The link below is to a set of documents put together by the kind people at Iowa State University. They have compiled information from different sources on all grapevines that are generally considered to be cold hardy. Very helpful information for the grape grower and the wine maker.
http://viticulture.hort.iastate.edu/cultivars/cultivars.html
Just in from a some time spent in the vineyard…
The vines are all doing great. Our weather has been unseasonably cool and very dry, so I’ve been watering the vines pretty regularly. Tonight, I fertilized the newer vines with a miracle-gro type of liquid fertilizer. The new vines and recovering vines are doing great. The two new Prairie Star vines are just past the bottom wire and have a good shot at getting to the top wire this season.
The recovering vines like the Foch are doing extremely well. Most are near or above the top wire. One of them that I trimmed to 2 buds this spring has already be cut off about one foot above the top wire and is working on building canes for next season! It’s HUGE!
The Sabrevois are making progress…since I first noticed them about a month ago as teeny-tiny shoots, they are all near 1 foot tall. My hope is to get them healthy enough by this fall that they over-winter well and can continue the comeback next season.
The Frontenac vines look great with alot of fruit. The Valiant vine is also going well. Last week I noticed some signs of disease on it so I applied a liquid fungus treatment that seems have to done the trick.
Well, we’re very much in the middle of summer here in MN and the vines are certainly responding to the warmth – as long as I keep them watered. It’s been so dry I’ve even been watering some of my most mature vines that wouldn’t normally need it. Everything is doing great. The Foch are all catching up nicely, the Marquette vine has exploded this month, the surprise Sabrevois vines are doing well, the Frontenacs are huge and are carrying a nice crop, the Prairie Stars are coming back nicely. The one remaining Valiant vine is loaded with fruit. It’s battling some disease pressure at the moment due to our humidity, but I think the worst is behind us.
Hello and first off let me say that it has been far too long since I wrote my last newsletter. I won’t bore you with the details, but just let me say that sometimes life gets in the way of even grape growing! Please read on to get the latest about my vineyard. If you have any comments or questions you may post them below as comments to this post.
The Latest From The Vineyard
Over the last 2-3 years the vineyard has suffered in one form or another for a variety of reasons. The result has been that most of my Foch and Sabrevois vines had been reduced to near nothing. My focus last season and this has been to revive any sickly/stunted vines and replant where vines have died altogether. One lesson I have learned is that my vines need more water than I initially realized. The interesting thing is the way I learned this lesson…over the last 2-3 years, I’ve been trying to get a maple tree in my yard to grow. Through the use of fertilizer tree spikes and the real key – regular watering, this particular maple tree put on 3 feet of growth in it’s canopy last season. Watching this happen taught me something – maybe, just maybe I should be watering the vines at an interval similar to my trees. Well, lo and behold, the vines have really responded. Especially the younger vines.
Vine Status
Marechal Foch – initially I had 12 Foch vines ( 6 in each of two rows). But with recent drought conditions and lack of attention over the last 2-3 years, six of the vines died off completely. But this year I’ve focused on rejuvenating the remaining six Foch plants through fertilization, regular watering and even grow tubes on most of the vines. At this point, all six vines are doing well and have reached at least the first trellis wire. At their current growth rates, I expect them to reach the top wire in about two weeks.
Marquette – after planting three Marquette vines 3 years ago, at the end of last season, I was down to one surviving plant. As with the Foch, I pruned this vine down to a couple of buds and put a growtube on once it had leafed out. I has just reached the top wire and will likely be due to be pruned about 6″ above the top wire in another week.
Sabrevois – going into this season, I was convinced that my Sabrevois vines were gone due to drought and gopher’s nibbling on their roots. But in early June, I detected three very small grapevine-looking plants growing where one of the Sabs had been planted. After another week, I was convinced it was a grapevine and put a growtube on it to help it along and protect it from rabbits.
Frontenac – currently, I have 5 full-size Frontenac vines that have all fruited well this season. My main objective with the Frontenacs is maintenance and keeping them healthy. I am attempting to replace a 6th vine but it remains to be seen if the replacement will survive.
Prairie Star – the Prairie Star vines are doing better each season. I have one vine that is mature and ready to produce a full crop this season. A couple of others are rec0vering from issues and were pruned down to 2 buds and growtubed. These are both doing well with one of them having already been pruned after it grew up past the top wire. Additionally, I had success getting some Prairie Star cuttings to root and they are currently acclimating themselves to life in the vineyard.
