Lives Of The Vines 2

For the most part, the vineyard is still in the bud break stage. We have two "blocks" of vineyard, the front and back blocks. This picture shows part of the front vineyard and the arrow points to the vine we are following. The back block is almost always ahead of the front block since it is higher in elevation and generally hotter. Some vines in the back are already in the "bloom" stage. When this occurs small flowers appear that will then form into the grapes. This stage in the life of the vine is critical. We can't have any type of inclement weather during this cycle since it would easily ruin the grape crop. Our vine should be in bloom very soon.

Credits: Font = CB Wednesday; Background Digital Paper = Noni Kit by Lie Pfung and available through http://ScrappersGuide.com

Lives Of The Vines

With today's post, I am beginning a new series called the "Lives of the Vines." The idea is to document the growing cycle of our vineyard from bud break to dormancy. Once a week, I plan to photograph the same grapevine to illustrate what's happening in the vineyard. Also, I will give a short summary of the progress being made. To bring you up to speed, the following things have already happened in the vineyard:

• Cover crop planted between rows
• Vines Pre-pruned
• Weed abatement
• Vines Pruned
• Cover crop cultivated.

Bud break began around April 15. Now that the tender leaves are sprouting, we hope there will be no more frosty nights. Last year we lost half our crop to frost.