Grapevines in the ICU

This is the rough crew that made their way up to Grayslake, IL for a layover prior to reaching their permanent nesting grounds in Southeastern Indiana

This photo taken to emphasize the growth (Bud Break) on the Cabernet Sauvignon in the middle.

This is Cabernet Franc 01-2010 Chicago, fresh out of ICU in Grayslake, IL.  This vine suffering from Powdery Mildew, but on the mend.

Earlier on Friday July 23 2010 I had dropped off a few grape vines to a friend that will be taking them down to southern Indiana in the coming days. I dropped off (4) plants all told: (2) already-growing Cabernet Sauvignon cuttings, and (2) Cabernet Franc cuttings [1 is already growing but was apparently over-watered by me- big "Oops!" by a fella that claims himself as an amateur gardener].

The longitude for this particular town in Indiana is 39.3 degrees North. These plants are going to be under the careful watch of science-minded individuals, I believe there are even a few Purdue University alum in the household.  Think: engineering and science, procedure, format, building, planning, blueprints, etc. Purdue University's Cooperative Extension Service has provided many wonderful resources on the World Wide Web for amateur gardeners to reference, of which I have partaken many a time already, there is a document to reference at the bottom of this posting.  You get the idea though.  These plants will be whipped into shape in no time. It has been told to me that there will be a plan of action and there will be a program for these vines. Already, the vines have undergone early treatment from their temporary home/staging area in Grayslake, Illinois.  That is correct, these vines will be friends with the La Crescent vine (03-2010 Grayslake). 

Above this writing one will note an early photograph of the 4 vines in their existing staging area in Grayslake, Illinois (longitude is 42.344 degrees N).  For those interested, there is a soil survey that I found of Franklin County, Indiana.  This will give an indication of what kind of soil these vines will be going into.  The link for such a PDF is:

http://soildatamart.nrcs.usda.gov/manuscripts/IN047/0/franklin.pdf

The surrogate and now permanent parent for these vines provided a detailed account of how they provided early treatment to the ragtag vines that were delivered in Grayslake, IL on early Friday July 23 2010.  Here are the notes that I received by way of e-mail:

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The Cabernet Franc vines were watered too much and didn't have enough drainage. The Cabernet Franc without any greenery was transplanted to a different compost soil, similar soil that the La Crescent grape vine is thriving in (La Crescent 03-2010 Grayslake, IL). Removed saucer on both Cab Francs to improve drainage. The Cab Franc vine that had sprouted a bud break eventually lost it, it was revealed upon further examination of the cutting on the surgery table.  The cause of the loss was pinned on Powdery Mildew a by-product of having such a wet foot. Spraying both Cab Francs with mild soap and water mix to combat the Mildew. For these two vines I also lightly scraped the bark with a small wire brush, especially the bud areas to encourage growth. Did not replant the barren Cab Franc vine just as yet, didn’t want to disturb what little root system it has going.

The Cabernet Sauvignon vine (the smaller of the two in the pictures) that had recently experienced bud break did so with a bud that was situated below the grade of the soil in the pot in which it sat, so I removed some soil to expose break point to air. The heartier of the two Cab Sauvignon vines looking good but both Cab Sauv vines had dead wood that needed to be pruned. Careful to clean pruners with rubbing alcohol between working on each plant so as not to transfer disease (i.e. Powdery Mildew & anything else) from plant to plant. Made clean cuts at an angle to encourage run off and treated each cut with a little Elmer’s Glue to seal it from exposure to disease and pests.

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So there we go.  I am always learning a bundle from everyone and I definitely learned alot from this transaction and this description provided by the permanent owner of these lovely vines.  Signing off just a little embarrassed, but encouraged.