Valiant – and last but not least, is one of my oldest vines – the last of the Valiant vines I planted back in 2002. This vine is doing quite well – especially with the dryer conditions of the past 2-3 years. The vine is loaded with fruit this year and should produce quite a crop. I don’t expect to propogate any more Valiant vines but more likely will replace them with more Prairie Stars.
Weather – the weather in the vineyard has been slightly less dry this year than the past few. But only slightly. Our spring started off cool but has remained dry into the summer months. I’m hoping for a long, warm fall season to ripen the grapes fully.
Future Plans - my main plan for the future is to get the vineyard back to full production mode. This will mean propogating a few more of each variety of vine and tending them closely from here on out.
Winemaking – At this point, my winemaking plans are fairly modest. My main objective is to get enough fruit to make a few batches of wine. I may have enough for a batch this fall. In addition, I have a white wine kit I plan to ferment this fall.
That should do it for this latest newsletter. Please contact me if you have questions or would like to talk grape-growing. In the meantime, happy growing!
Don
Greetings and Welcome!
Thanks for taking the time to read this latest edition of our newsletter. I know many of you are busy with your own vineyard maintenance this time of year so I truly do appreciate you taking some time away. I’ve always meant for this newletter to be an informative and fun read for my subscribers. And part of that means publishing it frequently enough to make it worth your while and timely. At times I have not been as timely in publishing the newsletter as at other times and for that, please accept my apologies. I aim to be more consistent in publishing a quality newsletter. Now, on to the latest edition!
Vineyard Weather
This spring has been cooler than most. During the month of May we have had many days in the 50’s and low 60’s when normally we ease into the 70’s. Finally we are seeing some warmer weather this third week of the month. One interesting weather item to note – in each of the past three years, we have had warm springs and then whammo! A leaf/bud killing frost the third week of May. So far this year this has not happened. So despite the overall coolness, we have not had a late spring frost either. Go figure!
Pest Maintenance
I took the pre-emptive step of spraying my Frontenac vines this spring with a 3-in-1 organic pesticide/fungicide. The name escapes me right now, but this particular product seems to keep the little beetles at bay that like to munch on the Frontenac buds. I think I caught it before they even started. Likely, I’ll need to re-apply in 2-3 weeks just to make sure I didn’t miss any.
Additionally, I plan to be more aggressive this year in keeping gophers out of my vineyard. In the past, I’ve tried a variety of repellents to no avail. This year, I plan to use traps to rid the vineyard of these buggers. Even at that, it feels like I’ll be swatting misquitoes with a broomstick. My vines grow adjacent to 160+ acres of fallow, native prairie. Check back for updates.
Vine Update
Valiant – just when I thought the last of my Valiant vines were toast they seem to be making a comeback this spring. For one reason or another, none of them did much last season. One did die and I ended up replacing that one with a vine from my ‘nursery’.
Prairie Star – the Prairie Stars continue to perform well. They are late-bloomers in every respect. It has taken quite awhile to get them established. But now that they are I’ve learned to really appreciate their ability/tendency to hold off on breaking bud until we are past our typical last frost. I’d love to get a small crop off of these vines in the fall.
Frontenac – last summer was a rough one in the vineyard and the Frontenacs seemed to suffer quite a bit in the heat and drought. I believe one young vine died in the process. But the rest have come back quite nicely. Frontenac is amazing for it’s ability to push buds out of every nook and cranny possible. Buds are swelling out of places I never would have expected them! Truly amazing!
Marquette – I need to pay some serious attention to my Marquette vines this season. At this point, one of them is definitely alive. I cannot tell if the other two are yet. As with any young vines, they will need a little extra watering this summer and a good dose of fertilizer.
Foch – this might be the year that I finally give up on my Foch vines. I have always had trouble with them getting nipped in the spring by a late frost. But this year, only a couple of my twelve Foch vines are breaking bud. The rest show little if any activity and what activity there is seems to be mainly shoots coming up from the roots. Its not worth my time to baby these vines through a Minnesota winter, so I may end up replacing them with Marquette vines.
Sabrevois - going into last season, I expected big things from my Sabrevois vines. Three of them seemed to be finally over the hump in terms of maturation. But I believe they were hit by my gopher friends and now none of them show any sign of life. Another vine I may end up parting ways with just due to the sheer effort that has gone into them with no results.
Thanks again for taking the time to read the Blue Door Vineyard Newsletter for May 2008! Please check back for future updates.
Don