Third heatwave hits California

Miguel Ramos, of Salem, Oregon, reaches up to pull the leaf canopy over pinot noir grapes on Thursday, July 8, 2021, to shade the fruit from the sun, at Willamette Valley Vineyards in Turner, Ore. (AP Photo/Andrew Selsky)

People started to prepare for the third record-breaking heatwave of the season throughout the West coast. Workers in several West Coast wineries are trimming less of the leaf canopy to keep the grapes shaded and prevent sunburn.

Temperatures have soared into the triple digits in California, Arizona and Nevada. Hundreds of deaths have been recorded as attributable to the heat. OSHA adopted a heatwave standard to protect outdoor workers from heat-related illness. Oregon and Washington were among the first states to adopt the new OSHA emergency rule for employees working in extreme heat.

Meanwhile, in the Atlantic, TS Elsa, which had been the first hurricane of the season, fizzled as it brought heavy rains and flooding to the US East Coast. Compared to last year, it has been a most unusually quiet season in the Atlantic. It's almost like waiting for the fuse to reach the powder keg. 

Scientists say human-induced climate change is definitely what is causing the West Coasts' disastrous heat and drought. Meanwhile, scientists also believe that anthropomorphic climate change was also at fault of the 'catastrophic' French frost that decimated one-third of the crop in Burgundy, Champagne and the Loire valley. The frost also affected our growing region and everything is about a month late  this year. 

For us, it's been an unusually cold and dry early summer, so the grapes still have not flowered. But everything started growing exponentially last week and the grass definitely benefited from its first trim in a while. Alex is getting used to the new Kubota UTV which purrs along quietly at slow speed. The mower machine is separately petrol-powered and very annoyingly loud. I hope the one we ordered is more environmentally friendly. But now that we have this UTV, Alex has mowed the vineyard, the field, and even deployed the lobster pots using the UTV to deliver them to our boat, Moytura. And the benefits are already evident. 😎

Today's acquisition

The new equipment ('toys') arrived. Just in the nick of time. The grass in the vineyard is about as tall as my legs. Ghost won't go in that field anymore. She'd disappear. 

The quad is gorgeous. Kubota. It fits in the polytunnel. 

The grass mower is borrowed as it's hard to get new equipment in right now as a result of Covid and Brexit. It may take weeks to get the one Alex ordered. Scary looking thing. 

The donkeys stopped by and I gave them a little treat today. Carrots! They were happy. 

Fires & drought plague the US west coast

Russian River

A major heatwave hit the entire west coast of America last week and was even worse than predicted when a heat dome settled in.  It exacerbated what was already one of the most severe droughts in the region, prompting experts to warn that this could be the worst wildfire season ever. 

The Salt Fire north of Redding California near the Oregon border has consumed more than 11,000 acres and numerous homes and structures. But there are many more fires raging in all the states affected. Authorities warned not to set off fireworks for July 4th celebrations. 

The Russian River Valley where much of California's wine industry is situated is under extreme pressure. The Russian River serves as the main source of drinking water for more than 600,000 people in Sonoma, Mendocino and northern Marin counties. Some of the richest farmland in the nation is being left fallow because the water is running out. 

But it's not just California. Oregon's Williamette Valley suffered unprecedented extreme heat during the heat wave. No one knows how grapes will fare under these conditions. They are hoping that it is early enough in the season for the grapes to be able to withstand it, but Pinot Noir is particularly sensitive to heat. Most of the region grows cool climate grapes, and temperatures were 25 to 30 degrees above normal. 

This is what climate change looks like. 

Polytunnel Progressing

Farmhouse sink installation is going well. It will have shelves above it and below. 

The construction site is very active with tools, wood, lots of screws, and a cat rolling on the dirt floor. I've been even-ing out the floor. It's slow going but we're getting there. 

The new sign is lovely and durable and the sink is ready to use. My DH is a handyman. Now that we have water I can start bringing in some plants. 

Next, we need the topsoil for the raised beds. So exciting. And also black matting and gravel for the 'seating area' and paths. 

And today, I accessed the funds for the quad and mower. Yes!

Happy July 4th!

Can you believe it's July? I still haven't taken out the kayak because it's been so cold. Yet the numbers show that our temperature average was, well, average. Yet I remember last year being so much warmer. The vines have grown but the flowers still have not opened. Last year, I noted bloom on July 8. We still have a few days to catch up. 

