May is growing time!

I am always amazed at how quickly the seasons change. Spring arrived late this year, and now summer is right around the corner.  On the farm, the list of projects grows  exponentially. Once the grass starts growing, it seems we are always needing to mow it. The asparagus is popping, the pear blossoms are blooming, the berries are pushing new shoots and here come the grapes.

When the grape buds push, they seem to open for us about 2-3 weeks after the cherry blossoms. Once they start swelling, it is important that we monitor the pests that can destroy those buds and small shoots. The grape flea beetle will eat the inside of the bud, consuming the tiny clusters that would be the season's grapes. The climbing cut worms will do the same thing. We do not use insecticides unless we need to. Some years the bugs do not show up. Other times, the growth of the plant can push past the destruction these little critters can cause.

The biggest threat that we encounter in the spring is the threat of a late, killer frost. We have a frost protection system that we will put to work on those nights when our small green shoots are out and a cold spring night is in the forecast. We use a frost alarm as well, so that if the temperature drops below 35 degrees, we are up and out putting our protection system to work. The method uses fans to remove the cold, low-lying air in the vineyard, and tarps hanging on our perimeter deer fence to keep the cold air outside the vineyard from flowing in. This system does not work on all frost incidents, but it has helped us a number of times.

Frost protection tarps

Farmers have many things to learn about their crops, their equipment, their land and their customers. Accepting that there is no end to the learning is an important part of being successful. This fall, Northern Virginia Community College is offering classes on viticulture. As our wine region continues to grow in both size and stature, we need to maintain the growth of both the quality and production of our wines. The work that Loudoun County, the town of Purcellville, industry leaders and the educational institutions have put into this effort is paying off. We look forward to this program being the start of bigger things. Learn, grow, share and work your buns off! Cheers.

Hello again from the Vineyard! Spring is well and truly here and the vines are just beginning to wake up from their long winter's nap. We are at a point now where the buds are swelling on the vines and the sap is starting to flow -- a phenomenon sometimes called "weeping" from the way the vines drip after being pruned.

We had another cold winter here in northern Virginia, so we are keeping our eyes open for signs of bud or vine cold injury. If we see some primary bud death, that could mean a lighter crop load this season, but we can also adjust our pruning style somewhat to accommodate additional buds. As always, our focus is on both quality and quantity, so we do what we can do to get the best out of our vineyard.