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March
With
the risk of extreme cold nights diminished, pruning the grapevines
is in full swing. As the temperature slowly warms up, dormancy
is broken and the sap starts to rise in the vines, with the
promise of life in the vineyards to come.
April
Growers
finish pruning their grapevines and begin to secure the vines
onto the trellis; this process is called tying. Growers try
to complete the tying before bud break, to minimize vine damage.
As the month continues and vineyard soils start to dry out,
growers clean their vineyards by removing cuttings or mulching
them in the fields, returning nutrients from the canes back
to the earth.
May
This
is bud break month. As the temperatures climb, the rate of
growth in the grapevines accelerates rapidly. By the end of
May, this growth could reach an inch or two a day. The soil
that was hilled up in the fall around the base of the vines
to protect them is now removed, as are any weeds that have
started to grow. Since weeds compete with the vine for nutrition
and soil moisture, weed control is an important cultural practice.
In May and throughout June, growers work the soil, allowing
it to heat up and incorporate oxygen into its composition.
This encourages vine growth.
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