# thank god for my vineyard



## reisjdmd (Mar 19, 2007)

now i know why i have a homevineyard. low 50's yesterday in south central wisconsin; gentle breezes; sunshine;songs of sandhill cranes; wild birds singing. my wife and i spent 4 hours pruning grapes andsaving cuttings, which we planted in the empty spots in the rows. very peaceful and a good bonding time. even if we never get a grape, the process is worth it.
best to alloenologists everywhere


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## NorthernWinos (Mar 19, 2007)

Sounds like you have a wonderful and productive day...good luck with your new vines..

Our soil is still frozen solid....I did see some small buds starting to form on the small Bali cherry tree branches and the apple trees are starting to push buds as well...hope they have sense enough to stay dormant for a month or so....

Cold North winds today...rained yesterday and last night...


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## grapeman (Mar 19, 2007)

Sounds like my kind of spring day. Spent outside enjoying a little work and a lot of nature. I didn't fare as well for the weekend.It's been snowing for three days now on and off and another inch or two tonight. Tomorrow a high of 25, but by Thursday approaching 50. How did you prune your vines? Did you go back to a few buds, or did you have good growth last year. Post a few pictures if you get a chance. 


You should have the zipsets I sent you in a day or two, hopefully. Good luck.


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## reisjdmd (Mar 21, 2007)

hey guys
bad about the snow, but we all know that one of these days you will get that "balmy warm day" and all will be forgotten; kinda like after a woman has a baby. they become beatific and forget allthe screaming andpain. i don't think the husbands do, though. i never will.
appleman, i am not an expert;not even an amateur.
however, my 85 y/o dad grew lots of grapes in the old country [croatia] and i let him guide me realizing that we have different varieties than he did,but thatthe climate is similar, as is the soil.


he suggested that if the first year's growth reached about 2 1/2 tothree feet to let it keep growing without pruning. so, we cut back anything shorter than that and used the cuttings to propogate. basically, the cuttings ended up with 7 buds, 5 underground and two above [his advice]. i just stuck them in the mud. he thinks it will work just fine, but i won't know for quite a while yet. however, i can't see any reason to think it won't work. after all, these vines are basically weeds, and have you ever tried to get rid of wild grapes?? wehave lots of wild grapes in our area. in fact, our neighbor, the 72 y/o farmer [and gourmet cook-i'm serious] makes great jelly from the wild grapes. [this guy is a gourmet cook and baker: i caught him one day making beaver stew, from the beaver his son trapped. it was actually very good; like a good barbeque beef. however, when it cooled down it was slightly "metallic"; no other wild or off taste. in addition, he bakes wonderful things from his hickory and walnut and peach trees. can you believe this from a crusty old dairy farmer?]


so, i guess i ignored the advice of the nursery that said to cutALL second year vines back to 2 buds and relied on experienced growers. like i said, i am not even an amateur.


am looking forward to the zip sets.


best to all and thanks for the replies. it's nice to know i am not alone out there. let's keep in touch.


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