50% Veraison

Veraison is the fancy word for when the grapes start to soften and in our case turn purple. We started to see this around the 20th, now about 50% of the grapes are there. Apparently that means we're somewhere between 30 - 45 days from harvest, assuming an 'average' year. Average. Hmm.

Pretty leaf, but . . .

I noticed this in the vineyard today - a very beautiful leaf, but according to a few books I have this resembles Magnesium deficiency. It's supposedly VERY rare. Given that harvest isn't too far off, we'll probably wait until post-harvest to look at soil ammendments or other nutrient-balancing activities.

Berry Development thus far

They're getting big! We sprayed with Stylet Oil and remaining iron/zinc on the periphery vines, and will follow up in 1 week with a good dose of water (probably 6 hrs or so).

Water Log

Watered the vines overnight; 4 hrs drip-irrigation. Supposed to be a hot week, we'll keep an eye on 'em.