Our rainfall total for June is quite low again and significantly less than last year but similar to 2018. The truth is that the variability of our climate is increasing. Better than the record heat along the West coast of the states. 

I've noted that we have an extraordinary number of clusters so I have to learn how to reduce the number to improve the yield. It's always something. 

MONTHLY VALUES FOR NEWPORT UP TO 03-JUL-2021

Total rainfall in millimetres for NEWPORT

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
2021	225.6	147.6	141.1	45.6	113.5	64.1	9.0						746.5
2020	139.5	342.8	178.2	25.5	54.7	164.5	187.9	137.9	153.4	228.0	206.6	232.7	2051.7
2019	146.8	115.0	228.5	100.7	112.5	76.6	82.7	228.9	175.5	160.7	148.1	220.6	1796.6
2018	274.6	155.6	86.2	94.3	70.4	65.9	58.6	179.1	148.3	140.9	172.6	201.0	1647.5
LTA	166.7	126.5	141.2	96.8	94.7	89.7	100.9	132.5	131.5	176.0	170.4	180.2	1607.1

Mean temperature in degrees Celsius for NEWPORT

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
2021	5.0	6.7	7.9	9.0	10.4	13.3	15.4						8.8
2020	7.2	6.0	6.6	11.0	12.8	13.8	14.4	16.0	13.8	10.5	9.1	6.1	10.6
2019	6.9	8.4	7.9	10.2	11.7	13.1	16.3	15.5	13.7	10.3	7.1	7.1	10.7
2018	5.9	4.6	5.5	9.1	13.1	16.1	16.1	15.0	12.4	10.9	8.3	8.1	10.5
LTA	6.1	6.1	7.3	9.0	11.5	13.8	15.4	15.4	13.5	10.8	8.3	6.5	10.3

Note on the orchard. The new peach tree has one set of leaves, the apples have very few apples, the cherries are shrivelling and dropping off (I think they have leaf curl fungus), one cherry is dying completely most likely due to canker and there are few crabapples and no plums. Only the pear tree is doing okay.

The peach tree in the greenhouse definitely has peach leaf curl and almost all the leaves are yellowing with a touch of red and curling before they fall off. That means Bordeaux mix treatment in the Autumn and no moving it into the polytunnel before then. Looks like the cherry trees and roses (which have had aphid infestation as well as black spot) will need Bordeaux mix as well.  

I think I should give up on gardening. 

More work on the Polytunnel

 

We now have electricity and water in the polytunnel. It's really nice to have those done. Without water, I couldn't bring any plants up. But it was a big job. Alex had to dig a ditch from the field to the garage and around three sides of the polytunnel. That's a long way. 

First, the yellow drain pipe around the polytunnel for drainage. Then an electric wire from the garage to the tunnel and up into the field for the electric fence. Finally, a water hose from the field down to the tunnel and on to the garage. 

I shlepped stones and clods of dirt to fill in when all was confirmed in working order. Finally, I topped it all off with the remaining soil that had been dug up. 

Alex has straightened the door surround which got flexed when the plastic was made taught, causing a poor fitting of the doors. Then he continued with building the shelving and stand for the farmhouse sink. It's all coming together. 

My rotating composting drum has arrived but it had a broken wheel which was replaced by the company within a couple of days. Now I just have to continue to level the soil so we can finish the floor. 

Record-breaking heat wave to hit US west coast

A record-breaking heatwave is about to hit the west coast of the United States during the worst drought on record. 

From California to Oregon and Washington State, temperatures are expected to remain well above normal for days. The National Weather Service has issued warnings. 

⚠️Record-Breaking and Dangerous Heatwave coming to the West. Over 80 sites are forecast to break daily high temperature records starting this weekend. All-time June monthly records could also be broken in some locations in the Pacific Northwest.  

https://weather.gov/safety/heat

What is that going to do to the 2021 grape harvest and all other crops?  The last time California had a record-breaking heatwave, it came at harvest time in September 2017 and turned the grapes into raisins. 

Update 28-06-21

It's hit as predicted and it is unprecedented. Portland, Oregon reached a temperature of 112 degrees Fahrenheit (44.4 Celsius) on Sunday, breaking the all-time record of 108 F (42.2C) which was set just a day earlier. Seattle this 104. 

When temperatures reach this high, grapes shut down to conserve water. If this continues, mitigation strategies will have to be implemented.