Well I'm giving this vineyard thing a try. I'm about 3 miles from the ocean as the crow flies in San Diego, CA. Just far enough to rarely get marine layer, and get lots of 75-80 degree days. I put 31 vines in the ground (8 pinot noir, 9 zinfandel, 14 cab sav) about 8 weeks ago. We've got heavy clay soil, so all vines are on the clay-loving 101-14 graft. I've heard home vineyards have done quite well in my neighborhood... that is until they got hit with pierce's disease from the glassy winged sharpshooter about a decade ago. The same time it wiped out all the vineyards in Temecula.
After digging 31 holes (3ft wide, 3ft deep) in clay soil I never want to see a shovel again
. So one of the interesting parts of the vineyard is the trellis which has been constructed using existing posts from a chain-link fence. I anchored 45 degree fence poles at the base of each one of the existing poles. The trellis is going to be VSP. I haven't put up the light wires yet for the shoots. I used 12.5 gauge trellis wire for the main fruiting wire. Random question: would a heavy weight fishing line work for the VSP shoot wires? Seems like 12.5 gauge is overkill for rows that only have 15 vines max.
Also, shown are pics of a happy cabernet vine (largest) , a happy pinot noir, and a sad looking pinot noir. I've been watering the vines about once a week for the last 8 weeks. Is it time to reduce watering or stop watering completely? I've seen a lot of conflicting information about watering newly planted vines especially after the first month or two. As you can see in the pictures, they will eventually get water from the grass once the roots have been established. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Also, do I need to do any spraying this year?
Btw, the reason why I'm using metal skewers instead of bamboo stakes is that my 10 month old lab likes to chew on bamboo (and probably grape wood.) The shelters are more for dog protection than anything!
After digging 31 holes (3ft wide, 3ft deep) in clay soil I never want to see a shovel again
. So one of the interesting parts of the vineyard is the trellis which has been constructed using existing posts from a chain-link fence. I anchored 45 degree fence poles at the base of each one of the existing poles. The trellis is going to be VSP. I haven't put up the light wires yet for the shoots. I used 12.5 gauge trellis wire for the main fruiting wire. Random question: would a heavy weight fishing line work for the VSP shoot wires? Seems like 12.5 gauge is overkill for rows that only have 15 vines max. Also, shown are pics of a happy cabernet vine (largest) , a happy pinot noir, and a sad looking pinot noir. I've been watering the vines about once a week for the last 8 weeks. Is it time to reduce watering or stop watering completely? I've seen a lot of conflicting information about watering newly planted vines especially after the first month or two. As you can see in the pictures, they will eventually get water from the grass once the roots have been established. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Also, do I need to do any spraying this year?
Btw, the reason why I'm using metal skewers instead of bamboo stakes is that my 10 month old lab likes to chew on bamboo (and probably grape wood.) The shelters are more for dog protection than anything!
