The vines are growing really rapidly. Have got a bit of an insect problem with the leaves being chewed, so went out and got some insecticide this morning to combat that. We don't want all the leaves to be eaten as the vines need to strengthen this summer ready for the first crop next year. It's only 12 months since they were planted and it is amazing just how well they are looking. Every one of the vines is growing, some more strongly than others, but this is what nature is all about.
We could try for some grapes this sumer, but it is likely they will not be very good quality, and the work involved for only a partial crop seems hardly worthwhile if the results are unlikely to be very special. We would need to net the vines to keep the birds away if we keep a crop which is hard work and costly so we feel the right decision is to wait until next summer.
Not much else to report, the weather really is warming up now and this is why the insects have been active. |