Rose chafer arrives 2 weeks early

The rose chafers have returned. It's about 2 weeks earlier than usual. Luckily damage from them should be manageable this year. They mostly affect young vines, and most of the vines are 4 years old or older now.

We may see some damage to flower clusters, which may affect yield, but for the most part we should be okay.

24" shoots.

We had tremendous growth in the last 10 days. Nearly all varieties have shoots 15"+, and many shoots are 24" or more.

It looks like Marquette, Frontenac, and Lacrescent will bear full crops. Foch will be at about 2/3 full crop due to grape flea beetle damage.

Prairie star will be about a half crop. Not due to any pest or frost damage, but because it is growing much more slowly, and the vines are far less mature than other cultivars . They were planted in 2007, and are taking a long time to establish. They are in the sandiest area of the vineyard, and the three year drought which started in 2007 didn't help.

Marquis grapes in bloom in Madison

The seedless table grapes, Marquis, are in bloom in my front yard in Madison. Sampson Valley Vineyard is usually about 2 weeks behind Madison. I would guess bloom should start there about June 9.

New Row Markers

I started putting out the new row markers my brother and nephew made.  They will make finding the right row a lot easier.
That last image is of some marquette buds.  They are looking good right now.   Damage from the grape flea beetle looks less than I feared.

Bud break!

Bud break occurred over the period of May 2nd - May 10.   All cultivars have now broken bud.   Damage from frost and grape flea beetles appear to be much less than I feared.