Attack of the Japanese Beetles
In one week these little monsters took over the vineyard. Sprayed good and they were falling to the ground pretty good. I hope this keeps them off.
Big mistake on the cluster thinning
Back in April I made the decision to leave two clusters on each of the Black Spanish laterals. Well, that was a mistake and paid for it this weekend. Decided to thin down to one cluster per shoot. So much easier before the canopy was full! We had so many clusters the vines looked like one big mass of grape clumps in some areas. I thought I got some before pics, but evidently I forgot. Here’s some after I started thinning.
I also started working the canopy management. On high cordon system like I use, you need to reposition the shoots so they don’t just all mat up on top of the canopy/wire. Mid June to July after the shoots near the cordon have started to turn brown and are stronger you can start to pull them down from the top. I also cut them so they can’t touch the ground.
Thats a lot of fruit I cut off, but the vines will be better for it.
End of May update
Vineyard starting to look like a jungle. Need to pluck the suckers and spray some roundup. Learned the hard way to make sure you don’t have any suckers. Round up against the vine wood isn’t an issue, but a green sucker shoot hit with some roundup will kill your vine.
The clusters are really starting to grow now. This is a Black Spanish vine. I’ve been spraying every other week since the shoots were 2-4inches long. Lomanto and Black Spanish have shown no signs of fungus yet. Blanc Dubois does show signs on the tips of the laterals. Working to get it under control. Just got to spray every 7-10 days.
Grape clusters are growing fast
We’ve had lots of rain this spring and the grapes are growing great. Check out the clusters of Black Spanish grapes. 
Cluster thinning time
Most shoots (laterals) now have 2-4 clusters. Usually only three, but sometimes up to 4 clusters. The standard thinning method is to leave only one cluster closest to the cordon, so you don’t over produce and near the top wire so the sun can get to it easier. Too much fruit on the vine will affect veraison (ripening/coloring). I recently read on the more vigorous vines, you can leave two clusters and still get the same quality of fruit. I’m going to try this on the Black Spanish vines and see how it goes.
Sad pinching off all the clusters, but it has to be done.
Time to add some Calcium Nitrate
Added first round of Calcium Nitrate.
Shoots are 8-10inches. Will pinch the extra clusters off soon. 
Little grape clusters starting to show up
Check out the grape clusters.
Peaches are coming along as well.
Grapevines are showing signs of life
The shoots are starting to emerge on the grapes vines. The muscadines are still sleeping, but the buds are starting to swell a bit.
This year I decided to try and propagate some new vines from the clippings. About 125 vines to try Lomanto, Black Spanish, and Blanc Dubois. We’ll see how it goes.
Spring is coming!
Finally starting to see the signs that spring is on its way. Check out the peach tree blossoms. Bees and butterflies loving the blooms.
Found this guy sunning himself of the lower bank of the vineyard.
Pruning Lomanto and Black Spanish grape vines
The Lomanto and Black Spanish are going into their 3rd year. I will let each lateral from last year retain two buds this year for two new laterals. Factor in some basil buds forming laterals and we should have plenty of grapes. Haven’t decided on how many clusters to keep on each lateral. So much debate on how many to keep. Usually only one per lateral, but some studies have shown some vines can handle two clusters and still ripen on time and not over produce. Pictures below show the before and after of the pruning.
After
Check out the pile of vines behind Dakota from all the vines we pruned this year. I did save 200 for propagation of new vines and made a couple of wreaths. I’ll post more on propagation later.
Before and After
Lasterday Wines 
Recent Comments