Well, the rain gods were testing us at Turtle Vines last week. We spread 75 pounds of Crimson Clover all over the vineyard in anticipation of the upcoming rain. They said it would rain hard but we were not totally prepared for 4+ inches this early in the season. I didn’t notice it last year, but all the rain from the driveway and the house and barn gutters ends up behind the barn. With all this water it runs down the field near the neighbors fence and out the back of the field. It must do this every year as the folks behind us have a large culvert to catch the rain. Only issue this year is that we got a little erosion in the field.

So, I ordered 30 bales of hay and 8 wattles and hired a guy from Graton to help me put it on the field and repair the dirt. Took a day and a half but I think we are now set for the rains. Looks like an El Nino year as it rained again on 10/19 another inch. We really need it here as they keep telling me we are in a drought. Coming from San Jose where it only rains 12 inches a year, getting 25 inches last year did not feel like a drought. However, as I’m learning in my Viticulture classes, this is the rain that will help the little plants next spring when we plant.