Newsletter Volume I, Issue 5 (November 2003)
Newsletter Contents
In this issue of the newsletter we discuss the following topics:
Thanks for taking the time to read our newsletter! We don’t pretend to be experts at growing grapes in cold climates, but rather we hope you find the newsletter an informative and entertaining source of information. If you do, feel free to forward the e-mail to others that may be interested.
Well it’s officially fall in the vineyard. Due to an early hard frost (17F on October 3rd), the leaves on most trees and grapevines have been gone for awhile. We have completed most of our fall vineyard-related chores and are already looking ahead to next spring. First we have to make sure our vines make it through the winter!
Winter Preparation
We have recently completed hilling up dirt around some of the more spindly plants in the vineyard. Most of these vines were planted last season (2002) and did not hold up too well last winter due to a number of factors including:
- a number of nursery-started vines did not take root until early July 2002
- there was little or no snow during the coldest portion of last winter (we recorded a low of -24.6F)
Consequently many of these vines had to push shoots from below ground. So their growth this season was slowed somewhat until they got above ground. Our hope in protecting them by hilling up dirt is to keep the above-ground part of the plants alive so that they can achieve better growth next season and not need special protection next winter (2004-2005).
Trellis Update
We have had all of our trellis posts in the ground since last fall. Due to some of the setbacks our vines experienced last winter, the plants did not need to be on a trellis. They simply would not have reached it. So our plan now is to run wire next spring. The Valiants will need the support the most. Next season they will be at the point where they will need to be trained into a permanent position. And the way the Frontenacs came back, they likely will need the support as well.
After a little research and discussion with several other growers, we have settled on 12.5 gauge high-tensile wire for our trellis. We thought we might get by with a lighter gauge (our rows are only 30 feet in length), but several growers recommended against it as we would end up replacing it sooner.
Plant Progress
Here are the latest growth notes:
| Variety | Growth Update |
| Valiant | Next season is when we expect the Valiants to really shine. They will be mature enough to bear their first small crop of fruit. We will likely need to take some preventative steps to guard against mildew. |
| Prairie Star | We would be extremely happy if the four remaining Prairie Stars made it through the winter. If we can get them to do that, then things will look better in terms of their long-term survival. |
| Frontenac | Based on their ability to come back from the adverse conditions of last winter, we expect big growth from the Frontenacs next year. Their trunks are much thicker and stronger than they were entering last winter. |
| St. Pepin | We are going to take a “wait and see” approach with the St. Pepin vine that survived last winter. It’s small as it didn’t push shoots up from it’s roots until July. If it survives this winter, we’ll have to decide if we want to propogate some additional plants from cuttings. |
| Sabrevois | We need to get the four Sabrevois plants through this winter and see how they will do with a full season’s growth under their belts. Hopefully with better watering and fertilization practices they will take off and enjoy rapid growth. |
| Bluebell | We plan to dig up the Bluebell and replant one of the vines next spring in a half-row with a St. Pepin plant and a King of the North plant. We may try to use the other two vines by integrating them into our landscape plan. |
| King of the North | We plan to dig up two of the King of the North plants and create a mini-nursery out of this three plant half-row. As noted above, it will contain one St. Pepin, one Bluebell and this one King of the North. |
Site links!
In the past month we have had a few requests to link to our site. We are always glad to exchange links with other grape-growing related sites. If you know of a site that would like to link to us or that we should be linking to, let us know. We would be glad to make a contact and continue building a bigger web of sites that could be useful to cool-climate grape growers. Here are some of the sites that have recently added links to Blue Door Vineyard:
- Midwest Vineyard Supply : http://www.midwestvineyardsupply.com
- Sommer Breeze Vineyard (WinePress.US) : http://www.winepress.us
- Little Fat Wino : http://www.littlefatwino.com
Well, that’s it for this issue of the Blue Door Vineyard newsletter. Look for our next newsletter to arrive in your inbox sometime next month. In the meantime, thanks for reading and take care! Hey - don’t forget to tell your friends about our newsletter!
Grapelog » Newsletter Archive Said,
September 16, 2006 @ 2:13 am
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