This month's seminar was conducted at Evenson's vineyard in San Miguel; the first speaker was Craig Swetland of Ultra Gro who spoke on th subject of utrints. His recomendations ddescribed the advantages of starting the unutrient progra imediietly after harvest by watering heavily then starting the ferilliation progrm making sure to include phosphorus and potassium. The former will serve as a sparkplug for all other nutrients while the latter acts as anifreeze later on. Combining these with nitrogen, jumic acid, other biologicals, etc has the advantage of quick absorbton to the plant while the soil is still warm and the vine has yet to go dormant.
The second subject delt with cover cropping and was addressed by Paul Crout of Farm Supply an described the two basic cover crops; legumes, eg. clover, peas, beans etc. that, while slower to germinate, have deeper roots, fix nitrogen and bloom thereby attracting man beneficial organism to the vineyard. The grass family are generally annuals having shallower roots but sprout and grow very quickly and upon being plowed in, offer ready compost and quick erosion protection. It was mentioned that these two types could be planted in alternate rows and alternated occasionally. Finally a talk and demonstration of two new John Deere tractors was offered by Galen O'Reilly.
