A couple of updates with this blog. I'll try my best to do a weekly snapshot of my favorite plants in the garden. It is clear to me, as my remarkable roommate reminded me, that these very grapevines I am growing now could well be the nexus of what I hope to conceive of and manifest as Conejo Loco Vineyards. As I read more and more from material I have gathered provided by the area University Extension programs - many of them have PDF files on how to grapes (and manage vineyards), most of them are products of the Horticultural Departments of the area universities - it is clear to me that I simply want to document a successful summer with the Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and the Cabernet Franc. Get them growing, observe and record as much as I am able, then make the adjustments as they are required. I also want to make mistakes from simply trying, and then I hope to garner some growing wisdom from the results and the observations. These vines are all coming up by simply putting cuttings into flower pots and surrounding them with simple soil, and NOT Miracle Grow soil. Just a cheap bag of $2.49 Potting Soil from the local hardware store.
Let's carry on with the photos. Things are growing fast
What I have here is my great hope for growing/starting a Cabernet Franc vine in Chicago, IL. The bud has really risen and changed colours in recent weeks. That seems to reflect that growth is coming as is the holy moment of 'Bud Break'. There is sure to be additional footage of either its success or its failure. Here's to hoping. Nature is so terribly unpredictable.
This is the second Cabernet Sauvignon cutting that sprouted this spring 2010. Putting up a photo here from a different setting than last week's photo. Growth is coming along nicely.
These are the beloved Willamette Hops vines. Apparently canines like them just as well as Homo Sapiens do when the fruit of the vine gets boiled down and integrated into a brew.
This is the first Cabernet Sauvignon plant that I have grown in Chicago. This is the first spring in trying to grow them and the first cutting to indicate growth. This is a particularly vigorous and robust developing vine, although it is still in a pot. Probably the next question to answer is when these need to get in the ground. I consider this an important question because, while I had success with growing cuttings of Syrah last year, I believe I may have put them in the ground too late in the year (September 2009), to be exact. Only one of my (5) Syrah cuttings that I put in the ground last September has indicated any life. But I'll take anything. There will surely be some hits and misses.
The update photo on the Mars Seedless grape vine. The leaves that are unfurling are simply brilliant. It truly is no wonder why humans are so captivated by the vine. It is amazing to see these things come alive.
