Good Morning 2021 Growing Season

[swv]

This happens regularly with my Marquette vines. So much that I am replacing them this year. A vineyard operator near Carver, MN told me several years ago that he had the same problem and took out all of his Marquette. He told me it is from freeze damage to the trunk. Most of the capillaries(?) freeze during the winter and when the growth starts in the spring, the vine does not have the capacity to support it and the vine dies.

 

[Bazza]

Hey everyone, new member here.

I have 6 marquette vines growing in Eastern British Colombia. My growing zone is 4/5 and is prone to late frosts so I read this forum thread with interest.
I recently came across a new youtube video highlighting a new/modified training system that seems to help in addressing the potential damage of late frosts and was curious as to whether anyone here had heard of it or had any experience using it? The Professor giving the demonstration advocates for leaving many more buds on the spurs. If the frost kills the first two or three buds as they push out, the buds further down the spur will survive as they haven't leafed out yet thus giving you a "backup plan".
My vines are only five yrs old so my experience is minimal. I'd love to hear what some of the more experienced growers think of th.is system though.



B.

 

[wood1954]

I’ve read of this and will try it next year as I had a lot of frost damage, tho it’s hard to tell now

 

[CTDrew]

Hey everyone, new member here.

I have 6 marquette vines growing in Eastern British Colombia. My growing zone is 4/5 and is prone to late frosts so I read this forum thread with interest.
I recently came across a new youtube video highlighting a new/modified training system that seems to help in addressing the potential damage of late frosts and was curious as to whether anyone here had heard of it or had any experience using it? The Professor giving the demonstration advocates for leaving many more buds on the spurs. If the frost kills the first two or three buds as they push out, the buds further down the spur will survive as they haven't leafed out yet thus giving you a "backup plan".
My vines are only five yrs old so my experience is minimal. I'd love to hear what some of the more experienced growers think of th.is system though.



B.

I do something basically like this for my Marquette vines. They tend to always be a week or better earlier than the rest of the vineyard to break and therefore more likely to get a late frost hit. Leaving extra buds at least gets me shot in those years. Neat to see the video and thanks for sharing it with us!

 

[Cynewulf]

Here’s a quick update from Northern Virginia. Marquette and Itasca began veraison around June 28 and it is mostly complete. I took readings on 7/17:
Marquette 17 Brix 2.82pH
Itasca 17 Brix 2.94 pH
The hybrids have bounced back from the spring frost but it makes me wonder what might have been had there been no damage. I left for France for two weeks in early June which was unfortunate timing but it couldn’t be helped. The vineyard was reverting to a jungle when I returned and it took some work to get it kind of under control. The canopy is still a bit of a mess but I don’t have the time to make it pristine. The Cabernet Franc is coming along but looking a lot weaker than last year. Probably some combination of the downy mildew infection from last season and the relatively low rainfall we’ve had this summer.

Marquette:


Itasca:


Cabernet Franc:

 

[wood1954]

Looks great thanks for sharing, birds must be a problem.

 

[Cynewulf]

Looks great thanks for sharing, birds must be a problem.

They are for the reds for sure. I’m not sure about the Itasca yet. They left it alone last year when I only let about a half dozen experimental clusters ripen, but I’ve seen a little damage this year. I might get some nets on it just to make sure it doesn’t get worse as it ripens further.

 

[mainshipfred]

Looks a lot different from when I saw them. I bet you have a nice Marquette harvest.

 

[Cynewulf]

Looks a lot different from when I saw them. I bet you have a nice Marquette harvest.

Thanks, Fred - I hope so! It’s always interesting how quickly things start progressing after veraison begins. Glad you finally made it out!

 

[Snafflebit]

We have véraison happening on the Cab Sauv. I wish all my vines were this nice. I am still fixing this mess of a vineyard.