Section 1 · January–March
Pruning
Choosing next year's wood in the cold.
Pruning is the only job in the year that is done entirely on last season's wood, in the cold, months before anything is green. What the crew leaves on the wire in January is the crop that comes off in October, minus whatever the weather takes in between.
What these months decide
January–March| Month | In the vineyard | What it costs to get wrong | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | Pruning opens; canes cut back to spurs | An early cut lets frost run into old wood | |
| February | Pruning continues; brush cleared off the wires | One careless cut takes the year's bud count | |
| March | Wires repaired; retained canes tied down | Cold, stiff canes snap at the arch |
Entries in Pruning
5 entries- Pruning is next year's cropAlmost the whole decision about how much fruit there will be is taken in January with a saw, on wood grown last summer, months before anything is green.
- Cane or spurTwo ways to leave buds on a vine, and what each assumes about the winter.
- Counting budsThe number left is a yield forecast made in the cold.
- The frozen caneWood cut at minus ten behaves differently under the blade.
- Burying the vineWhere winters are hard enough that the trunk is put under soil.