We have been traveling for the past two weeks. When we left, there were between six and ten inches of growth in the vineyard. On our return we found the Dornfelder vines with about two feet of additional growth, while the Niagara vines put on two to three feet of growth. Out came the pruning sheers.
The Dornfelder is covering one half of a gazebo providing shade from the sun. I came up with the idea of using Dornfelder while visiting Fulkerson Winery in New York’s Finger Lakes wine region. They had Dornfelder climbing up the side of a barn. My thinking was that if the vine can climb all the way up the side of a barn, it could cover and fill in half of the top of a gazebo. Last year I trained the two vines to cover the half of the gazebo I wanted to cover. This year the vines are filling in more of the area providing more shade below.
The Niagara vines are growing along a trellis system. If left unchecked they would grow and grow and grow. The four vines have no problem with a foot of growth a week at this time of year. If the vine hits me in the face it’s going to be pruned.
Both the Dornfelder and Niagara have plenty of berry clusters not quite ready to flower. Last year we did manage to harvest 15 pounds of the Niagara. The birds claimed the Dornfelder. Last year’s concern was black rot that claimed the Niagara the previous year. I have been religiously spraying with a Bordeaux mix and had no black rot issues last year. I’ll continue with the Bordeaux mix this year. We are looking for stink bugs though. They have been in the house all winter long even while vacuuming five to ten a day. I suspect that the garden will be amassed with them this year.
Cheers,
Terry
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