March is here and spring is just around the corner and that means and fresh start for a brand new growing season. We cannot forget however, that winter is not over and there is still much to be done! During the month of March, we continue to prune the vineyard (see Vineyard Bulletin #1) to what we refer to as a ‘rough prune’ stage. This means that we have completed all of the work necessary to replace or extend the cordons (arms) and cut everything back to spurs that are 8-10 inches long.
Ah, SPRING!
After the cuttings are removed from the wires, we will wait to do the ‘final pruning’ until we get closer to bud break in April. Final pruning consists of choosing which spurs to leave behind and trimming them to one or two buds to achieve the desired bud count. Delaying this step produces two results. First, bud break on the first and second buds of each spur can be suppressed for as long as 7-10 days. This could help us avoid a damaging spring frost such as we experienced in 2007. Secondly, if we were to experience such a frost or even a freeze event (Easter weekend, 2007), we might improve our odds of having more surviving buds to chose from.
A rough pruned Cabernet Franc vine.
Over the course of the winter, we have taken soil samples from various locations in the vineyard. These samples will tell us the nutritional value of the soil, and from that, we can determine if fertilizers are need to adjust those values. Proper nutrient balance in the soil is critical to the success of the pending crop. If values are to low, crop yields may be reduced as a result of poor flower development at bloom. Ripening potential could also be compromised in vines that are deficient in important macro nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium (NPK). Nitrogen in particular is important for developing strong shoots and leaves that convert sunlight into valuable sugars. Phosphorus, potassium and other trace elements will be applied in mid to late March. Nitrogen, which can be leached from soils quickly, will be applied in split applications at bud break and once again after bloom when the vines roots are the most active.
New buds emerge from spurs on Seyval Blanc.
Another important springtime task is cleaning up the vineyard floor. Cuttings removed from the wires during pruning must be chopped up into small pieces using large mowers. Some vineyards choose to remove the cuttings and burn them. We, however, choose chop them and leave them in the vineyard where they can decompose and return valuable nitrogen and carbon to the soils. This reduces our need for synthetic fertilizers and improves organic matter in the soil. Weeds under the vine row must also be controlled. At Rappahannock Cellars, we use a specialized mower to cut the weeds rather than using herbicides which are damaging to the soil.
The ‘in-row’ mower in cuts weeds under the vine
All this and only a few short months until harvest! If you have any questions about our vineyards, please e-mail me directly at tkelly@rappahannockcellars.com
Tom Kelly, Vineyard Manager.
The 'in-row' mower in cuts weeds under the vine.
