Bud Swell

I just toured my vines and all 16 plants that froze out 2 weeks ago have new buds that are popping! This 80 degree weather really helps and some are growing 2-3 inches per day. I just have to be patient and wait because I have been freaking out wondering if they were all dead or not.

Here is a trustworthy saying that someone told me once, "DON'T FREAK OUT UNTIL IT IS OVER!" If you tell yourself this when you are still in the middle of doing something, you should be less stressed out.

Of my 12 new plants that I planted last weekend, most of them are starting to swell at the buds and I think within a couple days they will pop. So this means I did not kill them, and that is a good thing.

Our forecast is 80+ degrees for the next 10 days which is above the normal temps for our area, but it will really help the plants to kick into overdrive and grow fast. It is just a lot of fun to watch these grow day by day. I look at each plant every day and so I know each one and its progress.

For my record keeping system, I even named each plant. For example, Marquette that was planted in 2009 that is the first plant in the row is named M01-09. The second plant is M02-09 and so forth. I created a spraying chart and guide to record how much of what chemical I used and when I sprayed it. This is a BIG help when I want to know what I sprayed and when.

Well, I just finished putting in my first 6 inch post on the end of one of my rows. My son dug the hole, and I put it in and filled it in while pounding all the dirt with a 2x2. It is encouraging to see progress. I think I will try to put in 1 post per week. That way I can recover from the pain of being tired, and I will get them all in by the end of the summer. I will do the end posts first, so at least I can run a string or something for the plants to grow on until I get the wires put up. Time to get ready for work now.