Debudding the Vineyard
It is time for debudding the vineyard! These vines are growing a lot this summer.
The Vines are Growing
As you can see from the picture, the vines are very vigorous in their growth. Not only is the canopy (the green along the vertical cordon wire) growing well but the vine is sending out plenty of growth along the trunk.
While this extra growth is a good sign of the health and output of the vine, we want the vine to focus its energy on canopy growth, fruit production and fruit ripening. To do this, we debud each vine. Each person takes a row and walks down the length of it. Stopping as necessary, we pop off the extra growth buds and shoots along each trunk.
It can take us a week to work through the vineyard debudding. It depends on how many buds we have to knock off.
Making Work Fun
Sometimes, we get bored with just walking down the row, bending over, stand up, repeat. So we mix it up and make a fun workout during the job. For six vines, we might do lunges. Then for another six, it might be squats. Anything to make the job more fun! Whoever is in the lead, usually gets to call out the moves for the everyone.
You might wonder what becomes of all the discarded greenery - we bring piles of it home for Buttercup and Emme to eat. They love grape vines! The cows like when we are debudding the vineyard.
It is so funny to see it hanging out of their mouths and slowly taken in by their BIG tongues while continuing to chew!
Normally, Buttercup is the one with manners and she mooooos a thank you!
What a life!
Be sure to check out the links below for more vineyard posts!