Here's a nice little document from Purdue University regarding growing grapes in Indiana:

  http://www.hort.purdue.edu/ext/ho-45.pdf

Naming of the Vines

I made a decision yesterday regarding the silly little vines I have growing.  I think some refer to classification as Taxonomy.   Either way, this is what I came up with (I'll do my best to refer to all vines as such from here on out):

Cabernet Sauvignon vines

Cabernet Sauvignon 01-2008 (St. Louis, Missouri vine)
Cabernet Sauvignon 01-2010 (Chicago, IL vine) - planted as a cutting in a pot this late winter/early spring 2010.
Cabernet Sauvignon 02-2010 (Chicago, IL vine) - same
Cabernet Sauvignon 03-2010 (Chicago, IL vine) - same
Cabernet Sauvignon 04-2010 (Chicago, IL vine) - same

Syrah vines

Syrah 01-2009 (Chicago, IL vine) - planted in September 2009
Syrah 02-2009 (Chicago, IL vine) - planted in September 2009
Syrah 03-2009 (St. Louis, MO vine) - located at family home in St. Louis, Missouri

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I hope to be able to do the same for the Cabernet Franc, La Crescent, and Frontenac vines, but time will tell if I have success in getting them to grow.  Also, I have been quite remiss by misspelling the La Crescent grape vines (been wrongly spelling it as 'Le Crescent').  I am embarrassed I didn't catch that earlier, I need a Copy Editor, I guess.

Ideally, I'd like to be able to report the following:

Cabernet Franc 01-2010 (Chicago, IL vine)
Cabernet Franc 02-2010
Cabernet Franc 03-2010
Cabernet Franc 04-2010

Frontenac 01-2010 (Glen Ellyn, IL vine)
Frontenac 02-2010

La Crescent 01-2010 (Glen Ellyn, IL vine)
La Crescent 02-2010
La Crescent 03-2010 (Grayslake, IL vine)

Last night I had occasion to look at Syrah 01-2009 and it came up with another 3 leaves or so.  I meant to take a yardstick out to measure how tall it is at the current.  Best guess would put the young vine at nearly 14 inches tall already.  As I walked away and went back into the apartment I couldn't help but be grateful that I have been documenting this with the lens because I immediately go back to that photo nearly 2 months ago in early April 2010 when I noticed bud break.  

And, on another incredible update, a friend offered to play host to the final La Crescent grape vine that was purchased from Double A Vineyards in Fredonia, NY.  This last La Crescent is already in the soil and resides in Grayslake, Illinois (Lake County Illinois).  It will receive plenty of southern facing sunlight and I hear the drainage will be exceptional.  It might turn out to be the best grower of the batch.  I am thrilled, this will be La Crescent 03-2010, if it gets established.



60 degrees this morning.  Yesterday, actually, nearing 7:15PM, it was just like a typical autumn day in the Midwest.   The sunlight was pristine, as were the skies.  Shame I wasn't out enough.  Bloody current job!!!!

Since we are doing maps, here is one of Glen Ellyn, IL, as well.



That's all for now!  Have a grand weekend.

the vines have arrived!!!!!!! LeCrescent and Frontenac vines

The LeCrescent and Frontenac vines arrived 2 days ago. I need to get them in the ground, but, either way, this fella is pretty thrilled. So far I am very impressed with the product and customer service that Double A Vineyards provides the client. Real swell company to work with, from what I gather thus far.

The vines within this bag will be drawing from the 'terroir' constituent of the soils of Glen Ellyn, IL. A close friend has been generous enough to offer a nice sized segment of their backyard to allow for planting these cold-hardy vines. I am terribly grateful, they are as well. More to come.... Until then, these are the photos of how the vines were packaged.

Double A Vineyards (Fredonia, NY)
website: www.rakgrape.com

Note: With the purchase, the company also sent along a beautiful catalog displaying the products that they sell and grow on their land. It is very much an information-soaked document. This, I am beginning to compare to my purchase of Cabernet Franc cuttings in late Feb 2010. That grower didn't send much at all in the way of info.

And finally, last night's bottle of choice was a Bogle Petite Sirah. My reasoning was two-fold:

Reason A: The price was right. ($11.99)

Reason B: A friend recommended the vino because it is becoming one of their current favorites.

Bogle Vineyards (Click on the hyperlinked name and that'll get you there.)

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.