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!!!!

May 3 2010 update from the Garden

Spring 2010 in the City of Chicago. Amidst all of the crime and murder lies a vibrant city where all manner of life still thrives and grows and prospers. More updates on the one small, tiny sector of living plants, that I understand to be our garden, tucked away in a corner of Southeast Logan Square.


I think the Honey Bees, the Bumble Bees, and the Butterflies will be pleased with the return of the Joe Pye Weed. I am, too!


Mars Seedless Grape vine


Another sense of how well the returning plants are doing. Asters on the right, Switch Grass in the center, and Astilbe on the left. There are a couple of clusters of the all-green Hosta variety, pretty scientific name, eh? Those Hostas are going to be thinned out really soon. I can't stand how encroaching they are with the other plants.



Second-year Russian Sage coming back after the winter. Beautiful flowers they are. This a 1AM photograph from May 3 2010.


This provides a nice profile of the Syrah Grape vine and its development, laterally. I am a proud parent. This could well be 'the' plant that launches the vineyard in years to come.



Joe Pye Weed.


The Big Bluestem native grass. Lots of growth in just a week. Right behind the grass is a wandering shoot of Willamette Hops.


These are the Willamette Hops vines. This photo is great because the leaves truly pop out. The leaves are enormous, enormous, enormous.


These Willamette Hops vines in the backyard. The photos were taken around 1AM at night after playing a show. But, sometimes a person does what they have to get the photographic update.


This is my only surviving Syrah Grape Vine. Here's to hoping for good things this summer! I just hope this can get established and develop some good hardy vines and a solid root system.


A horrible photo capturing the growth of the Switch Grass as it begins to reach for the sky. I am glad to see this coming around because another patch of Red Fountain Grass didn't make it through the winter. I have been pretty upset about the attrition percentages that I am noticing as Spring 2010 unfolds and it is clearer what is coming back and what is not.

******************News Flash********************

On Friday May 7, 2010 I purchased 5 new vine cuttings. I purchased from Double A Vineyards out of Fredonia, NY. I went ahead and picked up 3 cuttings of LeCrescent and (2) Frontenac. Both are varietals developed by the University of Minnesota specifically crafted to be cold-hardy. In doing some research, I discovered that both varietals have come out of a winter, with a registered low of -33 Fahrenheit, and still produced abundantly the following growing season. Sue Rak from Double A Vineyards was exceptional with any questions, etc. Originally I wanted to go for Sauvignon Blanc and Gewurztraminer cuttings, but she cautioned against it. Later, with a bit of research, I discovered that there is an article from the University of Illinois' Extension referencing the Double A Vineyards' website in the footnotes of the PDF article, I think it was an article regarding Seyval Blanc grapes.