Saturday, April 05, 2014

Spray day.

Today, at last, and for the next 5 day extended weather outlook, there is no rain in the forecast.  So, and not a moment too soon, the vines received their first application of sulphur for the season.  I was starting to get a bit worried about the Orange muscat vines which have a good 10-12 inches of growth already - they should have had two, preventative sulphur treatments (to ward off powdery mildew infection) by now, but the weather has not been cooperating.  Ho hum.

3 comments:

New Hampshire Wineman said...

Two questions Vinogirl if you have the time: 1: Does the sulfur sprayed on the vines influence the total amount in the wine?
2: Do you try and spray more heavily in the presumed shaded areas of the vine?
Just curious!

Trubes said...

Oh Gosh! good luck with the weather.
Until reading your blog VG I didn't realise vine growing was so intricate, I thought all you needed was sunshine and rain in equal quantities, then the special stuff came in once the grapes were harvested,,, One lives and learns.
Just been talking to Thud, via blog, he seems really excited about his visit to the US now that he's finished his project... I wonder what else he's got planned, he seems such an interesting man, you must be proud of him.
I see your team are flying at present,it would be wonderful if they win the Premiership.... We'll be, (Everton) more than happy to get in the top four (if only)..
.Best wishes from, still sunny, Liverpool.
Di..xx

Vinogirl said...

NHW: 1: Late foliar applications of elemental sulphur are often blamed for slow or stuck fermentations, or the production of H2S. Sulphur should not really be applied after veraison (that is when the fruit is no longer susceptible to new infections of PM), this allows enough sulphur degradation to occur before the grapes are harvested (the preharvest interval or PHI).

2: The goal is an even coating of sulphur on all tissue surfaces at the correct intervals throughout the season - which is harder to achieve with wettable sulphur than dusting sulphur, but we try.

Trubes: Wow! Seems you've been busy reading my posts :) Grape-farming can be complicated but it's a lot of fun.
Thud is a great brother, he's been responsible for a lot of fun stuff that I have experienced in my life. I'm looking forward to the family's visit.
A little under 5 weeks left of the season...I hope Liverpool can pull it off, as I work with a Man Utd fan and I'm dying for the opportunity to rub it in...oh yea!