Hurrah! Finished planting my 2014 seedlings:
218 feet of rows
457 seedling still alive ...
We
have our first 'second generation' crosses in this batch: (cinerea x
Carnelian) x Villard Blanc, and (cinerea x Carnelian) x Blanc Du Bois.
The
2014 class includes about 100 vinifera 'op' seedlings that are not
expected to survive for long. They won't get sprayed, and they are
planted by the river where the bugs hang out. Who knows, maybe some
North American genes got into the mix and a couple will survive.
It
also includes about 190 wild cinerea seedlings (thanks, Jack!) . Most
will be male. I currently have 5 unique 'wild' cinereas that have
bloomed, and probably another 1 to 4 which have not matured enough to
bloom. I'm hoping the class of 2014 will produce another 15 or 20.
Have I
mentioned that cinereas are the only vines to consistently bloom after
the annual 'late frost' here and they make a decent wine on their own?
I had
my worst 'success rate' for germination and seedling survival. About
16% of the pots failed to produce a single surviving seedling, and the
seedling to seed ratio was a low. I think it was about 50% in the past,
this year it was around 16%. This number ignores all the pots that
produced zero seedlings.
I
credit this potting soil used. This year I used raw vineyard soil for
germination, which meant lots of clay and a pH of about 8. I thought I
might as well start screening out vines that don't like a high pH from
day one.
I'm debating doing this a second time. The local cinerea seedlings didn't seem to mind, but everything else took a hit.
