February in the Vineyard

2007 is a year of expansion for Stormy Morning Vineyard.

Pole Pushing: Bill made plans to expand ~ 3 acres. Before poles can be pushed, the new acreage must be measured and marked. After careful consideration, Bill decided to stick with placing rows 8 feet apart and placing plants every 4 feet within the row. With this formula in play, Bill and his vineyardwife helper measured, marked and placed small green market sticks into the ground - with great precision. Bill is all about precision.

Plans to pole push were delayed weeks due to extrememely wet January weather & a delay in factory production of the raw materials - the pressure-treated poles and anchor poles. Because pole pushing is weather dependent and the crawling tractor is in high demand, Bill got last minute notice that he was next on the job list. So, by himself, he staged the poles, held the poles for the tractor driver. After several frustrating hours, it became apparent the ground was so soft the crawling tractor could not get the grip needed to complete the job. The decided to put the tractor in the barn and wait a few days.

Finally, the weather cooperated and the job began. For the big day, Bill had enlisted the help of a trusty crew. He clothed them in full rain gear and the day began. Much of the day was spent carrying poles and staging them beside the markers throughout the field. Once that job was complete, the crew, Bill and the pole pushing tractor expert started the installation.

Things were going well until Bill and the crawling tractor man noticed the field and newly-pushed poles were a little "off". After a bit of investigation, Bill realized that his well-meaning crew had moved the each marker a bit when they distributed the poles. Therefore, when they then lifted the poles into place on top of the marker stick as the tractor came along, the precision on placement was off. Ugg.

So, Bill remarked the field. The next day the crew did not show. Bill performed the work of two people - lifting/holding & then running to the next pole to lift/hold. Extrememly hard work. No photos of that day.......it was a tough day. But the results are beautiful. The newly-posted field is near-perfection.

March in the Vineyard

March was an incredibly busy month for Bill. Pruning. Planting.

Planting: 1,263 new plants were added to the Stormy Morning Vineyard. In addition to expanding to row rows, new plants were added to existing rows to fill-in where plants have died due to to drought. While Oregon climate lends itself to enable "dry farming", we have learned the hard way that new plants require additional watering during their first season. Dry farming relies on mother nature to provide adequate water throughout the year. No irrigation or drip system is used. To give new plants the water they need, during the hot summer months, we hand-water each plant from a 110 gallon tank ferried by our Kawasaki Mule.




Pruning: as Bill demonstrates in the photo, each plant is carefully evaluated. The fruiting canes for the new season are selected, then twisted/tied to the trellis. All other canes are cut away. In a matter of seconds, the growth from the prior year is a mere memory. Assisting Bill with pruning is his trusty lawn buddy - a rolling cart that hold his ties, an apple and an AM radio so he can keep up-to-date with the latest in sports.

Pruning takes several weeks to accomplish. Rain or shine Bill, with a little help from an outside crew completed the task of pruning over 6,ooo plants in February and first wk of March.