What I've Learned this Year (So Far)

Random lessons from the 2017 growing season:

1. Spraying on schedule is Number 1 in more ways than one. I deferred one of my early season spray  in order to mow. The weather turned unfavorable and delayed me from spraying for at least a week. It was a bad call, and allowed a downy mildew infection to set in. although I was able to stop it from spreading, the infection still took it's toll on the leaf canopy. It affected the vinifera and the hybrids.
2. I need to be more aggressive with the leaf pulling. This will not only help ripening, it will provide better spray coverage to the bunches. The Zinfandel and Cabernet will be the biggest benefactors, as they are the most vigorous varieties.
3. Along with more aggressive leaf pulling, I vow to be more active in pruning suckers and other growth from the ground to the cordons. This will focus growth where I want it at the cordon and shoot positions. And I will default to a single trunk rather than double trunks.
4. I like the holographic tape flickering under the netting, which means I need to install it before time to net. I put some tape out early in the Baco Noir, a few days before I started netting. I don't believe the tape does much on it's own, but I like it in concert with the net.
5. I need to start the hedging process (trimming the top growth when it extends past the top wire) earlier, as this promotes additional shoot growth. My hedge trimmer attachment on the string trimmer makes this an easy task.
6. If the crimson clover reseeded itself—and all signs point to some success there—I will not let it get as tall as it did this year. Mowing doesn't prevent it from blooming, or re-blooming, so I will try and keep it under control early, setting the mower at 4 or 4.5 inches.
7. My trip to Napa and Sonoma, and the time walking some of the finest vineyards there, convinced me that should I move forward and increase my plantings, I will do it at a much higher density than in the past. Rows will be 8 ft. apart rather than my current spacing of 9 ft., and vines will be planted at 4 ft. spacing instead of the current 6 ft. for all but the Baco Noir.
8. Also conditional on new planting, I will make sure the trellis system is in place immediately after planting, and the drip system is not far behind. The math is simple: the low cost is disproportionate to the personal anguish from no rain and no irrigation. And the drip system needs the trellis syst