Chicago vines and hops updated photographs w/o snowcover!!!! - Wed Feb 23, 2011

The title of this posting says it all!!!! And a crashing computer prevents me from wanting to write too much tonight.

Surprising new growth from either an Iris or a Lilly. I actually purchased the plant in Wilmette, IL in the parking lot of a CVS Pharmacy for $1.00. The store was trying to Clearance its little 'Home & Garden' section. Such an early rise for plants. Interesting to note.

Neighbor's gargoyle without snowcap.

My beloved treebase garden. This was conceived of by my neighbor and building manager back in the summer of 2009. I absolutely love this little thing. It adds so much to the yard, I think.

Cabernet Sauvignon grape vine Chicago 2010 - (Wed Feb 23, 2011)

Cabernet Sauvignon grape vine Chicago 2010 - (Wed Feb 23, 2011)

Cabernet Sauvignon grape vine Chicago 2010 - (Wed Feb 23, 2011)...Recall, this vine was planted about 4-5 weeks later than the two previous. It was planted in early August 2010 with the hope that it would better weather the winter by getting acclimated to the soil before temperatures dropped.

Syrah grape vine II Chicago 2009 - (Wed Feb 23, 2011)....The vine trunk is not to be confused with the darker tree limb that fell into the chicken wire protective guard I have around the vine. The limb will soon be extricated.

Mars Seedless grape vine 2009 - (Wed Feb 23, 2011)

Syrah grape vine I 2009 - (Wed Feb 23, 2011)

Willamette Hops refusing to let the winter temperatures get them down (Wed Feb 23, 2011)

Willamette Hops continued....(Wed Feb 23, 2011)

Enjoy!

update from the Chicago vines - photos Wed Feb 9, 2011

I am well over a week late with these photos, but I am putting them up anyway. Here are a few photographs of the vines I have planted in Chicago. I took the photos on Wed Feb 9, 2011. Check, check, check them out!

(Syrah Grape vine I - 2009. This is the vine that I knew was going to give me hope last spring. When I saw the buds bursting, I was ecstatic. Actually, in the ground it was still simply just a woody, bark-like grape vine cutting, and the little fella made it through a harsh Chicago winter. I just couldn't believe the potential of these vines until this one showed what possibilities existed. Absolutely, this is not the right vine for the climate, but I don't care. What I am learning now, I will take with me into my future endeavors elsewhere - whether it be as a hobby grower, or as a gainfully employed worker at a vineyard outside of Healdsburg, California, or anywhere else along HWY 101. I was actually forgetful about how large I allowed this vine to grow - for better or worse. I took this still photo and I also took a video on the 9th of Feb 2011. Stepping back a bit, I feel very much that I am in a better place with this vine being the way it is now, as sprawled out as it is, compared to last February 2010. My intention, as I have made clear on this blog, is to extract cuttings from this vine when I prune it. Pruning this vine will occur Monday Feb 28, 2011. Super-excited is the word, folks.)

(Syrah grape vine II 2009. This was the surprising vine. It shocked me to all get-out when I realized something was actually growing where I had planted it in September 2009. And true to form, given that it is Vinifera, this cutting didn't really start growing until about 1 1/2 to 2 weeks after Syrah I. The day I learned it pulled out of winter, I was so overjoyed my neighbor above me thought I was so strange for my enthusiasm over a young cutting pulling through a Chicago winter. I remember when I planted these vines, I didn't know a thing about how to proceed, about placement, climate, or what else to consider, etc. All I knew was that I had ordered Syrah cuttings on EBay - sounds like a terrible idea, doesn't it(it was all based on the success of the 2008 growing season)? I grew the cuttings in the apartment, all 6 of them, and all six of them did very well. I knew I had to get them in the ground. I didn't realize fully why. Anyway, only 40 inches away to the east (another really bad idea) I had another stronger Syrah cutting planted in the ground. The stronger vine seemed to be doing really well at the start of the 2010 growing season, but then it fell victim to wind damage - maybe even some Canine damage, as it was very tender despite being the one of the strongest of the 6 cuttings as I raised them inside the apartment.

(Mars Seedless grape vine. Last year it's growth was greatly stunted by being too near a rat hole. When the city of Chicago came in the yard to put down rat poison, it clearly affected the vine. It was planted in Sept 2009, during the spring of 2010 the vine had tremendous growth and progress. I bought it from a Lowe's hardware store off of Touhy Avenue in Lincolnshire, Illinois. Then it was all "shot to hell...", as my family is fond of reporting, once the city of Chicago Rat/Pest Control Department came in to engage the rats living just on the other side of the fence between my neighbor and my apartment's yard.)

