Planting grapes

Trucks, tractors, and other vehicles gathered out back yesterday with a crew ready to plant new grape vines. The grower has been working on the parcel for months (grading and fertilizing), and yesterday I saw it being finely plowed before the planting started. From what I can tell (I'm only observing and I haven't talked to anyone), the planting is aided by GPS -- there was some kind of receiver/antenna thing with blinking lights on a tripod next to the parcel as the crew worked. The vines themselves come grafted onto root stock, encased in some kind of waxy substance. Two guys ride on a planting machine attached to the back of a tractor loading those "plugs" into it. The machine then plants them at the right depth with the right amount of space in between, two rows at a time. The waxy stuff will melt away as the vines sprout leaves and grow.

Over-zoomed phone photo of trucks and tractors out in the vineyard.

I haven't been out to see the result, yet. That'll be later today when Tasha and I go out for our afternoon walk. I'll try to remember to take the camera. The next thing they'll do, I think, is put wooden anchor posts in the ground at the ends of each row. Later, like a year or more from now, metal posts will go in along the rows and guide wires will be strung to support the vines and their fruit. This is all based on what I've seen in the different parcels that were re-planted over the years.

And speaking of agriculture, I planted a row of green bean seeds in the vegetable garden yesterday. I'll plant a second row in a couple of weeks, and maybe a third row a couple of weeks after that.