Sunday, May 9, 2010

Going Postal


For the last couple of weeks we have been putting posts in the 2 new vineyard plots of Riesling that were planted last Spring on the HJW site at Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard. This task requires a good eye and a bit of upper body strength, since this site is very slatey and we have encountered many rocky interruptions. Sometimes there's a bit of rock just where you want to put the post, and the post either has to be jammed hard enough to break it or the rock has to be dug out. (Last week one of the guys dug out a rock about the size of a small child. Maressa took it home to put in her garden.) The posts have to be in line with the plants, the end posts, and each other. Usually 4 of us are working together to make this happen. It's been pretty windy lately, so we've had to do some correcting along the way since the posts are not completely set until they are pounded into the ground via tractor machinery. While it is difficult to get them all exactly perfect, we are still obsessively trying (I've even been dreaming about posts lined up nice and straight), and I'm pleased to say we have completed 1 of the 2 sites and it looks pretty darn good. Next step there is to finish stringing the wires and getting the plants tied so they don't grow all over the place as they would like to do.


This week we hope to finish the posts in the second site. After the past weekend's gusty winds I am afraid to see what has become of our work so far, but I am trying to be optimistic :)

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