Shipping day (April 6) was coming up, and the construction dumpster was still sitting in the middle of the the vineyard site. A call to the builder expedited the removal, and the next day my wife, Sue, and I took the transit, tape measure, stakes, flags,T-posts and marking paint to site and got to work.
In a matter of hours, we had the field marked, and discovered we had room for six 120-ft. rows. Two rows were laid out for 15 vines each on 8-ft. centers (Norton, Arandell and Baco Noir) and four rows were marked for 20 vines each on 6-ft. centers (everything else). The sixth row—as well as the extra 24 feet per row—was a bonus, and gave me more room than what I planned and ordered.
When I arrived home from work on Thursday, April 9, there was a large box leaned up against the garage door. The box was about 8 in. by 8 in. by 40 in. and contained 96 vines packed in wet shredded paper all rolled into a sheet of heavy plastic.
The vines grown on their own roots were large and had substantial dormant vine growth from the previous year. These would require trimming down to two buds prior to planting. The supplier, Double A Vineyards in New York, advertises these as 1 Year Extra because of their heavier root structure and above-average growth. They live up to their billing.
Other vines were grafted on 101-14 (more tolerant of clay soils) rootstock and were already trimmed.
I wrapped the vines back in their plastic and put them in a dark corner of the shop. The work would begin in earnest the next day.
I was on my tractor early, ready to start digging and planting. I have a 12-in. auger for the tractor-mounted post hole digger, and found I was often able to punch an 18-in. deep hole in a matter of minutes, producing a circle of fine red soil around the perimeter. In other cases, the 12-in. auger was a too much for my little tractor and the hard ground, and regardless of how long I worked at it, I was unable to sink a hole more than six or eight inches deep.
I dug as deep as I could, then moved on the the next hole. There was no real pattern to the resistance.
The first row (Norton) went well. No real resistance and the drilling went fairly quick. I worked out a little timing scheme where I soaked the vines in water while I drilled the holes and prepped the row for planting, one variety at a time. The second row (Arandell and Baco Noir) went in easily like the first.
When I got to the third row (Cab and Chardonel), I ran into some obstinate soil. After repeated attempts to get the first few holes drilled, I decided to mount a six inch auger bit on the digger and drill pilot holes. At this point, with the 6-in. bit installed, I decided to put the vines away and drill all the pilot holes before mounting the larger bit
I was only able to plant the Norton and Arandell in the first two rows by April 11.
During the drilling process, I realized I didn't know for sure where the underground power line was buried. I had a pretty good idea, but wasn't sufficiently certain to continue.; I shut down field operations to call the underground utility marking service. I like the vineyard adventure, but didn't think it worth dying for. I was shut down for days waiting for them to mark the tract.
When I got home from work on Wednesday, the lines were marked and I was off and running again, drilling holes in the other rows. I didn't get to plant anything the following weekend, but by April 25, I had 97 vines in the ground, safely wrapped in their Blue-X grow tubes. The 10 Merlot were planted May 2.
The process worked, but I would not recommend it. One of my reference books recommends trenching the rows and refilling them with the loose dirt in the fall before planting. If I ever do this again, I will follow that advice.
In a matter of hours, we had the field marked, and discovered we had room for six 120-ft. rows. Two rows were laid out for 15 vines each on 8-ft. centers (Norton, Arandell and Baco Noir) and four rows were marked for 20 vines each on 6-ft. centers (everything else). The sixth row—as well as the extra 24 feet per row—was a bonus, and gave me more room than what I planned and ordered.
When I arrived home from work on Thursday, April 9, there was a large box leaned up against the garage door. The box was about 8 in. by 8 in. by 40 in. and contained 96 vines packed in wet shredded paper all rolled into a sheet of heavy plastic.
The vines grown on their own roots were large and had substantial dormant vine growth from the previous year. These would require trimming down to two buds prior to planting. The supplier, Double A Vineyards in New York, advertises these as 1 Year Extra because of their heavier root structure and above-average growth. They live up to their billing.
Other vines were grafted on 101-14 (more tolerant of clay soils) rootstock and were already trimmed.
I wrapped the vines back in their plastic and put them in a dark corner of the shop. The work would begin in earnest the next day.
I was on my tractor early, ready to start digging and planting. I have a 12-in. auger for the tractor-mounted post hole digger, and found I was often able to punch an 18-in. deep hole in a matter of minutes, producing a circle of fine red soil around the perimeter. In other cases, the 12-in. auger was a too much for my little tractor and the hard ground, and regardless of how long I worked at it, I was unable to sink a hole more than six or eight inches deep.
I dug as deep as I could, then moved on the the next hole. There was no real pattern to the resistance.
The first row (Norton) went well. No real resistance and the drilling went fairly quick. I worked out a little timing scheme where I soaked the vines in water while I drilled the holes and prepped the row for planting, one variety at a time. The second row (Arandell and Baco Noir) went in easily like the first.
When I got to the third row (Cab and Chardonel), I ran into some obstinate soil. After repeated attempts to get the first few holes drilled, I decided to mount a six inch auger bit on the digger and drill pilot holes. At this point, with the 6-in. bit installed, I decided to put the vines away and drill all the pilot holes before mounting the larger bit
I was only able to plant the Norton and Arandell in the first two rows by April 11.
During the drilling process, I realized I didn't know for sure where the underground power line was buried. I had a pretty good idea, but wasn't sufficiently certain to continue.; I shut down field operations to call the underground utility marking service. I like the vineyard adventure, but didn't think it worth dying for. I was shut down for days waiting for them to mark the tract.
When I got home from work on Wednesday, the lines were marked and I was off and running again, drilling holes in the other rows. I didn't get to plant anything the following weekend, but by April 25, I had 97 vines in the ground, safely wrapped in their Blue-X grow tubes. The 10 Merlot were planted May 2.
The process worked, but I would not recommend it. One of my reference books recommends trenching the rows and refilling them with the loose dirt in the fall before planting. If I ever do this again, I will follow that advice.
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