This morning, at 7 a.m., the crew arrives to start the winter prune of the grape vines.
They will remove 90 percent of the vines, cutting everything above the cane wire 31 inches off the ground.
I will be there at the start, but I won't work alongside them for very long. They don't want me "helping." Pruning is their job. My job is to pay them when the job is done.
A lot has happened in the past six weeks as the plants went dormant.
October 25: We had a light frost but the leaves were still alive and growing:
By October 28 we had hard frosts:
Leaves were falling off trees. A male China pheasant visited on November 12.
On November 14 a heron hunted in the field next to the irrigation ditch.
By November 16, we had a succession of cold days, and it stayed cold. The electronic thermometer at the edge of the vineyard reported a low of 28.2. High of 32.3. Average temperature of 29.8 for the day.
On November 28 by midday, the ice crystals had finally begun to melt from the previous night's frost.
By November 30, nearly all the dead leaves had fallen from the vines.
A herd of elk enters and leaves the farm as they move around the riparian area along the Rogue River. This photo was taken from my farm house. They are about 400 yards away.
I was able to get about 250 yards from them when they spooked and stampeded off.
I am awed by the herd, but wish they would go elsewhere. They are picturesque, but they compact the soil, eat crops, run through fences, and make it harder to get the land in shape to plant alfalfa this April.
By November 16, we had a succession of cold days, and it stayed cold. The electronic thermometer at the edge of the vineyard reported a low of 28.2. High of 32.3. Average temperature of 29.8 for the day.
On November 28 by midday, the ice crystals had finally begun to melt from the previous night's frost.
By November 30, nearly all the dead leaves had fallen from the vines.
A herd of elk enters and leaves the farm as they move around the riparian area along the Rogue River. This photo was taken from my farm house. They are about 400 yards away.
I was able to get about 250 yards from them when they spooked and stampeded off.
I am awed by the herd, but wish they would go elsewhere. They are picturesque, but they compact the soil, eat crops, run through fences, and make it harder to get the land in shape to plant alfalfa this April.
Winter is a slow season on a farm, but things never really shut down.
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4 comments:
Sounds like a lot of work. Good work though, when it's not too hot and smoky. Which makes me wonder if Rogue Valley growers are having any problem selling wine grapes to people leery of smoke taint.
In early winter I remember seeing a pile of potatoes and the job was evaluating whether the potatoes were a number 1, 2, or 3. A farm machinery was also sitting in this barn awaiting some repairs. Farming is a 12 month job that slows in the winter but never really stops.
Isn’t this about 2 months early to prune? As I understand it early pruning invites disease into the cut canes. I don’t prune until February, when I see most of the surrounding vineyards start pruning.
I appreciate the work you and your team do year round.
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