HMC News – April 4, 2019

Last week, we grafted vines in one of our table grape vineyards. Grape vine grafting involves placing the shoot of one grape variety into the root stock of another variety. It is useful because it allows us to change out an under-performing variety without the time it takes to grow new root mass. With grafting, we only miss one season of grape production, compared with two to three seasons if we replant from scratch.

Crop Update:
Our table grape vineyards are showing off more bright green leaves as the days progress. Tree fruit thinning has begun in our orchards. Precipitation has followed us into April, with a couple of rainy days showing up in this week’s forecast.