November 23rd, 2010

So, last post 1st June. 7 months without a post. Time for an update I think!

Mid and late summer in the vineyard went well. The vines grew well and remained disease free. We kept some of the grapes on to make wine from.

Unfortunatally, as my time was limited some of the jobs either did not get done or did not get done properly ie bud rubbing and shoot trimmimg. As far as I can see no harm has been done and I will sort out any structural problems when I do the pruning.

Camping was bigger than ever in July, If I remember correctly we had ~20 families with hoards of children of all ages. As far as I know everyone had a great time.

Picked ~55Kg of grapes and made 40L of a Rose. Mainly Chardonnay with some Pinot Noir. First sampled on Christmas Day with very positive feedback.

One of my most exciting projects of 2010 was producing ~800 pints of cider. Managed to beg and scrump over a tonne of apples and with the help of James, Mark and my Mum we have 8 different blends in the cellar fermenting slowly and awaiting a tasting and blending session in the spring. If all goes well we will have a modest supply for Camping later in the summer.

Lost my

Today is a good day to start the posting again as it marks the start of my vineyard year. I managed to prune and tie down 50 vines this afternoon.

Mk 1 of my brazier worked well on the grass, but did not have the clearance in the mud. Mk 2

made - will test after the rain.

Must get on with tax return....

June 1st, 2010

Went to Browns to order the new part for the tractor, costly mistake - £205 + VAT.

Rained all morning.

May 31st, 2010

Kids away, nice day so Steph and I went bud rubbing. This is physically the most demanding job in the vineyard year, It involves bending/squatting down to remove all the lower buds and growth from each vine. 5000, squat thrusts - can my thighs take it? We started at the east end with the longest rows and managed 6 rows in total, ~600 vines.

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May 30th, 2010

We are rostered to do lunch at the sailing club today. Made a Bolognase as the special and enjoyed the Laser racing.

Decided to go up to the vineyard to make a kerb at the entrance. I drove the tractor up to the vineyard and Steph picked me up so we could get the Landrover. I left the tractor by the gate on the hill.
Horror upon horror - when we returned 20mins later the hand break had slipped and the tractor had rolled down the hill into a tree. The front wheels were pointing in different directions and the Steering leaver is broken. Too stressed to take a picture. We managed to jack up the front of the tractor, straighten the wheels and Steph reversed it to the top of the hill. I had to steer the offside wheel by hand. I was absolutely devastated. My No1 Industrial accident fear involves handbreakes and gates, luckily no one was hurt and I am sure that the tractor can be fixed - its just gonna cost...

Funnily enough the same thing happened to George in exactly the same position a few years ago. Th tractor hit the same spot on the same tree - spooky!

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May 29th, 2010

The kids are going to Turkey with grandparents this week.

May 28th, 2010

School inset day. Took the kids to the park to play, but managed to start reassembling the trailer. The new Suspension/axle units look fantastic and for the first time the wheels are straight.
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May 27th, 2010

Weeded the veg patch. Again not a job that I like, but one that is well worth it and I always feel a lot better for doing it.

Welded the Cement mixer toplink back together. I hope it is strong enough. Spent 2-3 hours trying to attach the drum of the cement mixer to its frame. Should have done this as soon as I brought it home last year. Rust as ever is the problem. Eventually managed it, but would not like to disassemble it again. The new top link works - yet to fill with a heavy mix.

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May 26th, 2010

Sprayed broad beans as they are showing damage from "pea and bean weevil". Rain over night.

Noticed that the grass seed that I planted weeks ago is doing best in the crack caused by the dry weather.

Did a modification to the cultivator today. Using large hinges welded to the back frame I was able to attach some spring tines that will act as a rake and leveler. The hope is that it will turn over any weeks pulled out by the large tines and level the ground. We will see..

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May 25th, 2010

A job I dread - earthing up potatoes. It must be done and today is the day to do it. Nearly 300m in total. All I can say is job done and I am absolutely Kna****ed. It will be worth it when I make my first batch of lovely crispy chips in a few months time.

May 24th 2010

I know that I have lots of other jobs to do, but so many involve the trailer so I decided to take it apart to get at the suspension/axle units. It was so hot that the metal tools were too hot to pick up after 20 mins in the sun. It was easier than I expected to remove the units, but it still took most of the morning. Ordered the parts from Bustings at Bicester

Contractors came to mow the grass for silage.

Lost 2-1 at football.

