Spring
Spring seems to be a long time coming with extended cold, wet periods this year, exciting arrivals, and the really good news that with all this rain we will have a normal rainfall year.
So far this Spring we have had a long rainy season extending into May, but with a full irrigation pond and plenty of rain soaking into the ground we should have plenty of water for the vines this year. With all the rain we have had an amazing display of flowers in and around the vineyard. We planted some insectary plants in the vine rows and had an amazing show of red clover until they were swallowed by the rapidly growing grasses and cover crop. We started mowing the vineyard as soon as the ground dried out in early May and had to deal with a cover crop that reached nearly 6 ft. high, which meant driving the tractor was directionally challenging at times.
Once again we rented some sheep from Canvas Ranch www.canvasranch.com, but this year we had some pregnant ewes and yearlings instead of the usual flock of wethers, which meant lambs would be arriving in the spring. Of course the first arrival showed up in torrential rain and the poor ewe had a very difficult delivery, losing the second lamb, but all the rest arrived in good condition and on warm sunny days. We also had a group from the Sonoma Land Trust www.sonomalandtrust.com here for a farm tour one day and had the pleasure of watching a lamb being born during the tour, quite the highlight of the day.
Another first for us this spring was the arrival of a Bald Eagle one morning, checking out the fish in the pond. We're use to seeing the Golden Eagles, looking for a free chicken dinner, but seeing the Bald Eagle was a first.
As always, with farming, we have our usual challenges, but this year we have a new pest in the area. The European Grapevine Moth came over from Europe some years ago and has established itself in neighboring Napa County. Now some have been found in Sonoma with one as close as a residential area in the the town of Healdsburg, not very far away. We have been attending training sessions on how to deal with the pest this Spring and will be working over the summer to monitor and treat it, if needed.
Summer
Summer 2010 was one of the coldest summers in Sonoma in a long time. This caused some significant challenges in the vineyard this year. With verasion late, a possibility of a late harvest is causing both ourselves and many other growers to be quite nervous.
So far this summer we have had cold misty mornings with the coastal mist not lifting until midday, and then afternoon temperatures in the 70’s and 80’s which has caused the growing season to be slowed considerably with not enough sun or heat to bring the vines along. Right now we are seeing verasion with the Cabernet Sauvignon in Mid August and the other varietals even further behind. Normally we would see all the vines in full verasion by the beginning of August.
The cold misty mornings have also been particularly difficult, as that has provided the perfect conditions for the formation of powdery mildew. We have had to spray much more and longer than normal to keep it under control with a combination of organic sulphur dust and some mild organic bio active products. We have also had to spray to control the European Grape Vine Moth which is spreading into Sonoma from Napa where there is a very active infestation. We have an active trapping program in the vineyard and although we have found none on our vines, some have been found in nearby vineyards, which has placed us in the quarantine area, and caused us to spray preventatively.
At least with the cooler weather the chickens seem to be quite happy, and have adapted well to their new coop, and run, so although some of them are now three years old and slowing down their egg production, all seem healthy and we have not lost any to predation over the winter and spring.
Some new baby chicks arrived July 7th to provide some younger hens with a higher egg production so we can keep our restaurant customers happy with enough really fresh eggs. This time we have predominantly Delawares, a new breed for us, they are another heritage dual purpose breed that does well free ranging and foraging for their own food. They were developed in the 1940’s in Delaware and are now listed as threatened by the American Livestock Breed Conservancy. albc-usa.org/. The new chicks are doing well and now 5 weeks old.
The cooler weather has also been kind to the bees, this spring we built a shade structure over the hive area to protect them from the sometimes extreme heat we can experience here, but the bees have not needed it so far. Hopefully we will get a summer before long and it will be useful. We now have 5 hives and a quick inspection last week showed that they have been very productive this year, and we should have another excellent honey harvest in a few days.
