It is something of a shock to realise we are now exactly halfway through the season, three months down the line from budburst, three months away from harvest and somewhat challenging growing conditions. Given the topsy-turvy nature of this year’s weather (torrential rain and a mini heatwave all in one week!) we might well be looking to a late October harvest.
Nevertheless, flowering is now over and fruit set well under way. We have undertaken the first leaf stripping (removing a proportion of leaves around the fruit to open up the canopy and allow airflow and sunlight(!) onto the berries) and the first trim of the year to tidy up all the long shoots. In the next week or so, we’ll do the all-important bunch count which will give us an indication of the potential yield and also help us make the decision about removing some of the bunches to ensure that what is left can ripen to its fullest potential – the co-called Green Harvest.
I am very pleased to say that the Fertigation system has really come into its own – I am hotfoot from giving the vines a nutrient boost to help them through this next phase (iron and magnesium to keep the leaves healthy and improve the process of photosynthesis). Next will be a dose of calcium to firm up the berries and help to ward off any potential damage from fungal spores. All without a single tractor ride!
The task of vine growing is nothing if not varied – yesterday, a peaceful few hours were spent counting worms! As part of our sustainable viticulture, the number of earthworms per square meter is a great indicator of organic matter on which they feed and the more activity the healthier the soil . Happy to say that one effect of the wetter weather has been to coax the worms from the cooler depths back up to the surface to continue working their magic turning over and enriching the soil.
