All posts by Gerard van Steyn - 3. page

As some may know, Kathryn and I have struggled to organically control mildew in our vineyard, in large part because neighboring vineyards are not mildew controlled. This year we had great success (finally) with mildew control using the following organic tank mix. It combines anti-mildew bacteria with sulfur or stylet oil for improved performance, and is relatively inexpensive as well:

Sulfur, Cease or Sonata, spreader/sticker (I added a bit of Regalia as well but that probably isn’t necessary)

Stylet oil can be substituted for sulfur, just remember to allow 2 weeks interval between oil and sulfur

Here is more info on this tank mix. It apparently is as effective as chemical based mildew products.

https://defeattheresistance.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Sonata-Sulfur-DF-Res-Mgmt-flyer-v3.pdf

If your vines have poor fruit set or low volume harvests, its often due to either soil nutritional deficiencies (or inadequate irrigation). A leaf/petiole tissue analysis is the best way to determine if your soils are low on nitrogen, or macronutrients (calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium) or micronutrients (zinc, manganese, boron, copper, iron, sodium). Vines need at least sufficient quantities of all of these nutrients to produce properly. Plus, the next LWGA meeting on Sunday, June 6, will include an overview of leaf/petiole tissue results and how to resolve soil nutritional deficiencies, so if you get your samples in asap, you may have the results in time for this meeting.

Now, at bloom, is the best time of year to do a tissue nutrient analysis. Here are general instructions for Fruit Growers Labs, the company I have used and just sent in this year’s samples for testing. There are other labs that do this testing as well, such as www.al-labs-west.com/ (which appears to be lower priced)

For FGL, request the comprehensive petiole group. Make sure to collect your samples in the morning, and cut
the stems (petioles) of the leaves right away otherwise nutrients can
flow from petiole to leaf, and brown bag them in separate bags instead
of using ziplocks.  I send them in one usps priority mail box instead
of overnight because overnight is so expensive. If you use priority
mail, get them to the post office before noon on either monday or
tuesday so they get to the lab before the weekend, and send them to
the Santa Paula address. Instructions and forms are on their website, or see links below.

http://www.fglinc.com/documents/SamplingProcedures-AG/Grape_Leaf_and_Soil.pdfhttps://www.fglinc.com/documents/FGLAgChain.pdf

https://www.fglinc.com/frmSamples.php?sample=%3Cb%3EComprehensive+Petiole+Group%3A%3C%2Fb%3E+Nitrate-Nitrogen%2C+Phosphate-phosphorus%2C+Potassium%2C+Calcium%2C+Magnesium%2C+Zinc%2C+Manganese%2C+Iron%2C+Copper%2C+Boron%2C+Sodium&division=Ag&sub_division=Comprehensive+Petiole+Group&ID=164

This email today got me to check my soil moisture meters. I wasn’t thinking that the vineyard could need water this early, but sure enough, at least for our vineyard, the soils are already getting dry down at least the 18 inch soil depth, which is where our moisture meters are.. So, we are now turning on our vineyard irrigation early this year. See below for UCD Agricultural Advisor email 3-30-31:

While the soil still has some moisture, it is drying fast with the warmer temperatures and the windy days. I know historically that many of you have not irrigated until May or June. You may want to reconsider that this year. Start monitoring your soil moisture now. The vines need plenty of water starting at budbreak for the best growth. For a sandier soil 12” is a good depth for monitoring, for clay soil 24” or less if wherever the soil changes texture.

Here’s an article about vineyard irrigation that might be of interest to you.  https://www.winebusiness.com/news/?go=getArticle&dataId=243206

Cindy

Cindy Fake

University of California Cooperative Extension

Placer & Nevada Counties

Horticulture and Small Farms Advisor

11477 E Avenue, Auburn, CA 95603

This is a reminder that we still need more videos for the next Lamorinda Wine Growers Association meeting that will be this Sunday, January 31st at 4pm. We will be taking a virtual tour of member’s unique and interesting winemaking or wine cellars, or wine gadgets, or just plain fun stuff. This is a great opportunity to see how and where our wines are made or stored, and to get to know members better in the process. Here is a link for the zoom meeting: https://zoom.us/j/9252007676.