(Cabernet Sauvignon grape vine. One of the first pair that myself, my roommate, and my neighbor downstairs planted. These vines were started from cuttings that were a result of pruning the original Cabernet Sauvignon vine in St. Louis last Feb 2010. When my roommate and I planted these, we were amazed at how fast roots grew from this cutting (the roots encircled the bottoms of the flower pots by the time we planted them in actual soil). This vine and its sibling grew amazingly well in the apartment while resting in soil in a measly flower pot. Planting these was a crazy idea and is still a long shot. This area is, however, the best place for sunlight during the summer months.)

(This is clearly another Cabernet Sauvignon grape vine. This is the second half of the story mentioned above. Also a very hardy cutting, apparently, and it simply took off in the apartment. It will not get great airflow while abutted to the exterior wall of my brick apartment building. But it still won't stop me from growing vines here. To be redundant, if you come upon grape vine cuttings in late February, just go ahead and gamble and put them in a flower pot and see if they do anything in 12 weeks time. There is nothing to lose.)

(Another Cabernet Sauvignon grape vine and a very strong vine at that. I probably planted this in late July or early August 2010. This vine won't do too great because of where it is situated. The soil is quite good, it won't get enough sun, though. The reason for my planting it was because I had too many cuttings and I had to do something with them before the weather started to get cold. Having done so much nursing and coddling of these cuttings while trying to get them started in the apartment during the springtime, I didn't want to see my roommate and I's efforts be for naught. I also wanted this vine to have more time to get acclimated to the soil, than vines I had hastily planted in the past. My aim was to plant it about 5 weeks earlier than I did the previous year with planting the Mars Seedless grape vine in September 2009. I am definitely looking forward to measure its relative growth to the Mars Seedless. As I indicated above, the Mars Seedless pulled out of the winter of 2009/2010 and had an exceptional start to the growing season until the arrival of the rat poison - the poison was desperately needed, though. There seemed to be a shanty town developing down in that rat hole every time I looked near it.

After writing these little blurbs, it came upon me that this is my 4th growing season with grape vines. Amazing. The first two Cabernet Sauvignon grape vine cuttings went into the ground in March 2008 in St. Louis, Missouri.

See you soon!

update from Glen Ellyn, IL Monday Feb 21 2011

Took a photo of the vines in Glen Ellyn this morning (Feb 21 2011).  I will be pruning them on Sunday morning, unless there is a tornado that picks me up and sends me off to Oregon or the Russian River Valley for work at a vineyard.  Today the area has received freezing rain.   The temperatures are definitely getting increasingly warmer.  The low tonight is supposed to be 19 degrees Fahrenheit.  That is pretty low, but it is not single digits or temperatures in the negatives.  Little victories.  I am cold as I write this in my apartment, have been all day, actually.  But I know that March is only next week.  Myself and many others are looking forward to the advent of a new month ushering us into the growing season.  How about a picture of the Frontenac and La Crescent vines as they are today?  Here you have it!  Enjoy.

The photo doesn't look like much, other than the product of an amateur doing his best with the smallest budget in the world and less knowledge than now about how to design a setting for a few vines. Anyway, I am excited for the next 12 weeks. Oh what a change we are in for.

Willamette Hops are flippin' growing already - popping out of the ground!!!!! It is only Feb 17th!!!!!

Today is supposed to be a 60 degree day in Chicago.  The real temperature has only been able to reach 57 degrees.  The snow is quite a bit gone.  As I was taking the trash and recycling out through the backyard, I noticed the snow cover had melted over the Hops patch.  I decided to take 15 seconds to look at the ground (remembering my surprise last year when I saw the Hops growing so early in 2010).  Lo and behold the strongest hops rhizome is thrusting early shoots up and out of the ground.  I didn't have the presence of mind to take a photo, but I will tomorrow morning on the 18th of February.

Insanity.

From -12 degrees Fahrenheit to 43 degrees Fahrenheit in 78 Hours!!!!

This is the story of the Glen Ellyn vines and their current existence underneath the blanket of probably 12 inches of snow, even still, nearly 10 days after the Chicago Blizzard of 2011 (which took place on Feb 1st and 2nd, 2011).

As I registered the real temp of -8 degrees Fahrenheit on late Wednesday night of this past week (Feb 9, 2011), I learned when I had awoken that at 8AM Glen Ellyn, Illinois was expecting the mercury to drop to -12 degrees before reversing such a trend. So far, to my knowledge, that is the coldest temperature that Glen Ellyn has been able to reach so far this winter.

