We are making slow progress mowing and fertilizing in our vineyards. Weather has prevented some outdoor work but equipment failures has been another problem. And, we just don’t have enough labor to get all the work done.
The good news is that on June 1, we have seven high school students from Pella Christian High School who will start working in the vineyard. We hope to really pick up the pace on fertilizing, pruning, removal of trees, and Virginia Creeper vines. We also have to get our under-vine mower repaired and back in action so we can start using it again.
Some of our vines have now flowered. The flowers start with what looks like a miniature bunch of grapes. They are buds and the shell around the flower splits and the flower is visible. Most vines are self-pollinating. That means that they have a pistil that contains the pollen that is dropped into the corolla of the flower. No bees or pollenizers are required. There is one exception and that is the St. Pepin grape. This grape variety has an imperfect flower and is not self-pollenating. It depends on having a sibling vine close by that will pollenate it. Depending on which vineyard, we use LaCrosse or Brianna as the pollinator.
