This week: 9th. May 2008

Weather Report Week Ending 9/5/08
Maximum Temperature for the week 21.1C (70F) on Sun. All 7 readings above our monthly average of 17.3C.
Minimum Temperature for the week 5.2C (41F) on Sun. 5 readings above our monthly average of 6.5C.
Rainfall for the Week 1.6mm (5 points) 4 days of rainfall recorded.
Weather data thanks to BOM & Nuriootpa Viticulture Research Centre.

Surprisingly warm this week. Very mild stable conditions all week. Just heavy fog and mist in the mornings giving us our rainfall recordings this week.

This week in the vineyard:
The photo shows that our covercrop is now well under way. At this stage it looks very good, however will probably need some more rain on it before too much longer (I am not very concerned about it, yet). We have been removing an old patch of Sauv. Blanc this week, however we are not planning to replant it this spring – it will be left fallow for 12 months. This will give us time to prepare the block a little better for the new planting (as well as giving our winery some time to decide what they would like planted there).
I will be leaving on my Nuffield scholarship in less than 2 weeks now. I have, after some difficulty, finally, applied for my Chinese Visa and after a number of phone calls to the embassy in Canberra, to straighten a few things out; it is now being processed for me. Hopefully my Passport will be back in my hands by the end of this coming week.

This week: 2nd. May 2008

Weather Report Week Ending 2/5/08
Maximum Temperature for the week 17.9C (64F) on Thurs. 1 reading above our monthly average of 17.3C.
Minimum Temperature for the week 4.2C (40F) on Tue. 4 readings above our monthly average of 6.5C.
Rainfall for the Week 33.0mm (94 points) 6 days of rainfall recorded.
Weather data thanks to BOM & Nuriootpa Viticulture Research Centre.

Well I think winter has finally arrived for us. We have recorded some rainfall nearly every day this week , with significant falls recorded on 4 days (more than 5 mm). We also have had much cooler daytime temperatures; in fact we had our coldest daytime maximum in more than 10 years on Sunday (11.1C).

This week in the vineyard:
The rain has been fantastic for us. We are all walking around with big smiles on our faces. I have now got virtually all of our triticale covercrop planted. There are just a couple of young blocks of Sauv. Blanc still left to plant, I am just waiting for them to lose a few more leaves. While I have been seeding I have also been putting out a residual herbicide under our vine rows. This spray is usually done early in spring, but I am going away in a little over 2 weeks for 4 months and so I am trying to minimise the amount of work that needs be done while I am overseas. It will be very interesting to see how well it works towards the other end of the season. The photo this week shows a section of the Barossa ranges just starting to change colour to their winter greens.

This week: 25th. April 2008

Weather Report Week Ending 25/4/08
Maximum Temperature for the week 26.4C (79F) on Thurs. 6 reading above our monthly average of 21.8C.
Minimum Temperature for the week 2.7C (37F) on Wed. 2 readings above our monthly average of 8.7C.
Rainfall for the Week 0.0mm (0 points) 0 days of rainfall recorded.
Weather data thanks to BOM & Nuriootpa Viticulture Research Centre.

Yet another beautiful autumn week for us. We have had some very cool nights , this should encourage the vines to start losing their leaves. As I write this the rain is tumbling down outside, so even though we recorded no rain in this week, I will have some good news for next week’s blog.
This week in the vineyard:
Well it is raining outside as I write this, so I am in for a very busy week. In the week that we have just had I finished spraying the last of the summer weeds in the row that we are not going to cultivate this year. We have mostly been targeting wire weed and any remaining caltrop plants. I am now ready to start seeding our cover crop; I was waiting for some rain – now I have no more excuses. I need to get it in the ground as fast as I can, before the soil cools down too much – we want as much growth as possible before winter. The photo this week shows some more of our autumn vine leaves.

This week: 18th. April 2008

Weather Report Week Ending 18/4/08
Maximum Temperature for the week 22.6C (73F) on Fri. 1 reading above our monthly average of 21.8C.
Minimum Temperature for the week 4.5C (40F) on Mon. 3 readings above our monthly average of 8.7C.
Rainfall for the Week 3.8mm (11 points) 1 day of rainfall recorded.
Weather data thanks to BOM & Nuriootpa Viticulture Research Centre.

