Sunday, August 15, 2010

altustimes.com


Check out the feature story in the Sunday August 8, 2010 Altus Times paper about our vineyard...3rd generation farmers!!!

Friday, August 13, 2010

Sandyland Vineyard August 9. 2010

 
UVA HARVEST 2010
Sandyland Vineyard completed Harvest 2010 on August 12, 2010. 
Yield Totals
4110 pounds of Chenin Blanc
1160 pounds of Sangiovese
4528 pounds of Riesling
We were short of 5 tons by 202 pounds.  2009 Harvest totals were 1900 pounds.
The yields were from the 800 plants that were planted in 2007. We have 1200 plants that were planted in 2008.  

 

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Harvest 2010
Sandyland Vineyard is gearing up for our 2010 harvest.  Scott and John are running TA, Briix and PH tests to determine if the grapes are ready to be harvested.  Today we have two buyers coming in to view the grapes. If you are interested in helping us get this year's crop in, please let one of the Hendersons know.  Please bring gloves and wear rubber boots.  We have some cutters but a good pair of pruners will save you from getting blisters.  Make sure you bring sunscreen, bug spray and WATER.  Because it is very hot and the work is tedious, everyone needs to stay well hydrated. As with all harvesting, we won't know the exact day and time so be prepared.  Get your suitcase packed and your supplies ready and get ready for Harvest 2010!

Friday, July 16, 2010

POLL POLL POLL POLL

Don't forget to check out the poll at the end of this page!!!!

Sunday, July 11, 2010

HARVEST IS COMING.....THE GRAPES ARE PLENTIFUL...JUST WAITING FOR THEM TO RIPEN.....STAY AWAY BIRDS!!!
July 2010
One of our grape varieties has self-grafted and needs pruning.

Monday, June 7, 2010

June 7, 2010 Another Hot Day at the Vineyard

John, Scott, Leon and I met very early Sat AM to finish working on the 2007 crop. Scott finished all of the 2008 crop, attaching cordons and used the Duratool gun. There was a lot of new growth and a lot of tying up to do.  2007 is loaded with grapes!!! 2008 is growing and we were able to finish getting the double trellis wires up on the last rows.  John applied the first round of fungicide earlier and the second round is due sometime this week.  Scott continues to tweak the watering system but still has a few kinks to iron out.  The storage tank is a good way to determine the amount of water being applied, but folks, it is hot and dry at the vineyard.  Pray that our well holds out and it doesn't go dry. Things to do include keep the water flowing, mow, use the weed eater, fungicide, spray the tiny grasshoppers and spiders, go back thru 2008 and tie down new growth etc.  The vineyard looks awesome from the scenic turnout on CR157.......Keep early August open for harvest!!!

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

May 31, 2010 Dad's Birthday

John, Scott, MJ and Rob, Trish and LMC met on Monday morning to get some work done in the 2007 crop.  The grapes are growing, the branches are heavy so we spent time tying up the sagging branches to prevent the cordons from breaking. The Duratool guns save so much time...I think we used about 3000 staples.(picture to follow) Rows 9-16 are up to date but Rows 1-8 need another sweep) Scott worked on the 2007 crop tying up the new growth and we put out 2500 gals of water from the storage tank.  The kinks are getting ironed out with the watering system due to due diligence and "sheer dumb luck" (Prof McGonagagal-HP). John applied the first round of fungicide on May 29...next round in 10-14 days.....Work to be done....continue to tie up 2007 crop, finish the double trellis wires in 2008 and on and on and on.  By the way...it was hot!

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

May 23, 2010

Sunday AM John,Scott, LMC, Trish, MJ and Rob arrived to work at the vineyard.  MJ worked on the sagging drip lines until she ran out of supplies.  We also worked on tying up the 2007 crop as the grapes are beginning to grow and the branches are sagging from the weight.  John and Scott worked on the double trellis lines in the 2008 crop.  The new watering system is working out well as the entire vineyard can be watered in less time and fewer trips to reset the stations.....a few more kinks to work out.  The 2008 crop is growing and is constantly in need of tying the new growth to the wires to prevent breakage.  Scott ordered 48000 staples for the Duratool guns ( cause Trish forgot to place the order) and Trish picked up 60 more crossbars needed in the 2008 crop.
Scott and John continue to make daily stops to work on the many projects...there is no end to the work to be done.  We are planning a workday on Dad's Birthday, May 31, 2010. The wind sandblasted us all day as the sun baked us!!! The 2007 crop is beautiful and is covered in flower clusters that are blooming daily! Come see us!!! Too busy to take pictures.....

Monday, April 26, 2010

2010 Vineyard Update

When our 2009 Harvest was over last August many of us left the vineyard that day and haven't been back until Spring 2010. Harvest was a lot of work in the hot southwest Oklahoma weather. Sign up your friends now and tell them what a great experience it is to harvest grapes!!!

The work has begun this spring, later than in 2009 due to the ice and snow earlier this year. However, the vineyard is alive and well. Growing fast and furiously. The vines were custom pruned in March and then manually fertilized by John and Scott. 6.5 oz of a special blend of fertilizer mixed to meet the soil requirements of the soil samples taken in Jan of 2010. Over 900 pounds of fertilizer was put down cup by cup on each plant.

On April 23 and 24; John, Scott, Leon and I met to discuss and work on things that we need to do this spring. The wind howled all day Friday and Sat. The sun occasionally poked through the clouds to warm us up a degree or two. Mother Nature has postponed this initial work day due to recent rains. There is a lot of damage from the ice, winds and snow. There are many end posts pulled up and leaning inward and many trellis wires are sagging and leaning to the west. Scott cut 44 locust posts which we set in the 2007 crop to support those leaning lines. They still need to be attached to those new posts. We also used the tape guns that were purchased last year. They are great and cut so much time and waste in tying up new growth. We attached cross ties to the t posts to get ready to attach the double trellis lines to the 2008 crop. We also went through the 2007 crop and put ag ties and branch locks on the new growth. (We only have enough wire to do about three rows....)More wire and cross ties are needed to complete the double trellis on the third row on top in the 2008 vines. John reset the fence around the barn to enlarge the Bermuda area that was plugged last year and Scott set a pin in the putting green west of the barn.(Fred?) It looks really nice.

There are many flower clusters ready to bloom soon, we need to decide whether to thin some of these to produce a large grape before they flower or just let them all bloom. We might thin all of them in the 2008 crop to put another year into the growth of the vine itself. We only have a three day window to make that decision when they start to flower......

We would like to meet on the weekend of May 8th and 9th to work on an electric watering station and to utilize the water storage tank. Other things that need to be done will be to re tie new growth in 2008 crop and attach new growth to the trellis wires in the 2007 crop.

The campsite looks like a bomb hit due to all the limbs that broke during the ice storm. The road is not passable at this time. And the row of cottonwoods was severly damaged due to the ice.

I have pictures to post later today.....