Texas grape tent

We are making a lot of progress on the 'grape tent'.  We have built the end posts and beams for a pergola that will eventually spread over the whole west vineyarWe have built the end posts and beams for a pergola that will eventually spread over the whole west vineyard.  Vines will be allowed to grow up and over the pergola wires, creating a big tent.  This is an southern Italian technique call 'tendone' (tent).

I think this will help protect the soil and mulch from the summer sun.

Pergolas, everyone loves pergolas!

Pruning day, 2013

It took me an hour and twenty minutes to prune the vineyard this evening.  It is amazing what one can do with a battery powered headlight.  The Lomanto, one of the Doaniana Montague crosses and couple of the Cinerea x Mourvedre crosses are starting to display swollen buds, but everything else is still sleeping.  The variation in Cinerea x Mourvedre crosses will be worth paying more attention to as things develop.

It was an interesting evening. There was talk of a comet being visible at sundown, but we didn't see anything.  I got to see the first signs of progress on the pergola.  The pergola is going provide an overhead growing environment for the top 4 rows in the west vineyard.  I'm interested in seeing if this helps my efforts to improve the soil by shading it from the summer sun.

Planting weekend

I took a vacation day Friday.  We worked on the trellis in the morning Friday, and I spent the afternoon buying parts for the expanded water system.  Saturday and Sunday, I was 'heeling' cuttings.  I would have liked to simply plant the cuttings were we expect them to stay, but my rows are not ready (and won't be for at least 3 weeks), so they went into the below heap of sand and clay next to the 'big hole'.

Pretty nondescript.  A lot of effort went into this, though.

Here is my workshop.  It was in the shade when I started, but things changed as the afternoon slipped by.

It is very portable.  A chair/Kneeler. A box to serve as desk and workbench.  On the workbench is a sharpy, two knives and some scratch paper.  Additionally, there are two watering pots and several bags (one of which was a trash bag).  Not shown is a small bottle of rooting hormone.  It is hiding behind the light green water can.  This was taken when I was done, so the ten or show packages of cuttings have been converted into rooting material and heeled (see above).

Left to right on the berm (of course you can't see any of this):
1. Chambercin on Doanian Montegue (discovered in the refrigerator after photo)
2. Blanc Du Bois on Doanian Montegue (discovered in the refrigerator after photo)
3. Syrah on 1103P
4. Austin's blanc on Doaniana Pomeroy
5. Stover on Pomeroy
6. Captivator
7. Austin's blanc
8  Albarino
9. Delaicatessen
10.  Nero d'Alvola
11. Hildago or Wetumca
12. America
13. Chambercin x Norton on Pomeroy (after photo, they were discovered in the refrigerator
14. Victoria Red (Planted Sunday night after being discovered in the second refrigerator)
15. K1 ((Planted Sunday night after being discovered in the second refrigerator)

Blackberries (to the left of the grapes, not in the photo
Top row, left to right
1. Rosborough
2. Brison
3. Kiowa TP 986

Second row
Womack

The blackberries were purchased about a month ago (same time as pecan trees), but stayed in the refrigerator until today.  They were probaby too close to freezing (as in frozen) at least some of the time.  (Old/poor quality equipment.)

The blackberries are root cuttings and are not to freeze.  Of the 4, I only noticed damage on the Womack.  About 1/4 of the root cuttings had a white fuzzy mold growing.  Probably not a good sign.

Several of the cuttings froze, too.  They are supposed to do better, so I am not so worried about them.

I have a number of cutting still in the refrigerator (probably frozen) in case I have a chance to do grafting later in March:
Chamborcin
Stover (lots)
Delicatessen
Victoria Red
Albarino
Nero d'Alvola
Austing's Blanc
Captivator
K1

It will be interesting to see if any of this works.

Here is something that didn't work.  I tried to graft some Victoria Red to mustang, but the plastic tape was left outside and got glued to itself and I couldn't get it unwound enough to work with it it.  I was running out of time, and couldn't find my knife in the box (same workshop).  I wasn't familiar with what I was doing, so frustration got the better of me.

I quit and went inside.  It was getting dark, anyway.  I found the knife in the box almost as soon as I sat down and relaxed a bit.

Anyway, here is the field graft process I had settled on.  The tool needed is listed to the right. I'll try it again in a few weeks.
1. wrap 2 scion cutting ends (plastic wrap)
2. saw down the mustang (this moved to #1 when I tried it) (saw and pick-axe)
3. hammer the cleaver blade into the trunk (mallet and ear plugs)
4. slice up the scion cuttings to a 'v' for insertion (razor knife)
5. wet everyting down and insert the scion wood (water bottle)
6. wrap everything

Finally, since we are all so expectant about the weekend.  I hurt my right ear unloading metal pipes, Friday (I can't do that again without ear protectors!). I've got a rasp that garbles my speech if I talk at a normal level.  If I keep my comments soft, no problem, no rasp.  It is like torn speaker cone sound.  It is a bit better today.  I hope it goes away, but who knows.  

Update, first week of March

The goat fence is basically complete. Except for a chain on one gate, we are ready to let the goats out in their new pasture. Next up... the rain collection system.

Three weeks ago (2/9/13), we went to the annual TOFGA convention (Austin, this year).  Had a great time.