Journal | April 26, 2025
Pre-season Prep
The warm weather has pushed the vines to bud break. All varieties are out except Cabernet Sauvignon which is always last to wake up (and last to ripen). The young Cabernet vines now have green leaves showing, but the older vines are still a few days behind (this is normal).
The Spotted Lanternfly (SLF) nymphs have also begun to hatch from their egg masses. They are so small that their sap sucking does not yet adversely affect the vines. This is our second year hosting the SLF. We’re still not sure about what to expect, so there is no game plan: only observation and monitoring.
Our first “green work” task should begin this week. Shoot thinning is similar to pruning, but done with fingers instead of shears. The vines send out too many shoots and we need to remove some to achieve a good balance to each individual vine. We’ll start with Chardonnay as its growth is the most advanced. More on this later once we get started.
We’ve finished our “in between” jobs. There is a window of several weeks between pruning and green work when we are able to spread compost, replant (missing vine replacement in existing vineyards), prep tractors and equipment, and even work on a stone wall project. For the coming weeks our “to do” list will shorten to just one item: shoot thin.
Linden Vineyards / Learn More / Latest at Linden | Hardscrabble Journal: April 26, 2025