry.
Brian, What rate per acre of the sulfur did you spray and what else did you tank mix with the sulfur? It only reached into the mid nineties here during that period, not enough to cause issues with sulfur burning in my experience. But I’m not familiar with Roussanne. Do you have pictures?