WINE GARDEN

[NorthernWinos]

I don't think you get that cold down there to worry.....Does your ground even freeze??? Mulching would however keep the soil an even temperature and conserve the moisture.


*Edit....Blue Berries like acid soil....Is your soil on the acid side??? Ours isn't and when I went to a meeting on growing blueberries they said to amend the planting hole with a lot of peat moss and to feed them with an acid fertilizer every year.You could mulch those with pine needles...that would help them out a lot.Edited by: Northern Winos

 

[NorthernWinos]

After a hard freeze the vines and berry bushes are done for another year....the fall bearing raspberries and everbearing strawberries produced right till a few days ago when I picked almost needing gloves.


Today was a beauty, warm, sunny and calm...a perfect day to do some of the last chores in the garden...


Dug the Dahlias, Canna and Amaryllis bulbs...

After the show they put on this year it wasnot a choreto dig them and with such a spectacular day is was a pleasure.


Still a few flowers trying to make a last statement...


The Potentella shrubs know no season...

The climbing rose protected under the pergola has a few last blooms...

And the roses at the end of the grape rows covered in rose hips don't have a chance of opening it's last buds...but will try anyway...

Seasons are sparring for the position on the calender...love the last of the unseasonably warm days....Life goes on.

 

[Wade E]

Its amazing that they are still performing the way they are!

 

[NorthernWinos]

Got the veggie garden cleaned up, a nice layer of composted manure and deep tilled...[My Honey is grateful for the help during harvest]

The Wine Garden has been put to bed for the winter....

Fall is upon us...My work out there is done.


Meanwhile...under the grow lights...a small miracle is taking place...

Looks like the Black Currant cuttings I took away from the browsing rabbits might grow some roots....at least there appears to be roots above the soil line...maybe a few will grow roots in the soil....


These and the geranium cuttings will keep my interest for a some time...


Actually had a 2008 seed catalogarrive....Did gather a few seeds from the perennial flowers outside and will try starting them around January...then the fun begins for another year.


So it goes.

 

[grapeman]

NW, They are rooting above the soil line because of the high humidity from keeping them covered with plastic. You could repot them in deeper pots and let those roots showing develop further. That would make them very well rooted for next year!

 

[NorthernWinos]

It's White on White outside today...blowing mist has attached itself onto the trees...even the sky is white....Hard on the morale.


So, I retreated to the laundry room to wash some wine bottles and water my darling cuttings under the growlights...A great day to repot the Black Currant cuttings into their own pots.....we'll see if they survive in theirnew homesthe long winter that is still ahead...

Some of the cuttings were very well rooted, these plant leaves have a strange odor....Someone mentioned that last spring...think it was Appleman.


Some of the geranium cuttings are putting out new leaves and a few house plant cuttingsare rooting well too. I poked a few grapesticks in a pot...some are pushing buds, but not looking promising.


Life goes on.

 

[grapeman]

Yeah it was me. The smell like cat urine! I was talking to a man this afternoon that grows quite a few currants for wine and he agrees with me that black currants have a bad smell and don't taste all that great on their own, but make a great wine. He operates the first licensed winery in our county.

 

[mississippi mud]

I AM BLOWEN AWAY NW.THATS A BEAUTIFUL /PEACEFUL PLACE YOU HAVE .CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THIS SPRINGS PICTURES.

 

[jobe05]

People like you and me could only dream of being in such a place Mud.........


Wait till you see her whole place................................ I'm speechless.........

 

[NorthernWinos]

Thanks guys...We arepretty blessed...


Some days I look out there and it just seems overwhelming and other days it is wonderful.....But it hasn't come easy, we worked years to get ahead and take advantage of oppertunities...which included selling our other home and moving...Then rebuilding another farm, yardand home...


But.... now after looking at this snow for so many weeks...and know that there are many more weeks of snow and ice ahead...I wonder "why"...then comes summer again and the work begins and the mind is fed.


Here is the Whole Monty...that's me out there picking Raspberries to make the various Raspberry Wines we love so much.

 

[jobe05]

Post what you want NW................

All I see is my version:

 

[mississippi mud]

WHAT KIND OF VALVES DO YOU USE ON THOSE FERMENTING TANKS / SILOS?

 

[Wade E]

 

[grapeman]

I see things there a bit differently. I see a working farm run by caring folks wanting to make their mark in this world and live in harmony with nature. All around the home are many features meant to be friendly to nature and share nature's bounty. Everywhere I turn in that picture I see more trees and shrubs planted and woodlots interspersed among the fields. It's no wonder you love it there. And only 3 more months to go before the snow decides to go! Stay warm and good luck fishing!

 

[mississippi mud]

NWwe all seeand respectthe dedication involved .Is this pic from a plane or google earth?

 

[mississippi mud]

Any deer around there?pictures please!!!

 

[NorthernWinos]

This photo was taken from an airplane.


Lots of deer around...I don't see any in the photo, tho...I never looked.

 

[jobe05]

The picture was taken from the Heavens.................

Must be a mirrored image................

 

[NorthernWinos]

Well...here we are at the end of winter [finally] and the beginning of another growing season.

The snow was pretty much gone, then this past weekend we got lucky and only got the edge of a pretty massive snow storm...within 50 miles there was over 23 inches of snow...so, our 3 or so inches was a walk in the park...However most of it blew into more drifts, companions to the remaining winter's piles.

Last fall the 'Wine Garden' of various fruiting bushes was thickly mulched with straw to protect the plants, save moisture and stop the weeds....The youngest plants were protected from the rabbits with chicken wire cages....Then I placed flags to maybe keep the deer's noses out of the wire cages....Well...the snow drifted there to probably 4 feet and had everything covered for many months....Everything is poking out of the snow now...hard to tell if the late placed out cuttings survived or not...time will tell.

It was total mayhem last week in my tiny vineyard...I had moved in some rangy vines from nursery rows where they had been neglected and left to ramble for a couple years...left them to recover last year...so, now was the time to try to prune them to resemble grape vines.....

Not much left to some of them....

The more tender vines, Edelweiss and Swenson Red which grow on steel panels were lifted from their straw covered bed and drastically pruned....

These two varieties are for Zone 4 [-30*F] and to insure their survival I lay them down each winter. The Frontenac grape is also hardy to -30* I let the old vine hang on the wires...The wood looked green, but this years production is yet to be seen...If it proves hardy the new row of young plants will stay. I lifted the wire with the Canadice grape and decided it has never produced enough to warrant a valuable space...so it was cut off and the root will be dug out and replaced with another wonderful proven Edelweiss.

So, things are looking like spring...finally.

Hope everyone has a wonderful growing year ahead.

 

[grapeman]

Good to see things poking through for you NW. Those grape vines look good. They should give you a bit of production this year. Just don't let them bear too far ahead of the roots.


If you want a real trial, you could try to graft the Edelweiss onto the Canadice rootstck since it is established. I brought home about 100 Edelweiss cuttings along with 9 other varieties to root some of.