The current temperature is 43 degrees Fahrenheit. That registers a 55 degree difference and temperature range. The winds are blowing today, quite vigorously. But we are not out of winter's clutch just yet. Things are changing, though, ever so slightly. Actually, a family friend tells that the oil rig workers in the North Sea have to deal with the March gales at this time, indicating changes in the seasons and the dawn of spring. Follow the link for a cool website:

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/marine/shipping_forecast.html#All~All


More to come.


Thank you!

Winter temps in Glen Ellyn, Illinois - Feb 9, 2011 Wed

Just checked the current temp in Glen Ellyn, Illinois and the mercury is revealing a -6 degree Fahrenheit temperature. It may drop 2 additional degrees at the most. We needn't worry as the hybrid varietals from the Univ of Ninnesota research station are planted in the soil here, those being: Frontenac and La Crescent.

This is only a quick update. The 16-inch layer of snowpack will take care of the rest.


- out!!!!!!!

winter 2011!!!! from Southeast Logan Square

I am back!


It has been a long time since contributing here on this blog.  I am in the midst of finding more employment and it has been a job in itself.  I am hoping someone calls me back today from an interview I had on Thursday.  Anyway, this process has been nerve-wracking but is still going on.  It is pretty all-consuming.

But the Chicago Blizzard of 2011 happened last Tuesday/Wednesday (Feb 1st and 2nd) and O'Hare International airport registered at least 20.2 inches of snow.  Today and tomorrow the Chicagoland area will dip into low temps of  -8, maybe -10 degrees Fahrenheit beginning this evening.  I think the snow will keep the vinifera vines insulated here in Chicago during the low, low temps.  It is currently 10 degrees as I write this little bit.

(photo of a neighbor's gargoyle during the blizzard of 2011)

A couple of cool things are happening very soon. I have asked a nearby vineyard if I could observe them and, maybe, help on a day of pruning - as it is soon to be the season. It is a whole skill that simply escapes me. I know how to chop up an unkempt vine, anyone does. But to get the vine to behave like they are supposed to in a proper vineyard, I don't have that skill developed. So this vineyard agreed to let me come along and hang for a day or two. Stoked about that.

The wine kit that I started on October 6 turned out to be rubbish. Well, I have taken to calling it Sulfite Water. Everyone is getting a good laugh at it. A bit disappointing but we keep pushing on with better controls on the next batch. I have determined that I was so panicked about introducing any bacteria from the outside into the wine that I probably oversulfited. Took loads of video on December 20 2010 when I was siphoning and bottling the batch. We'll see. Hopefully it gets better in 9-10 months time. I am not terribly interested in drinking anymore Sulfite Water for a longggggggg time.

I am not enrolled in any viticultural programs at the moment because the expense is just too damn much. Debt is not a fun idea to me and that is what it would involve in order to re-enroll in classes. Not to worry. The Russian immigrants from the 1800's that landed in northern California didn't go to viticultural school. They planted those 'Old Zin' vines with practical life experience as their reference point. I know how to go to a library and check out a few books on the rhythms of working in and owning a vineyard. Things will be fine.

Last year on the last weekend of February 2010 I went to St. Louis to prune the original Cabernet Sauvignon vine. That was a life-changing moment. I can't wait to do it again. According to my Gregorian calendar, I am 17 days away from that anniversary. St. Louis also has a few vines that need to be pruned apart from the original Cabernet vine. As well, there are some Merlot and Seyval Blanc vines in place that have wintered in the soil. Curious how those experiments will result.

In Chicago, I have one Syrah vine and one Mars Seedless vine that need pruning. The Mars Seedless vine was impacted by rat poison that the city of Chicago put down to cull the rat population in the entire city. They leave little adhesive sticker notices to inform the residents that they came by to drop off rat poison. It was after that time when the vine really went south and struggled pretty much throughout the summer. The life of a scrappy, small-scale, urban vineyard, eh? I guess some would say, "Dems da ropes, kid.".

In Glen Ellyn the vines there will need to be pruned back. They had a fantastic year of growth and I am certain their root system is ready and set for stun.

Lots of lumber and steel wiring to be purchased for the vines in St. Louis, Glen Ellyn, and Chicago in order to better situate them for sunlight and proper growth.

The Indiana vines are under the watchful eyes of mad science men. Things should be pretty excellente down those parts. I am very interested in the La Crescent vine (dubbed as 'Moon Beam'). The vine had such vigorous growth, it was shocking to witness.

Many positives, even ruined wine is a positive. We take it all as it comes.

More to come!!!!