As of Sunday July 17 I have not seen any sign of the Japanese beetles. But I did find one
on my grapes in my backyard in Madison, so unfortunately they may still show up.
On Saturday July 16, I finished putting up trellis wire for the 4 long rows of Foch. Two
upper wires were needed to be complete. I also put in an upper wire for the saint pepin
which is doing VERY well. That leaves a top wire for Lacrosse row 2, lower wire for saint
pepin. Upper and lower for Landot Noir and upper and lower for seedless concord.
Three of my nephews ...Kellen, Brent, and Trevor , and my Brother-in-law Loyal got a lot
of weeding done this weekend. They completely weeded the three lower rows of foch.
Unfortunately, the rows at the top that had been weeded very well a few weeks ago were
once again filled with weeds.
I've decided to abandon my hopes to keep the park vineyard organic .... if I lived next to
it, maybe, but since I live so far away, it just doesn't seem possible.
I will probably use RoundUp next year ... and maybe a little this year. I think I will
start preparing a location with RoundUp for next year's Lacrescent vines.
The test vinifera vines were irrigated on Saturday for about 5 hours. No disease or
insect problems are apparent so far.
Varietal assessments so far ...
Foch
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Doing very well. Seemed to fair the best from the Rose Chafer invasion. I decided to
let several clusters hang on the healthier vines. Lost a few over the winter in the lower
south east corner. But over all, the best of the lot ... I will be pruning some down to
the ground next year to develop better trunks.
Landot noir
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Probably had the most severe winter kill, but comes back strong. I don't have a
trellis wire up yet, but will by the end of the summer. Lost a few of these also, but not
as many as I feared. Remains to be seen if they will be able to handle the NE Wisconsin
winters. Also left alone by the Rose Chafers.
Saint Pepin
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Seems to be the most vigorous of my vines. Wintered very well, and has good strong
growth. The Rose Chafers did a number on a few of them, but they quickly recovered. I
will probably have a decent crop next year.
Lacrosse
--------
These poor guys are really suffering. The Rose chafers hit them very hard, and they
have been slow to recover. After being quite vigorous the first few years, they are
taking this summer very hard. I may prune these guys down to their bases, and retrain
them up for next year.
Seedless Concord
-----------------
Like the lacrosse, these were also attacked quite hard. The surprisingly, a few that
I had given up for dead have recovered. It remains to be seen if they will do well next year.
Test Plot Vines.
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Cabernet Sauvignon
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Doing well considering that they were not planted until Memorial Day. 6 vines did
not make it at all. The remaining 9 are slow, but coming along.
Cabernet Franc Row 2, Merlot, Cabernet Franc row 4, and Chardonnay
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All vines are growing and very vigorous (1 cab franc in row 4 finally budded out, and
is much behind the others). Look completely disease and insect free. I irrigated them
again on Saturday ... for about 5 hours. No vine losses from these at all. I may water
once more, and then that will be it for the year. The experiment is going very well so far.
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