Bud break throughout

 

Rondo

The wind continues for a third day, but at least it has been sunny most of the time. The occasional shower or hail squall blows through, and it gets cold. Then the sun comes out again and warms things up. The Rondo and Solaris are preparing to leaf, and the Pinot Noir has bud break. The Chardonnay is lagging but promising. One Chardonnay vine is farther ahead than the rest. The kiwis are looking fine, and Alex has prepared a new row for the new teinturier vines. He mowed the vineyard for the first time this year. 

The cherry tree has lots of buds, some of which are already flowering. And just when I thought there were no mushrooms in the lawn, I almost stepped on a bunch of fruiting bodies. There is a clearing by the trees we planted at the top of the vineyard that potentially have truffles beneath them. I want to clear that out so we can get in there and harvest truffles. Another feature of the vineyard experience. 

I tried weeding a section of the flower garden, but grabbed a nettle which sent pulsating signals through my hand with damaged nerve. Something went wrong during carpal tunnel surgery and I now have a loss of sensation in half my hand. 

Solaris

Pinot Noir

Chardonnay

Cherry tree flowering

Other fruit promising bounty

Red cherry

I am particularly pleased with the onset of flowering in the orchard. The one cherry tree is going to be covered in blossoms and seems to be making a recovery. I am afraid that we ruined our cherry trees and plum tree by pruning at the wrong time of year. Stone fruit have to be pruned in later spring/early summer. Pruning in winter exposes them to stressors like rust and canker. I am afraid the yellow cherry has both. It is weeping rusty-coloured liquid from its joints. 

Still no sign of bud break in the Solaris, Chardonnay or Pinot Noir. Easter Sunday will be held here and we have several guests coming. We were going to do a big Ukrainian-style Easter, but my hand surgery got in the way. 

Blueberry

Yellow cherry

Red cherry

Kiwi bud break

 

Kiwileaves are so beautiful, and even more so are the fresh new baby leaves at bud break. Today is a grey cool day, but seeing the new kiwi leaves provided a bright spot. 

Bud break!

 We have bud break. Rondo only. Even the one-year-old plants. Last year, it was 2 April. In 2024, it was 28 March. In 2023, it was 10 April.

The Solaris are still tight, as are the Chardonnay. The Pinot Noir buds are still tiny and not developed.  

Vine progress

 

Albarino

The vines in the polytunnel are coming along great. The Albarino vines have leafed, as have the Black Hamburg and Muscat de Hamburg. The Ross House white, potentially Sweetwater, has such intricately cut and delicate baby leaves.

Ross House white, Sweetwater

Black Hamburg

Albarino

Muscat de Hamburg

Outside, both the Rondo and Solaris are approaching bud break. The buds have swollen and are showing signs of rupture but no leaf development yet. No signs of life in the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir yet. 

Rondo

Solaris

Solaris

Solaris

Both Alex and I have been hand-pollinating the apple flowers as there are few insects in the tunnel at the moment. Hopefully, we will get some apples this year. 

Polytunnel News

 

It was a beautiful morning yesterday, and I spent it working in the polytunnel. So much going on. The apple, peach and nectarine trees are leafing brightly. An aeonium is blooming profusely. Seeds are sprouting throughout. And several of the vines have bud break. How exciting!

It's so nice to have our own decomposed donkey manure and a fabulous bin of garden waste compost. It feels rich. I finally planted my little dahlia bed. Trying to emulate the Victorians. Grapes for every purpose and flowers for the eyes. 

Stunning Aeonium flower

Ross House white dessert grape, possibly Sweetwater

Albarino

Black Hamburg

New dahlia planter

Luscious donkey poo

Fab compost 

More pruning

 

It was a beautiful, calm, mild and sunny day, so I spent most of it in the vineyard pruning. Some of the Solaris vines are so vigorous that they grew right across to the next vine. The entanglement and the size and strength of their tendrils was remarkable. When they touched another vine, their tendrils grabbed on like hands clasping hands. Amazing. We're going to really have to stay on top of it next year. 

Even more amazing is that some of the vines were already beginning to leaf. Bud break in January? It's not even St. Vincent's Day yet! Have to speed up the pruning even more. 

There were also many leftover remains of grape clusters, including one Pinot Noir with grapes still intact but hard. Quite a few clusters without grapes on the Chardonnay. We may have a new crop this year. 

We have removed a significant amount of material. We also edit each other's work. No matter how many times I look, I always find something we missed. We have quite a way to go before we finish. Then the orchard. At least we're seeing a bit of a stretch in the evenings.