Murphysranch - Bank blues and garage sale thoughts

[Farmfresh]

Never say never! Remember that SS is a mindset not a location.

I live on a dinky little city lot. I used to be very depressed about that fact, but one day I decided to start learning all that I could and doing as much as I could easily do... just where I AM! Bit by bit by bit. I am pretty darned SS and really enjoy my life these days. YES - I still want acreage and a cow in my pasture. Until then I content myself with buying meat on the hoof from a local farmer that delivers it to the processor for me. I garden every little space I can find with lots of containers. I garden a vacant lot behind some apartments down the street.

If I can do it, so can you. Get your tail out of the dumps and get busy gal!!

 

[murphysranch]

Yep, I was stupid and didn't wear gloves. I was pruning the acre of grapes we have out front. Its almost our last frost date, and our Mexican helper says its time to prune these 3 yr olds to get ready for this growing season. Being zealous about learning, I failed to put on a glove and today, the blister on my thumb popped and boy it hurts like the dickens. But the grapes are ready to grow again.

I also noticed this past week that one of my hens has gone broody. I checked thru BYC to see what to do, and it seems that I need to make sure she eats and poops and drinks water. So I picked her up and let her eat and yes, she did a humongeous poop. But when she went back to the coop, she sat in another nest, not the one with her egg in it! She's not quite a year old, so maybe its too early to have her go broody. Yesterday I checked underneath her and there still is only one egg, from a few days ago. I didn't dare move her.

Thankfully, it stopped raining on Friday, altho windy and cold. But this week we're supposed to have warmer weather in the 70's, which will help to make some things grow around here!

 

[TanksHill]

Ouch on the blister sounds like it hurts. Sounds like your grapes will have a great season though.

 

[framing fowl]

I was pruning the acre of grapes we have out front.

Do you really have an acre of grapes or just so many it seems like an acre? I posted pics in my journal earlier today of our grapes we planted last year. I'm needing to figure out a good way to trellis them. Any ideas, tips, or advice? Of course I got excited when I saw them for sale and just put them in the ground without thoroughly thinking through exactly how I was going to fix them up this year.

 

[murphysranch]

Yes, really. We planted it about 2 years ago. Mostly Petite Syrah for selling someday. Then a few Temperanillo, Chardonnay and some Merlot for me to fool around with.

Here's a pic from last summer. I'll go and take a pic from today in a moment.

 

[framing fowl]

Wow! Okay, so now I have some questions. What kind of wire do you have them growing along? I have some pretty heavy gauge plastic coated wire that I was going to use that I think will work. Also, what is the spacing between the height of the wires? It looks like maybe 18" and 3'? What are the brown tubes that it looks like the grapes are coming up out of?

I only have 6 vines of different varieties and want them for eating/drying. I planted them about 1 1/2 feet apart in a row along the patio. I have two ideas on how to deal with this...

1) I was thinking of training them along wires that go out into the yard in a fan shape from the patio (think semi circle). So the grape plant would come up and then only be trained in one direction out into the yard. I think they would get enough sun and airflow this way.

2) My other idea was to run a grid of wire in between the 2 4x4s and just let them all grow on the grid and get all mixed up and be a hodgepodge. I would just train everything to grow in that line (it's about a 12' row) and then up. My only thought with this is that it might get really heavy.

Thoughts/opinions/ ideas? I can take better pictures to if that helps. Thanks in advance! I'm so glad to have found someone to help me!

 

[TanksHill]

Your vineyard looks beautiful!!!

 

[murphysranch]

Those beige tubes are for baby plants so that they grow upward and don't get scalded by the sun. A trellis should be perfect. You train the growth to go along the wires, either outward like you said, or upwards. We have our chardonnay and merlots as free standing shrubs. Like in the old days before they strung them out. We're gonna learn how to do this, as they are only now three years old and not "shrubby" at all.

I think your fan idea sounds beautiful! You could companion plant underneath several crops, first ones being sun loving, and then as the grape foliage grows, a crop that gets filtered sun. Remember you have to chop them back to their stub (at the top of the plant before each "leader" branched out left and right) each spring until they are at least 3 years old. This gives the root stock tremendous heartiness and drought tolerance. Then you start training the old growth further out and further out along your wires. See close up pic above.

p.s. The only reason the field is green is cus we've have alot of rain this year. Normally by this time, every thing is brown, which is why I'm so envious of parts of the US with their green everywhere....

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

ok hold on just a minute!

you need to do a grape growing thread, please.... i've got questions also! give us an over view!

(when your poor hand heals of course - quick! to the couch!)

happy sunday!


ps WOW its beautiful!!!!

 

[Farmfresh]

I second that motion!