I have spent quite a bit of time in the vineyard the past two days. I am still playing catch up, but I have also started to do some pre-harvest prepping; some leaf removal, a fair amount of canopy management and a little bit of weeding. There were several, persistent stands of shortpod mustard (
Hirschfeldia incana) and spiny sowthistle (
Sonchus asper) to be dealt with. I tripped over a large
mat of sharpoint fluvellin (
Kickxia elatine) myself, so I think it made sense to remove any large weeds that may get in the way of those who will harvest Vinoland's grapes.
Even though it was a bit toasty out in the vineyard (especially yesterday afternoon) I had an enjoyable time and was even able to stop and have a look at the fruit, the odd insect (including the really
odd insect that unexpectedly jumped on me, but which I reflexively flicked away before I could ID it) and the dark red leaf (in the photograph) with the telltale
girdling on its petiole. Darn insects!
4 comments:
VG: It is evident that blogging is a source of educational reinforcement as well as an appropriate method used in "Oenol•o•gy - n. : a science that deals with wine and wine making."
I, for more than one, am glad you're finding the time to do it. :)
Great leaf shot.
Just waiting for my couple of million to fall.
NHW: Thanks. I personally need all the educational reinforcement I can get!
Tomasso: Thank you. If I could only get a photo of the insect that causes this damage.
Thud: You need a giant, outdoor Hoover.
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