Missoula Vinyard

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HA! Finally got that pesky critter that's been hangin' around the Missoula Vinyard the last few nights! That deer won't be nippin' those buds any more...
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Now he's REALLY HANGIN' !!!
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<div align="center">MERRY CHRISTMAS !

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Santa's definitely not gonna be happy with you!!!!!!!!! Me thinks the other 8 reindeer are going to be crapping on your roof
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!
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Edited by: wade
 
And the hummingbird feeder hanging there too? I hope you aren't thinking of them for Christmas dinner!
 
Your snow is gone???? WOW!!!! Lucky you...going to be awhile for us...-15*F again tonight....:&gt;(
 
That is definitely encouraging for you Dave! It looks like the sun is even showing there. Has it been cold there this winter? I hope your vines faired well this winter. It won't be long and they will be budding out again.


We have had a pretty mild winter again overall. Lake Champlain never froze over this year completely, so the temps are fairly good. There were 30-40 mph south winds last night and the ferries had to shut down. Besides the 10-12 foot waves, it moved ice flows from the south. The lake looked like a giant slushy. Normally the lake can be frozen completely over and the icebreaker ferries can navigate safely, but the ice jams were traveling with such speed it was too dangerous for the ferries to run. Glad I didn't need to cross the lake.
 
Pretty cool Dave! It is difficult to believe that your thaw is so advanced compared to here. It would be great if you would keep your camera handy and keep us entertained step by step as your vines come back to life - close up shots of bud swell, bud burst, deer scaring tactics
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, and such. Around here, there is so much snow down that officials are praying for a slow start to spring in order to avoid serious river flooding. It has been one of those old fashioned New England winters, something that I'm now getting tired of hearing about.
 
Good idea, Bill!

I've thoroughly enjoyed watching your vinyard grow from timber to today. Even the pictures of the vertical support system in the snow were, as Waldo might say, "Purty, ain't it?"
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NW, our snow is pretty much only in the shady spots, although up in the mountains we've got some pretty good coverage -- several feet -- and still great skiing. (Our local ski area is in the far distance, in that picture above, but hard to make out [up in the upper left-hand corner, through the branches] -- their base, maybe a thousand feet higher than us, is still 45" with 84" at the summit)

Our weather has been pretty much "normal" this year. The plots below may be interesting to some (-- the rest may as well check out the latest AAAStinkie posting now!
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)

This is the airport observations for December -- and they are usually a few degrees colder/warmer than we are. Note coldest temps dipped to around 6-7* ABOVE zero for December.
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For January, we had (as usual) colder temps, but only a few days below zero, with one to minus 6-7* below zero. Here at our house, we never saw anything colder than -2*below, and only for two different nights.
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For February, you can see we've dipped into the teens once and the rest mostly the 20's for lows. Of course you can note by the lavender color, we still have cold lows possible, but... Spring is coming! Note, we've already had highs, last week and this, in the 40's!
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These graphs can be found at your local weather station -- "KMSO" means our airport, which is where our NWS office is located. Just search on the internet for "national weather service &lt;insert your town&gt;" and the local station should come right up! Then look for their records. Oh, and our deer still have yet to drop their antlers -- and they were right below us this morning!


Edited by: OilnH2O
 
Ahhh, REALITY!
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In this case the biggest problem was how heavy and wet it was! (It couldn't be swept off the driveway!)
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But it is tempered by the invoice I received today for 25 Pinot Noir #13 martini clones to be shipped in a few weeks "when I want them" from Inland Desert Nursury in Washington!

Am I considering "reality" by ordering these? Who knows! But, there are several places near this part of Montana that have had some small success with Pinot Noir -- and one that is selling their grapes to a commercial vintner.

It presents me with another "reality" decision too -- I've got room for 14 more vines in my little vinyard. But the price-break at 25 was the same as buying 14 and the shipping is the same regardless, from 1 to 25... so now to just figure when the best date to have them arrive...and what to do with the remainder!
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I see a perfectly good 3 rail arbor growing there just begging for some privacy scrrening in summer! The Pinot might not be all that crazy. They grow in NY in the warmer areas- some on Long Island and a few in the Hudson Valley.


We are expecting one of those night white blankets tomoorow through Wed. They are now saying 10-15 inches in the Champlain Valley and all of Vt. It is supposed to begin about 8-10 tomorrow.
 
We've had a late spring, but it is going to be like summer here this weekend - supposed to be in the 80's with maybe even 90 Sunday. I've finished weeding and getting the holes for the pinot's ready -- the vines arrived a few days ago. But I'm a little concerned about planting them with such suddenly hot weather -- on the other hand, I don't want to keep them in the box they came in too long either (although they are cool, wet, lots of bedding material still in the roots) . My thoughts are to get them in the ground either late in the evening, where they will cool overnight, or early in the morning when it's in the 40's. Any thoughts about that plan?
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How many will you be planting???? Water them well....

You could give them a little shade with fabric, or...what ever you have, straw, buckets...Just something to keep the direct sunlight off of them for a couple days, then when it cools down a bit introduce them to the sunshine.
 
I assume they are bareroot vines since you say there is bedding in the roots. I would go ahead and plant the vines. They will just come out of dormancy sooner. Give them some water when you plant and they will be fine- you on the other hand may get a bit warm.
 
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