5-3-10

ROOTING CABERNET SHOOTS

ROOTS

GROW STRONG NEWLY POTTED CABERNET!

THURSTON: THE THIRST QUENCHER

PRE-PRUNED VINES

READY TO PRUNE

Clover Creek Family Farm is our newest host, situated in the Medocino National Forest. Thurston & Annelle run the farm and are graciously opening their home to us this week. They are laid back, friendly and both have great senses of humor. We immediately felt at home upon our arrival yesterday afternoon.

With the sun warming the fields, we got right to work this morning. First we moved some hidden drip tape out of the tall grass and relocated it in order to cut some grass. Drip tape is used in vineyards, farms, and gardens to water plants that are situated in a straight row. The drip tape is either laid on the ground or suspended a foot or two above ground and regularly provides water to thirsty crops as well as to ward off frost. Then we worked with vine rootstock. Thurston put both Cabernet and Dawn grape varietals into a sand pile to see if they would develop roots this winter. New vines grow by clipping a branch from an existing vine and allowing it to develop its own roots. The branches that have developed new roots are replanted in a small pots and transplanted into the vineyard if they successfully grow. Most of the branches he cut from last year did not root so we only replanted 10 Cabernet shoots and 7 Dawn shoots which will hopefully grow into new vines.

Yesterday we watched and learned as Thurston pruned some Cabernet vines. After we replanted the roots, we learned to prune ourselves. Normally Thurston and Annelle don't let WWOOFers prune their vines, as their grapes are their cash crop. However, this was an exception: the vines we pruned today have annually ripened significantly later than the rest of their grapes and cannot be harvested in time. As a result, they plan to keep the rootstocks of the vines intact and graft a new varietal to them. This will hopefully accelerate the growing process and ensure these grapes have the same schedule as the rest of the vineyard. Even if our pruning wasn't ideal, it won't matter as the grapes they harvest will not come from the vines we worked on.

Before dinner, we removed fiddleneck from the wheat fields. Fiddleneck is an invasive species that is poisonous to horses. Annelle & Thurston's neighbor primarily grows hay for horse consumption. If the hay that is growing next door gets cross pollinated by the fiddleneck, it could potentially be disastrious. Weeding the never ending sea of fiddleneck seems like a lost cause because it appears more prevalent than the wheat.

We learned more today than we have in many previous weeks combined. It's really great to get hands on experience and learn more skills from very educated farmers.

The bris video from 4-20-10 has now been uploaded. Check it out!