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May 23rd, 2010

30DegC again today. Did some bud rubbing, not looking forward to 5000....

May 22nd, 2010

Made 30DegC today - very hot

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May 21st, 2010

Bent the toplink for the Cement mixer. It needs grinding and re welding.

Good job that I have been practicing my welding!

Did some mowing, first pass through the rows that I intend to manage by cutting the weeds on a regular basis.

Clive did a thorough service on the landrover and replaced a Universal Joint that had siezed up.

Hot again today.

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May 20th, 2010

Moving all equipment to a new area behind the game cover. It will be better hidden. It is a long job - much longer than you would think as there is lots of tinkering, in and out of the tractor, tractor repositioning greasing etc. I am much better at it now than 6 months ago, but still along way to go. It is also a very dangerous job as the implements are heavy - very heavy in the case of the post basher and the 3pt linkage will not stop if a finger, hand, arm or any part of the body is in the way... I am so paranoid about the post basher falling over that I use wires to tie it to a large fencing post.

Bent the suspension units on the trailer - they have been on their way out all winter.

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May 16th, 2010

Another fine warm day.


Assembled the picnic furniture

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May 15th, 2010

Nipped to Birmingham to buy some picnic tables. Got back about 3ish to play cricket. 2 run out and 4-14. Won easy vs Preston Capes

May 13th, 2010

No 13 unlucky for some. look at my vines, God I hope that they recover..

Cut down the cultivater by 4inches on each side. Lots of grinding and welding. It is now 132cm and fits neatly behind the tractor.

And yes we had another frost..

May 12th, 2010

Spent the day cultivaing between the vines.

May 11th, 2010

Disaster, Disaster, Disaster

We have been frosted. ~80% of the vines have frost damage.

Spoke with John the Agronomist and he has reassured me that the plants should be OK and they will produce secondary buds. Heart beating. It looks like the damage is restricted to the growth in the tubes. I guess that the cold air sunk and could not escape. They look like they have been in a freezer over night. if you roll the leaves between your fingers they turn to dust.

To take my mind off the doom I re set the tines on the cultivator to give a more open even pattern.

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May 10th, 2010

We had another frost this morning.

It must be doing some damage....

Continued with track. While we waited for a load of stone Eddy did some more ditching and dug a test pit by the vineyard. I wanted to see what we had below ground.

It was dug just to the east of the vineyard in the area that we intend to plant next year.

The profile of the soil is

Top soil, Hoggin, Clay and Chalk, Hoggin, Pure Sand

Some big pieces of flint and limestone. And no water to a depth of several meters.

We also finished the patio area under the Ash tree.

May 8th, 2010

Put up an electric fence to keep the sheep off the new track.

Played cricket - Away at Croughton.
Very wet and windy. It rained just about the whole of the first innings. Croughton 196 for 9 in 40 overs. I bowled 2 overs 2-3. We batted in slightly better weather. I went in at No 4. We had ~ 35runs. DB hit a quick 20 and was out bowled. Tommy and I put on ~130 before he was bowled for 80. I finished on 49 with a couple of overs to go. However, we ended up at 196 for 5 to tie the match with 10 off the last over, Dave hitting a six and running 2 byes from the last ball.
I could hardly walk at the end of the match. It was so cold that I batted with two jumpers and did not work up a sweat. At the end my legs just gave up.

May 7th, 2010

Carried on with the track

Eddy and I made a french drain at the top of the track near the gate to catch any water running down the hill and from the road.

All going well until the young tractor driver sent to move all the spoil got the tractor and full trailer stuck up to its axle. Pictures say it all!

It took 2hrs to get it out using the 360. Made quite a mess.

By the end of the day we were nearly finished. Eddy back on Monday.

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May 6th, 2010

Track progressing

We have the base of crushed limestone in and rolled.

May 5th, 2010

Eddy arrived with a big 13 tonne JCB 360. The plan is to spend 1/2 day digging out and then 1 day building the track. I spoke with Ardley quarry and have a lorry on return for about 100 tonnes of white limestone.

Before starting work on the track we decided to clean the ditch out that runs along side it. This also involved removing two trees that fell in years ago. One was an enormous willow. As you can see it was no mach for the JCB. The tree was literally ripped out the ground by the powerful arm.

Guess what - we are behind schedule. Stone starts arriving at 8am tomorrow and we have only dug out a small section though I am pleased as in the long run cleaning out the ditches will be beneficial to the drainage and I would not want to do it on a new track.

