Coffee Shop Blog
In the Vineyard with Paul Verdegaal
The 2014 season started off with Chardonnay budbreak just slightly ahead of average about 6 days, on March 9th. As in 2013 warm daily maximums, but below average nightly lows have allowed for a below average accumulation in Growing Degree Days (GDD). Drought...
A Model to Establish Economically Sustainable Cluster Thinning Practices
Vineyard management practices that improve fruit quality are only economically viable if the fruit price is high enough to offset increased costs to growers. For example, cluster thinning can help growers avoid delays in ripening and improve fruit quality, but it...
Global Market Update from the Ciatti Company
As 2013 comes to a close, most will remember the year of large crops across the globe and the market that began to shift back to the favor of the buyer. The Southern Hemisphere produced record crops in several markets, and with the exception of France, growers in the...
Lodi Soils Roadshow: A Photo Essay
The Soil Roadshow, held on April 14, took 30 local winegrowers on a tour of three different yet common soil types found within the Lodi region: San Joaquin, Tokay, and Corning/Redding. UCCE soil scientist Toby O'Geene and UCCE farm advisor Paul Verdegaal, along with...
How to Learn Spanish
Many grape growers would like to learn to speak Spanish in order to communicate more effectively with farmworkers who are more comfortable communicating in that language. However, the task of learning a foreign language just seems to be too difficult. This...
Soil Moisture Monitoring
Here are the basic facts of water in vineyards. Water resides in the soil, the atmosphere, and the grapevines. The water in these vineyard elements is interconnected and forms a continuum. In California, after the last spring rain, water moves mostly from the soil to...
Development of Virtual Weather Stations in Lodi
Devising strategies for control of powdery mildew is a major focus of winegrape growers and pathology researchers. Many growers rely on nearby weather stations (such as a CIMIS station), the powdery mildew risk index, and other site-specific historical and seasonal...
Sustainable Agriculture – A Historical Perspective
This month I would like to discuss sustainable agriculture. The following comments are my own and do not represent the official policy of the Lodi Winegrape Commission. I am sharing them in order to stimulate further discussion on this topic. I believe that...
Lodi Weather
