Cabernet Sauvignon - Chicago

A few updates from the patch of garden/flower beds in southeast Logan Square. The Cabernet Sauvignon vines that were transplanted from pots to soil earlier in the summer went through a period of shock, in other words they simply just held. Such behaviour didn't surprise me as the plants were moved into a new living environment. At times more than a few leaves seemed to reveal plants that were struggling. These pieces of evidence began to worry as this year I have not had the best track record with bringing cuttings through the critical first 10-12 weeks after Bud Break.   The following photographs of the vines were taken on Friday July 9 2010

As a comparison, I took a few photographs (featured below) of the vines this morning Wednesday August 25, 2010. I am pleased to see the results of 7 weeks of heat, water, and sun affecting, for the better, these young Cabernet Sauvignon cuttings that were lopped off of my parents' Cabernet Sauvignon vine in St. Louis, Missouri late one Friday Feb 26 2010 during late-winter pruning.

The final vine that I photographed is one that I simply wanted to get in the ground before Sept 1, 2010. I must've planted it on Wednesday Aug 18, 2010. It is another cutting from my parents' vine in St. Louis, MO. I just wanted to experiment by getting it in the ground earlier than I put the Syrah vines in the ground last year, which I am almost certain I did after Sept 1, 2009 (and by that measure I mean it may well have been Sept 10th or 15th, I wasn't as good about documenting back then). What I hope to discover next spring is that this 3rd cutting will grow and have vigor. When such activity occurs I will then have a better sense of what the parameters are for planting late in the summer in Chicago, IL. It is entirely possible that last year's Syrah cuttings just didn't have adequate time to get situated before the cool air came around. Even this morning at 6AM the air was quite cool in Chicago when I was outside. All of these details are important to consider.

This took me by surprise

Plenty of entries here in the past 48 hours, but all for good reason. The story goes that I have in my office at work a Cabernet Sauvignon cutting that I put into a pot, nearly 9 weeks ago. I have been patient with it, provided water, it is situated in a lovely window sill (that is, the sunlight directs itself onto this pot for a good many afternoon hours). About two weeks ago, an former co-worker stopped by to visit and catch up, he also is an amateur local gardener. I asked him what he thought of the potted cutting and he reported that the buds still looked viable. I have been worried because everything I have planted this year is up against the success of my attempts to grow Syrah cuttings in pots during the spring of 2009, which render astonishing successes. I took Tom's words, his assessment and tried to feel encouraged.

Every once in a while I look at the pot and tell it, "It's okay to grow, Mr. Vine. You need to grow.". Seriously. I did talk to this cutting, just to be silly, in recent weeks. It is probably more hokey and strange more than anything. During my morning rounds, today, of reviewing the plant and putting my finger on the soil to test for estimated moisture levels, I seemed to notice a much larger bud at the base of the cutting than I had remembered from recent weeks. Upon looking closer, there is a greenish hue to the bud. Apparently the fuzzy texture has been pushed away by the green leaves that are coming from within and now there is only one layer of plant material that separates the leaves from protruding outward and being fully exposed to the elements of air, water, heat, and environment, directly. Excellent news.

Today it is warm and I think the plant will respond to the heat. I may well have a photo of bud break within the next 6 days. Until then, here is a photo of what I see today (Thursday May 13, 2010). Again, there is a 30 to 40-year Master Plan that is providing a larger scope. This could well be one of the foundational vines for Conejo Loco Vineyards

May 1 2010 Saturday update from the garden

This is the Mars Seedless Grape vine. I am going to have to begin putting up the stakes pretty soon. I lifted one of the vines from last year and it is a very durable plant. I love this photo because it captures quite nicely the variegation of the leaves. Interesting how they all started pinkish in colour.


Joe Pye Weed in the backyard. This plant really took off this week. I feel like a successful gardener when things like this happen.

Roma Tomatoes. They are soooooooo very much in need of being transplanted. The job just simply doesn't provide much time to do that. Soon enough, though.

A sample of some of my Fava Beans that I have planted with my roommate. I started them in the pot, she watered them and then she graciously planted them in the backyard garden patch. I hope it sends the nitrogen down into the soil!

I couldn't pass this up, it is my beloved Big Bluestem native prairie grass. I have never seen it come out of dormancy until this year, because this will mark my first year of growing Big Bluestem. So far, so cool.


This Cabernet Franc bud is pregnant. Perhaps in about 4 weeks I'll be able to give a good photo of a growing cutting. Fingers crossed.

This is 'The Dynamic Duo': my two early growers from the cluster of Cabernet Sauvignon cuttings that I brought back from my folks' home in St. Louis, MO.

This was the second cutting to sprout this year. Just the update photo, but it has certainly taken off this past few days. My roommate and I were actually wondering if the vine has sent out fruit, the camera couldn't focus to show what could be seen with the eye. Cabernet Sauvignon. There are actually a couple of round plant objects coming off of the new vine, backdropped by the leaf that is covering part of the rim of the flower pot that this thing is situated in. I just wonder what it is because I didn't see anything of the like last year with the Syrah vines that I grew last year.

This is the view from the top of the second cutting. Simply another angle to reveal the growth. Cabernet Sauvignon.

The weather was 80 degrees yesterday. Then the rains came. I didn't get a photo of the Willamette Hops or my Syrah grape vine because the camera memory needed to be dumped. But those will come. We had two days of strong winds (both Thursday and Friday). In reviewing the garden I noticed that probably my most robust Willamette Hops vine was broken at the top, more than likely because it still had not gotten to a fence wire or other object in order to grow and wrap itself around. It was just out there hanging around in the frontier until the strong wind made its presence known.

April 25 2010 updates

Greetings!

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.

Growth updates from the garden

I wanted to provide a couple of photos from the apartment/pseudo-vineyard. I did look at my Cabernet Franc cuttings that are in the pots inside my apartment, but I didn't have enough time to set up good lighting so that the buds on the cuttings could be seen on the photos. However, there does seem to be ongoing development with the Cab Franc cuttings. As I indicated in the previous posting, these particular cuttings must be adjusting to their new environment still, and coming out of a dormancy.


Syrah Grape vine. This cutting survived the winter. Growth is coming along.


Syrah Grape vine.



A Cabernet Sauvignon grape vine cutting. This is the second ( 2 of 6) to sprout in the apartment, thus far, since planted on March 1, 2010.



This particular specimen is the strongest of the batch I planted on March 1, 2010. It is the first of the lot to have 'bud break'. Very exciting times in the southeast Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago, IL at Conejo Loco Vineyards.



All photos for this post were taken on Thursday April 22, 2010.