It Begins Again

Bud break, on the Syrah in the first row.

Spray Date: April 1

I look over my posts from this time last year to see when the vines first woke from their dormant slumber. Last year, it was March 26 when the Syrah and Baco Noir first pushed. It's interesting to me, considering the deep cold that lingered into the end of Spring this year, that the Syrah and Baco Noir pushed on exactly the same date. The buds were just beginning to swell when we were hit with freezing temps the week before, leaving a touch of brown on the pale green shoots.

The warming conditions of Easter week have seen the other varieties begin to wake up, and on Easter Sunday afternoon, admittedly a week behind schedule, I fired up my sprayer and laid down a protective coat of tank mix composed of:

• Revus Top
• Rally
• Mancozeb
• Reliant
• Sevin
• Latron B

I mixed 25 gallons of the spray and had enough to hit my apple and peach trees with a good dousing.

This is a very exciting time of year.