Went to pick Andrew up from Beavers. Finmere were playing Hinton in the Hedges in the evening league with 9 men. Rushed home to get my kit. got back in time to bat, went in no 10, faced 2 balls and 2 not out. Had 2 overs 2-7, game abandoned due to bad light.

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May 4th, 2010

Would you believe it - another frost

Met with Marcus Roberts this morning. His charity is looking for land on which to plant heritage apple trees. Hopefully, we can work out an arrangement.

May 3rd, 2010

Dave and Linda visited for a bbq and a look around the vineyard.

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May 1st, 2010

May Day. Start of the cricket season. Playing Willoughby A at home.
First game for ~20 years.

Pleased with my efforts, Went in at No4 spent some time at the crease for 13, had 2 good partnerships. Acceptable start with the bat. Bowling 7 overs, 2 for 34. OK, but disappointed with my line and runup. Clean bowled their top scorer and the only batsman with a decent technique.
Scores - Finmere 182 for 7, Willoughby 153 for 9. Started the season with a win.


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April 30th, 2010

Last day of April and still no rain. We have had virtually no rain in the month. Waiting for the met office stats. Stocked up on diesel as prices are forecast to rise in the summer.


Big news - we now have 3 baby goslings, I noticed them for the first time today. Could not get near enough to get a good picture.

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April 29th, 2010

Having new tyres on the tractor today. The front ones are shot to pieces and the rear are a mix of crossply and radial - a big no-no and one is a whopping 13.6 inches wide. With smaller tyres and the wheels turned in at their maximum I will be able to get the overall width down to about 1.3m. This will be much better than the 1.5m in the 2.1m rows - it is just too tight at the moment. The new rear tyres will be 11.2inches wide, standard on most new vineyard tractors.

The picture showes the rear jacked up and the tyre off the rim.

Used the mole plough to cut up the track to make it easier for me to dig a trench across the top of the track to channel the water into the adjacent ditch. This had an immediate affect with the water running down the channel as I hoped. I'm still convinced this is a burst water main. For good measure I filled the channel with drainage pipe and some shingle.

April 28th, 2010

Decided to use the mole plough on the front meadow. We have always suffered drainage problems from 1/2 way up the bank to the stream. It is probably caused by a natural spring blocked by a band of clay, this is compounded by the water running off the road, down the track and joining the spring water. I guess that this equates to thousands of gallons per year. I backed up to the stream with the mole plough then ploughed as far as I dared without getting stuck. As you can see from the picture - I got to close to the bog! I put in about 6 lines, we will see if it helps...

April 27th, 2010

Had a tidy up today. Nothing much to report

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April 25th, 2010

Woke up to a little rain this morning and NO FROST. Day cloudy and cooler.



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April 24th, 2010

Frost - it must be some kind of April record. I think that we have had a frost for the last 8 nights! We had a walk through the vines and there is no sign of damage. Very hot and sunny again.

Had a picnic with the family and planted some broad beans.

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April 23rd, 2010

FROST - I can't believe that I am still using the word.

Used Georges telehandler to move the piles of plannings off the new track. We are going for a crushed limestone mid layer with plannings on the top.

Still no sign of any goslings yet.

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April 22nd, 2010

Another frost. Clear cold nights, warm sunny days.

Spent the day on the tractor mowing.

The flying restrictions have been lifted and people are getting home

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April 21st, 2010

Yet another frost this morning. I hope the buds will survive, slightly anxious time. However, a hot sunny day. What a fantastic sky, so blue with no vapor trails - planes still grounded. 150,000 Britain's stranded abroad. I spent the day again cultivating between the vines and found a cannon ball. I guess it was from the English civil war. I wonder what else I will find?

In the afternoon I helped my neighbour take down a tree in his back garden.

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April 20th, 2010

Frost again this morning and a warm sunny day. Still no flights and many people stranded abroad including some friends and people from the village.

It is so nice to look up in the sky and not see vapour trails.

Went all the way through the vineyard with the cultivator.

The majority of vines are showing budburst.

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April 19th, 2010

Kids back at school. My dad gave me a 25KG bag of mixed seed potatoes. I planted them in a long row along the eastern edge of the vineyard. I devised a technique using the mole plough and tractor to create a furrow/channel in which to plant them. May or may not work.

Would you believe it - a pesky mole has been digging on the area that I leveled yesterday.

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