This post starts with a spot the difference competition. The following two photos are taken from the same vine:
The first photo shows a perfect healthy bud, starting to grow well. The second photo shows a bud not doing very much at all. Why the difference? The good bud is one of the ones that wasn’t covered by the frost protection fleece I mentioned in the previous post!
I can only guess that the fleece material has been rubbing against the buds in the wind and literally worn them away. Or maybe they didn’t get enough free airflow around them. I’m not sure, but have promptly removed the fleecing. It might have been better to just cover the vines on the night I think there is going to be a frost and then remove it in the morning. Clearly leaving it on permanently was not a good idea.
The good news is this only seems to have affected the 3 Solaris vines as they are the earliest variety, hence the first to get going. Hopefully they will recover this season, but if not at least I have the Phoenix and Orions (which are currently looking good) to give me some grapes. I’m just not sure what to do now when there is a frost predicted – fleece or not? Maybe it’s best just to risk it and leave off the fleece. I’ve not read of anyone else doing this, I just thought it was a good idea. Having done a little looking around on the internet, I found some interesting information on the WineSkills website, but no options that really seem viable. I’m not about to install fans or heaters in my garden! I’ll decide what to do when it looks like we’re in for the next cold night…