Sunday, September 23, 2007

This week: 21st. September

Weather Report Week Ending 21/9/07
Maximum Temperature for the week 24.3C (76F) on Tue. 5 readings above our monthly average of 17.5C.
Minimum Temperature for the week 1.8C (35F) on Fri. 3 readings above our monthly average of 7.0C.
Rainfall for the Week 6.4mm (18 points) 2 days of rain.
Weather data thanks to BOM & Nuriootpa Viticulture Research Centre.

A damp start to the week however the end finished warm and windy. The rain of last week has all but been evaporated (some of it will have made it into the subsoil). We still need about 140mm of rain before the end of the year, if we are going to get an average rainfall year.


This week in the vineyard:
We have now finished planting 2 of the 3 small blocks that we have planned for this year. The final block is some Sangiovase vines that have been grafted this year and will only be ready for planting in Nov/Dec. The vines we have planted are now safely tucked away in growgards and have had their first irrigation.
I am now 3/4 finished spraying off the cover crop. The first of what I sprayed is now just starting to brown off. We are spraying the cover crop a lot earlier than usual this year to try to preserve as much moisture as we possibly can. The risk with this policy is that we may have to spray again if we get a wet spring and another flush of weeds germinate. I am planning in the next week to start our first Fungicide spray, as I will be going on holiday for a while in Oct.
This weeks photo shows two rows of Sangiovese with Chardonnay behind it.

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