Vineyard in the Granite State

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HillPeople

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 29, 2013
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Location
New Hampshire
I was thinking of the pictures that Rich posted when he was first starting his vineyard. A few people noted the peculiar soil and lack of rocks. I just plowed a previously forested piece, cut 6 years ago and planted with prairie grass, in order to put in my next 100 vines this year. NH is bony, to put it mildly. Attached are a couple of pictures to show what you have to deal with up here in the White Mountains of NH. No wonder there was a mass exodus to the Midwest in the mid-1800's! :slp

FirstPassRockPicking_4-20-2013.jpg

Rocks_4-20-213.jpg
 
My wife would be in heaven if I plowed up a field and collected a pile of rocks like that. We go through a lot of work and several quaries to collect rocks like that for our garden beds.
 
All those rocks you found is one reason I chose the location of the first vineyard. I have stones on the farm, but not quite that big of a run, unless you just picked the bigger ones. Our area has been farmed a couple hundred years now so most of the bigger ones have been picked out. Many fields in my area have rock walls around them where the farmers picked the stones and made fencing out of them. Where I planted the vineyard, it was beach deposits from the ancient Lake Vermont, later replaced with an inland sea and then more recently Lake Champlain. There are no stone walls at this side of the farm where the beach was and yes, I feel blessed when I am working in that vineyard. The second vineyard has even fewer stones in it- three to be exact - LOL -(and those were carried into the field 20 years ago as part of a firepit my nephews built out of the brook a couple hundred feet away). The latest vineyard has the most, but only few dozen your size on 4 acres. Most of them are smaller than a baseball so they don't bother anything.
 
Ya Jim- this plowing and rock picking is turning into a multi-six pack job! Just got off the tractor- getting dark-plow, rock pick, backdrag, plow, rock pick, backdrag, etc., etc. forever.
I thought you all would get a kick out of these two links:
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJkbEPbjqOc[/ame]
And the spoof:
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGgY74HYjdM[/ame]
Best to you all. :dg
 
More plowing and rock picking in the fledgling vineyard. The rocks seem to grow overnight, but a few more passes and it will be time to run the tiller down the rows.

PlowingAndPicking_4-28-2013.jpg
 
Yes- Louise Swenson, Prairie Star and Marechal Foch are going in here. Have 1 year vines in another field. Marquettes, Prairie Star and LaCrescents.
 
Planting Holes

Planting holes are bored, vines arriving 5/15, and a picture of last year's LaCrescent leafing out on Mother's Day

Planting Holes_5-10-2013.jpg

LaCrescent_Leaf-out_5-12-2013.jpg
 
I see secondary buds pushing also already. I hope you stay above freezing tonight as it is expected to be lower than 30 here for 2 days.
 
I'm keeping my fingers crossed Rich. Expecting 36 here tonight, but there were flakes in the air today so we've got some cold upper level air. My apples are all blossomed out now and a hard frost about this time last year really hit New Hampshire's apple crop hard.
 
5-18-2013
Got all 100 vines in the ground today. Excellent looking bareroot stock from Andy Farmer at NE Vine Supply.

FirstRowLouise5-18-2013.jpg

UpperPlanting5-18-2013.jpg
 
Looks fantastic!
Hopefully the frost is behind us for the North East.
I covered the three vines I have a couple days ago and luckily the frost in my area didn't amount to much.
I hope your young vines bring you pleasure for years to come!
-- DoodleBug
 
Where in the White Mountains are you? That is where I grew up!

-Josh
 
Very cool. I grew up more towards Franconia Notch. I will be following your thread and hoping for the best.


Josh
 
Well I mowed and weed whacked the vineyard I established last year and managed to whack off not one but two LaCrescents. I did a grafting splice and splint on them. Don't know if they will heal or not. Also kicked up a stone that shattered the screen on my Casio Commando phone which was clipped to my belt. Amazingly it still works. Also picked ~20 ticks off me after I was done. Not a good day all and all, but the vineyard looks nice and the vines are doing well.
 

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