Our vines have budded out and leaves are beginning to turn what was a gray-brown scene into one with spots of green. Because the young buds are freeze-intolerant, we are watching the weather carefully. And, we have had to stop using our mechanical pruner because it will knock tender buds off the vines. Now, we have shifted to hand pruning which is much slower but much easier on the vines.
We are also fertilizing with nitrogen, sulfur, iron, and in most places calcium and will get the fertilizer applied on days when the wind is not too high. When time permits, we will be mowing all of our vineyards.
