Backyard Vineyard 2 Organic Gardening 101

Backyard Vineyard 2

pointsevenout 14 years ago

This string starts the second growing year of my vineyard. It's been below freezing for more than two weeks. And now, finally a day above 50 degrees so I could finish tying up the vines so the trunks will grow as straight as possible so as to hold the weight of the vine.

All vines are pruned back and tied up. Now the wait begins for spring growth. Here is the link back to the first string: Backyard Vineyard

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pointsevenout 13 years ago said:

Vines are growing nicely. Have had the opportunity to use some home made fungicide/insecticide on the vines twice now.
Breaking off the foliage from the main trunks as soon as they get long enough to tear out the entire tertiary bud so no more growth will come on the trunk. The growth this year will be trained to a 5ft horizontal wire which will hold the arms (cordons). All growth elswhere is not wanted.

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pointsevenout 13 years ago said:

All vine growth is tied to the 5 ft horizontal wire except for the few vines that need to harden off (new green colored vine needs to turn brown) before training because of too much of a severe angle and I don't want to accidently break off the new years growth.
I'll get a picture posted as soon as I can clear some of the weeds and grasses from around the base of the vines so it will look pretty.

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pointsevenout 13 years ago said:

I've been trying at every opportunity to go green. Bought some Diatomaceous Earth as an insecticide and a dry powder spray pump applicator. I'm going to have the arms of Popeye if I keep using that applicator. Found it so much easier with the same result to pick up a small handful of the powder and throw it at the plant.
Took 3/4 of an 8 lb bag to cover 200 plants. At $10 per bag, again, I find the organic method way more expensive than the chemical cure.
I'm curious how the DE is going to handle the Japanese beetles that are due to hatch out any day now.

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pointsevenout 13 years ago said:

What a difference a week makes. Japanese beetles are out in force skeletonizing the tomato leaves. The DE doesn't seem to be slowing them down. They eat around the black rot spots and keep on going. Time for more serious chemicals.

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pointsevenout 13 years ago said:

That should read grape leaves.

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pointsevenout 13 years ago said:

Fungicide is applied for "black rot". I know of no organic method of stopping "black rot".

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pointsevenout 13 years ago said:

Powdered Carbaryl applied to the vines this A.M. Mother reports not a beetle in sight this afternoon.

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pointsevenout 13 years ago said:

Not the first beetle in sight around the vines. YAY!

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pointsevenout 13 years ago said:

I'm embarrassed for not getting any of the second years vine growth posted. Kept the grass mowed between the vine rows but let it get away from me up close in to the vines. So the pictures wouldn't have been that pretty. Will redouble my efforts this coming year to keep the competing grasses away from the vines.
This coming year will be the third year and should be my first crop. I need to keep a tight rein (read spray program) to keep black rot under control. I saw signs of it in this second year.

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pointsevenout 13 years ago said:

Starting the pruning process but doing four vines that are separate from the rest of the vineyard. Have run new cordon training wires. Tied and pruned the vines. The two older vines have established cordons on a 4-arm Kniffen trellis. The two new vines have finished their second year growth and have just the trunk tied up the training stick. They will grow their first cordon arms this coming year. Still need to put up a second training wire a foot above the cordon arm wire. Might do it tomorrow or it can even wait 'till next year.
Have two thirds of the mulch bed cleaned out from competing grasses and weeds and some invasive wild blackberry shoots and stolens.
I'd like to put one of those barriers up that you pound into the ground to keep the unwanted plants out. It goes down about 6 inches but am afraid I would cut off some of the grapevine roots. I understand they are quite expansive. One more day of cleaning out the mulch and it will be time to buy another layer of fresh mulch.
An aggressive herbicide spray program is in order. And also need to train myself to tend to the weeding and plants more than I did last year.

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pointsevenout 13 years ago said:

A little progress today. Nuthin' to brag about. Snow is almost melted from the Christmas snow storm. First day above freezing. Pruned back and tied up cordon arms for one side of one row. Five more sides to go. Tomorrow will be a better day.

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pointsevenout 13 years ago said:

Plenty of progress at the end of the day. All vines are pruned to the cordon arms. And the ones that were cut back last year to give them a better start are ready to grow cordon arms this year.
Working on getting all the competing grasses and weeds out of the rows.
This is coming on the third year and will have my first crop if I can keep up a good maintenance and spraying program.
Looking forward to putting on a horticultural oil spray at dormant levels, not only to the vines but also to the fruit and nut trees to combat overwintering pests.

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pointsevenout 13 years ago said:

First day in a month it's warm enough to go outside. Finished weeding the rows.
Need to start a fourth row for some extra vines and anything I want to propagate. But that's going to be an "as I get around to it" type of things to do.
Next up, I think, is to get some dormant spray on the vines.
I feel good about getting the weeding done.

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pointsevenout 13 years ago said:

Weather barely eked out above 50 F and the ground is still too wet to work but I did get two end posts righted for the fourth row. Ground isn't packed well enough around them. I'll have to wait for dryer weather to move more dirt in the holes. It's a start. Going to have freezing weather for another week. Sure has been a cold winter. Hopefully there is enough warm time this winter to get all done I have planned before spring has sprung.

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pointsevenout 13 years ago said:

Waiting on another snow event tomorrow night. It's going to be another week until I can get back out to the vineyard. Quite an unusual snowy winter here. This will be our fourth snow in the deep south.
I'm planning on putting in a half dozen grape vines in the fourth row along with some espaliered fruit trees. Still doing the research on them. Think I have the technique memorized and it's a matter of getting spur fruiting trees that seems to be the difficulty.

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pointsevenout 13 years ago said:

I'm getting jazzed about working in the vineyard. This upcoming week should see temperatures from 50 degrees up. All kind of plans are dancing in my head.

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pointsevenout 13 years ago said:

Vine rows are weeded and mowed. All prettied up for spring growth. As long as this weather holds out I might get some dormant spray applied to try to knock out some of those overwintering pests.

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pointsevenout 13 years ago said:

Spring is busting out all over. We're into our third week of unusually warm winter. Trees are blooming. Flowers are coming up. At least the grapevines are not fooled by this warm winter. I dread a late hard freeze that will kill all the fruiting things for this year. Ordered some Sovran fungicide for the grapes to combat black rot this year.
Think I'm all set with a strobilurin and a sterol-inhibiting fungicide so I can switch them out every couple weeks so the black rot will not build up an immunity to them.
Expecting the first crop of grapes this year.

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pointsevenout 13 years ago said:

We're into early bud swell season and it's time to break out the hand spray pumps, make sure they are in working condition, and get the first application of fungicide in place. Might have to wait for tomorrow though, it is kicking up a breeze today.

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pointsevenout 13 years ago said:

Up early before the wind and got the vineyard sprayed with Immunox, a sterol-inhibiting fungicide. 1 1/4 oz per gallon dilution rate. That's 1.5 tablespoon per gallon and spray to runoff. My first attack on the dreaded black rot. Will alternate every other week with Sorvan, a strobulurin fungicide. Only place I could find it in small quantities was in New York. As it is, the dilution rate for this 20 oz bottle is enough to last for several years. The weeks in between fungicide sprays will be an insecticide spray.

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pointsevenout 13 years ago said:

Here is the link to the third year thread: Backyard Vineyard 3

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