Before the meeting, please use your smart phone to take a short video for presenting at our next meeting.  The topics for the videos are as follows:

1.      A winemaking gadget that you have designed, manufactured, etc. that is unique or time saving.

2.      A brief tour of your winemaking area showing how you’ve set up the area.

3.      A brief tour of your wine cellar, especially if you constructed it yourself, instead of having a contractor build it for you.

4. A funny video on something related to wine or grapes. In these still dark days, humor is always welcome!

After you take your video, please send it to Gerard van Steyn at gerardvs1@gmail.com

Thanks, and Stay Safe

The next Lamorinda Wine Growers Association meeting will be on Sunday, January 31st at 4pm. Please mark your calendar and plan to participate, as this will be a great and interesting meeting! We will be taking a virtual tour of member’s unique and interesting winemaking or wine cellars, or wine gadgets, or just plain fun stuff. This is a great opportunity to see how and where our wines are made or stored, and to get to know members better in the process. Here is a link for the zoom meeting: https://zoom.us/j/9252007676.

Before the meeting, Use your smart phone to take a short video for presenting at our next meeting.  The topics for the videos are as follows:

1.      A winemaking gadget that you have designed, manufactured, etc. that is unique or time saving.

2.      A brief tour of your winemaking area showing how you’ve set up the area.

3.      A brief tour of your wine cellar, especially if you constructed it yourself, instead of having a contractor build it for you.

4. A funny video on something related to wine or grapes. In these still dark days, humor is always welcome!

After you take the video, send it to me via email. If the file is too large to send by email, send me a message without the file attached, and we can work out a way to get it to me, or create a smaller version. My email is gerardvs1@gmail.com and if you need help or to talk with me just call my cell, 707-758-7441

This meeting should turn out to be a great and super interesting Zoom meeting with lots of member interaction and seeing what other people are doing with their winemaking efforts.  I’m sure, like me, many of you wonder where and how some of our members make or store their wine! We will send a reminder email to the membership about the time and date of the meeting, Sunday night, January 31, 2021 at 4:00 p.m.  Mark your calendars and please create and send your short video presentation soon. We likely will get more videos than we have time for, so early submittals will get priority!

I am now reading this pruning book, recently translated from French, that presents a quite intriguing perspective on pruning, vine balance, sap flow and trunk disease. This new pruning approach is growing rapidly in use, in France and now in CA.

Could it be that the pruning techniques now most commonly used are very damaging to our grape vines? The book is well illustrated, which really helps, at least for prune addled me, with understanding the pruning recommendations. 
https://boardandbench.com/products/grapevine-pruning-manual-for-the-prevention-of-trunk-disease?_pos=1&_sid=487efdc95&_ss=r

Dangerously hot weather to continue for nearly a week. Be careful outside, hopefully we won’t see major wildfires, and remember to give your vines extra water this week.

Here is an interesting and detailed short to long range weather forecast. It forecasts a record hot summer, and, unfortunately, high fire danger:

Hello, vine and wine people! Attached to this post is an update to the vineyard irrigation guide that was originally created for a meeting last year. This update includes some general guidance on typical irrigation rates per vine per week, and suggestions for extra irrigation before hot days. But, please note, as with any such general suggestions, some vineyards will require much less or more water.

So far, the weather is starting out interesting.. abnormally hot days for this early in the season, followed by cold and even rainy days. If the extreme weather swings continue, we all will need to watch our vines for signs of under or over watering even more – and powdery mildew, as always.

Hi Wine Folks,

In case you did not know, hot weather is forecast for Monday thru Thursday. In order for your vines to best “weather” the heat, a good long extra drink of irrigation prior to the heat is recommended. Since most vines are now in the critical bloom to fruit set stage, you don’t want them to suffer from lack of water!

(also watering while its hot out is not recommended, so its best to run your irrigation during the night or early morning)