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20 posts in really rocky ground was bad enough, but having 200 to get planted in wet clay? Uffda! I'm sure you'll get them done somehow Greg. We probably share some of that Upper Midwest "Get 'er done" ethic. I grew up in West Central Wisconsin. Aren't you putting in a lot of new vines and...

Happy 4th! People are telling me that the 4th weekend is all about swimming and boating and picnicking. I thought it was about planting trellis posts. But I did get them all in. Also a picture of our 1 1/2 month old Marquettes reaching for the wire.

So far so good Greg. Some Rose Chafers now and the Japanese Beetles will be hitting soon. We inoculated the soil with beneficial nematodes last year, so hopefully that will put a dent in the populations this year. Our second year Marechal Foch are really growing out of control. I'm having a...

Shaker Chairs It was common practice for the Shakers- and they were celibate and teetotalers.

Cluster thinning Cathy was out clipping and snipping and tying up. The 3rd year LaCrescents and Marquettes had about twice as many young clusters as they should.

IMHO, Lincoln Peak in Vermont has done some very good work with cold hardy varieties, especially LaCrescent and Marquette. http://lincolnpeakvineyard.com/

Yes- thanks for emphasizing that Rich. I use organic controls whenever possible, and IMHO some of those fungicides should be taken off the market as they are highly toxic, poisonous or corrosive. I didn't mention Serenade, which might be effective, but I think the jury might still be out on...

Some of the other listed fungicides for Black Rot are Revus Top, Rally, Mettle and Flint. Here is an article on some alternatives if you want to limit exposure to some of the nastier chemicals: http://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/fruitpathology/organic/grape/organic.html

IMHO it's easiest to download the .doc label template and compose your label in photoshop using the size of the label less 10% as picture size. Then save it as a .tiff or .jpg and insert it into the label template.

LaCrescents on 5/6/2014 3rd year vines are looking good and have a lot of young clusters. Here's a picture of a LaCrescent yesterday.

I've come to view Japanese Beetles as automatic canopy thinners. But I still pick them off.

Yes- they are bugs. They are in the leafhopper family I think. I'm not entirely sure that they are the ones eating holes in the leaves, but they were the only bugs I could detect.

These guys just appeared today. I've never seen them before. They are mostly on my Prairie Stars. They are gray, about a half inch long, skinny, and will fly away if disturbed. They are eating holes in the leaves. Sorry for the quality of the picture. I can't seem to get a definite ID on...

All you need is the passion there Erikster- the rest follows. Winemaking is my third career- at age 64- and it's been a lot of backbreaking work so far. But we are growing our own grapes and sourcing local fruits and berries. Nothing like ordering a ton or two of fresh grapes from CA or NY State...

Ahh- my go-to lunch! I really love the northeast coast.

I have a similar problem with my Louise. Most of the first year growth up to the first wire didn't survive the winter and so I pruned back to about 8" above ground this spring. I now have 5-6 healthy shoots coming from the base. My inclination is to remove all but two of the best, but perhaps...

Slime That's it alright. Thanks Rich. I thought it was very odd that only the Prairie Stars had it

I'm hoping someone can identify what this is. Before bud break this year we had what I thought might be powdery mildew on the dormant canes of of our Prairie Stars. After pruning, the cane tips bled profusely. In a week the watery bleed had turned to a milky white slime which coated the ends...

Honeyberries We put n a dozen plants of 3 varieties last year as an experiment for use in wine. They came from a farm just down the road and he has planted many hundreds. Hopefully we can round up a reasonable harvest in a month or so to try out...

I gotta agree with Runningwolf on this one. I haven't broken one since I bought two at the same time.