Spent just a part of the weekend playing in the vineyard. I swallowed hard and went ahead and pruned the vines. My Norton’s needed hardly any pruning – mostly just nicking off the unnecessary buds.
It is suggested that each year you prune, you weigh the cuttings to get an idea of that year’s growth. I did not bother weighing this year because the cuttings seemed very small. The Chardonnel and Chambourcin have nice bones to grow on this year. Most of the vines have a trunk on the fruiting wire.
Used my new Felco pruners and they worked like a dream – even cutting a nice slice of my finger when I lost focus for a moment.
I also fertilized the vines for the first time. 2 tablespoons spread in a 24 inch circle around the trunk. I will probably fertilize monthly beginning about May and continuing all summer.
I also spent time building small dams around the vines to catch/slow water runoff. (see pics below)
New Cab Franc row
New Cab Franc row
Chambourcin (after pruning-before dam)
New Knockout rose
After 'damming'
row end rose
Driveway ready for planting
Driveway repair
rose with mulch
completed rose planting