Essential Vineyard Tools. Grow Grapes at Home!

[@inambaguum]

Bought several things off your list after watching. Thanks for putting this together!

[@AmzBackyardOrchardandVineyard]

Greetings from Arizona zone 9B! Thanks for the tips and tricks, we definitely want to start using bird netting next growing season, they are our telltale signs that our berries are getting ready! LOL Cheers 🥂

[@billa5289]

Missing your content. How about your 2022 harvest and wine making? Curious to see how your wine making is progressing. On my second year of making Oregon Pinot Noir. Just went to a local vineyard and picked 205 pounds of grapes last weekend. Another couple hundred pounds on deck for this weekend. Using everything I learned from you to turn them into wine. Pinots from last year are tasting great from the carboys. Looking forward to bottling them and seeing more tips from you for this year's harvest. 🍇

[@inambaguum]

Got the harvest snips and brix meter and like both a lot...a lot cheaper than some brix meters out there but seems to do a good job and is very easy to read. Those harvest snips are surprisingly nice for the price...when we got them we liked them so much we ordered another set.

[@bassel0088]

I love the vine, I love the smell of crushed grapes, and I love this job, but how do I get there?

[@GameOvrMan]

Thank you for you videos, off topic question. I messed up and didn't dilute my must because it had 28 brix. Now my malolactic fermentation won't start because of too much alcohol. What would you do in this case? I'm hesitant about diluting it with acidified water because it will dilute the flavor. Not sure what to do

[@TheIdeaMan144]

How many vines does your vineyard have and how many pounds has it produced. I have a 3yr old, 60 vine vineyard (cab sauv) and only got 77 pounds of grapes this year (southern facing too). Did soil test and amended as recommended. Any suggestions to boost yield? By the way, i saw an article warning home winemakers to be on watch for the Spotted Lanternfly, especially on imported grapes. Thank you

[@AmzBackyardOrchardandVineyard]

every year we get a Bad case of leaf hoppers. They're like tiny little micro grasshoppers. The initial spray of neem oil in early spring when we first noticed them usually takes care of it, but as the vines get larger it's harder to see them and they are everywhere now. What spray would you suggest using to get rid of these little suckers?

[@TheHomeWinemakingChannel]

Check the label, but Carbaryl (old Sevin) or zeta-cypermethrin (new Sevin) should be effective. I would make note of the date that you start seeing them each year so you can time your sprays appropriately. Most likely one or two well timed sprays will keep them from getting too out of hand.

[@AmzBackyardOrchardandVineyard]

@@TheHomeWinemakingChannelThank you, we've used seven on our bark beetles on our land in Prescott Arizona. That is some good stuff! The neem oil that we used does specify it will take care of leaf hoppers, I've also quadrupled the strength and it's only been effective for a few days. They are killing our young propagation Vines, but the mature Vines seem to handle them pretty good. It's frustrating because those leaf hoppers are horrible walking near the vines! Gives you the heebie-jeebies jumping in your hair, face, eyes and everywhere else! LOL

[@loulauer5853]

Thanks for the tips! I can see a couple of items I need to add to my small 120 vine vineyard. I see you are using bird netting. My problem had been mostly with bees. Lost 10% last year due to their damage so I bought bee netting (smaller openings than bird nets) but they still get in. Do you have any suggestions for bee control? The V-Tool will help me some I imagine.

[@fowlfables]

Same here! Lost my Chardonnay to bees, really frustrating.

[@fowlfables]

What kind of netting do you recommend for dealing with insects? I lost my backyard Chardonnay harvest (half a dozen vines) to bees. (Luckily I was able to harvest my Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon in time.)

[@TheHomeWinemakingChannel]

Were they mostly yellow jackets? I have been trapping the queens in the spring and have since not had any issues. If the fruit is damaged it will especially draw them in also, so anything you can do to prevent rot and bird damage is helpful. They do make bee netting but I haven't used it. I believe Orchard Valley Supply sells some.

[@fowlfables]

@@TheHomeWinemakingChannel Based on pictures, pretty sure they were honeybees, actually. Also had some green beetles, but once the bees got wind of the scent, they swarmed the fruit. Thanks for the tip, I'll look into that.

[@loulauer5853]

@@TheHomeWinemakingChannel I did buy the bee netting for this season but it was not a total success. I saw several varieties of bees, not just yellow jackets, but the yellow jackets were more prominent, especially on harvest day. Sealing the bottom of the netting may help more but they are still a problem. I had minimal or no rot or bird damage. The bees did all the work themselves. Hungry little buggers!

[@sergebochnovich9037]

My 20 vine vineyard was packed with hornets, wasps, and yellow jackets last year. I'm convinced, however, that they primarily go after grapes that have been damaged by birds. This year I'm doing a better job and keeping the birds off with netting and the bugs are not an issue.