Search results

Yep, I was using neem early on, but not frequently enough. Ended up picking up a bottle of concentrate and a sprayer. I now mix a cocktail in which spinosad and pythrethrins are components along with neem. There were no beetles on the vines this morning... not sure if it's because of my new...

So I have a very small vineyard. 42 vines, 2 rows. So really only a single "middle" row. Right now it's just grass. My intention is to torch down a swath down each row killing what's there, then covering with weed-block fabric. So that'll eliminate a bit of competition down each row. But I'm...

That's almost certainly some sort of moth/butterfly eggs. Probably not good. Maybe use Spinosad or BT?

Apparently zeta-cypermethrin is also highly-toxic to bees, cats (I'm a cat owner), beneficial insects, fish, and has a long list of negative human reactions. Not the sort of thing I want to put on anything I'm going to consume, let alone let into the house. If I can't produce grapes without...

My property is 3 acres but I'm not growing 3 acres of vines. 2 rows, 42 vines. Resistant hybrids also grown in this area (Marquette and Petite Pearl). If I lose some after this winter, I'm just going to have to accept that and replant. At least the majority of my vines will survive. Some are...

Also, some researched turned up this permaculture solution by Herbert Heesch (who wrote an article in Mother Earth News about it in the 1980s)

I actually already have a bag on the way. From what I read, as long as I kept shaking my sprayer tank I should be ok...? Mine is small (1 gallon).

I was intrigued by this. I had once considered penning in my vines and then keeping chickens as a method of grub/bug control, but then I read about the damage chickens will do to the grapes. Unfortunately I live in Vermont and guineas like warm climates. Keeping them safe over winter would be a...

Aren't aphids the primary foodsource of ladybugs? You could buy a few thousand quite cheap and let them have at it.

Good news: even the smallest and worst-decimated vines are already showing signs of trying to come back. I see little buds/nubs forming and some have even tried to push out new leaves. My faith in the stubborn vigor of grapevines is restored. Hopefully there's still time for them to produce...

I need to use organic methods. I find neem works when it hits them directly, unclear about lingering effects. I'll be also trying spinosad and pythrethrins, both of which I just picked up in concentrate form for use with my sprayer. Except I can't do that every day. :( Sometimes I need to be...

https://growtube.com/grapevine-shelters/

That's reassuring. I'll get some photos soon to also help confirm that all is not lost. Would it be prudent at this point to remove the grow tubes and the protection they provide, in trade for better access to the beetles?

If the vine is still alive will it produce new leaves at this point in the season and try to recover?

So the Japanese beetles got away from me and have entirely defoliated 7 of my 42 new vines planted this year, while only 2' or less tall. A number of other vines are hanging on by a thread, with a few leaves. I'm wondering: if a new vine is hit that hard with all its leaves destroyed so young...

I am struggling to find my notes for this batch, but my posts on this forum save the day. My starting pH was 3.5... I raised it from 2.5. I used up all the potassium bicarbonate at the time so I had to use some calcium carbonate to get it the rest of the way there. Because of all the potassium...

I have 3 narrow-range hydrometers on my Amazon wishlist. Unfortunately each is over $30, and for some reason everyone selling a simple plastic case that can hold 3 in foam padding wants $90+ for the thing.

Thanks. I'm still honing my tasting skills... it doesn't seem horrible to me, but I think a lot of it is that it needs to mellow out with some aging. I'll get some additional opinions. I had tried to raise the pH pre-ferment so that the yeast had a change, but it seems fermenting raised it...

Should I stop it at 0.996, or let it coast until it seems to stop? This is only my 2nd kit. It's certainly slowed, but hasn't completely stopped yet.

So I have 6 gallons of raspberry wine that I started bulk aging on 5/1. This represents my first attempt at making wine NOT from a kit, but just using raw ingredients. Today I ran some tests: pH: 3.9 TA: 7.5 g/L SO2: 46.4 ppm From the charts I've seen, I'm a bit low on SO2 (should be between...