A fabulous autumn week for us yet again this week. Very stable air mass has meant very little change all week. We started with some rain on Saturday but since then there has been very little change from one day to the next.

This week in the vineyard:
I have begun to prepare to plant one of our blocks of Shiraz to a permanent sward. Some of our premium Shiraz blocks we have planted with a fescue, we use this to reduce the available moisture early in spring. This enables us to reduce cropping levels a little in most seasons, to give us better quality fruit at the other end of the season. These blocks are not cultivated at all, so there is also a financial benefit for us. Still no rain in the forecast for us, so I am still waiting to start seeding. I have spent quite a bit of this week organizing my trip overseas, now only 5 weeks until I leave home for 4 months.

This week: 11th. April 2008

Weather Report Week Ending 11/4/08
Maximum Temperature for the week 28.9C (82F) on Wed. 6 readings above our monthly average of 21.8C.
Minimum Temperature for the week 4.3C (40F) on Sat. 6 readings above our monthly average of 8.7C.
Rainfall for the Week 0.8mm (2 points) 2 days of rainfall recorded.
Weather data thanks to BOM & Nuriootpa Viticulture Research Centre.

A little warmer again for us here in the beautiful Barossa Valley. While a little more rain would be really nice, it’s hard to complain about autumn here.

This week in the vineyard:
I have finished cultivating a bed for the cover crop to be planted into. I will not start planting our crop until there is some rain forecast for us. While we probably have enough moisture in our soil profile to get a crop germinating, I would like to see some more rain coming before we start planting. We have also, now started some very early pruning. Some of our older Shiraz have lost enough leaves to be able to commence pruning.
The photo today shows a Sangiovase leaf changing to its autumn colours.

This week: 4th. April 2008

Weather Report Week Ending 04/4/08
Maximum Temperature for the week 26.9C (80F) on Tue. 1 reading above our monthly average of 21.8C.
Minimum Temperature for the week 3.3C (38F) on Sun. 2 readings above our monthly average of 8.7C.
Rainfall for the Week 14.4mm (41 points) 4 days of rainfall recorded.
Weather data thanks to BOM & Nuriootpa Viticulture Research Centre.

Another cooler week for us. At last we have recorded some reasonable rainfall. Thursday we recorded 11.6mm which is already half of the average for April. This goes some way towards making up for the very dry start to the year, so far. We now need it to keep raining all winter, preferably well above average.



This week in the vineyard:
A lot has happened this week, now that we have had some rain. All of the poultry manure has been spread and we have now started disking it in. As part of this pass we are also spraying a knock down herbicide under the vines to start cleaning up the weeds. I will be trying something a little different this coming season. We will only be cultivating every second row, in the past we cultivated every row each year. I have started cultivating every alternate row, the one with the manure spread in it. Once we get some more rain the cover crop will go in that row (using a power harrows seeder). The other row will not be touched, with a cultivator until next year. The photo shows a row that has been cultivated and is now ready to be planted with a cover crop - as soon as we get some more rain.

2008 Nuffield Scholarships now open

Just a quick message to let you all know that the next round of Nuffield scholarships are now open for Australian farmers. I won one of these scholarships last year (mine has been supported by Nufarm). Nuffield scholarships are open to young people involved in primary production here in Australia. These allow the winners to spend A$25,000 on travel to study anything agriculture related anywhere in the world. I am in the process of planning my travel at the moment - I have less than 7 weeks until I leave for my 16 weeks of study. During my travel I am planning on visiting New Zealand, Ireland, France, the USA, China, the Philippines, Spain and South Africa. I will be studying 'Regional branding and marketing to improve returns for producers'. As well as the travel you also get to mix with some of the most enthusiastic and 'switched on' young farmers from all over the world. You also get to step outside of your industry and study the broader picture of world agriculture. If you would like any more information go to http://www.nuffield.com.au/schols.html, for more information and an application form or drop me an email at the address at the top of the page.