Spring has Sprung at Frick May 1, 2019 16:42
May 1, 2019
The 2019 growing season has begun.
The vines and I are off and running.
Rain gauge overflowed often.It was a long winter with over 57” of rainfall here.
Cold wet storms continued well into March.
Cold and rainy weather kept vines dormant for
a delayed but break. Ground in the vineyard was so
wet that cultivation was delayed until just now.
Owl Hill VineyardBecause of an abundance of moisture in the soil
and the sudden spring heat spell in April vines burst into life.
They quickly budded and started growing inches each day.
There has been no spring frost. Always a good thing.
Now all my vines have beautiful fresh young green leaves
seen in Gannon Vineyard above.
Fruit clusters are big and plump.
Growth continues with noticeable lengthening of canes every day.
Vine varieties are not all the same.
They start growing at different times.
Viognier and Carignane are early.
Mourvedre and Counoise are later.
Some sections of the vineyard have much more growth than others.
Different variety characteristics make for interesting farming.
Above-Carignane Above- Mourvèdre
The tall, well-watered cover crop was, finally, just mowed and plowed in for some wonderful tilth.
The tractor did not get stuck in wet spots.
Below you see my main piece of equipment.
I have started weed-whacking and chopping extra thick growth of grass in vine rows.
There is a lot of extra clearing work ahead of me this year.
Maybe I will receive another Certificate of Excellence for 2019.
