Just because I’m organic does not mean I don’t have to spray…..in fact being organic the chemical you can use have to be sprayed every 7-10 days instead of around 14 days in a conventional vineyard. The biggest issue I have being in the Russian River Valley (Sonoma County) is Powdery Mildew, so I either have to spray Stylet Oil or Serenade. In addition, in the spring I spray copper to enhance bloom. I can use it for foliar spraying as well, but since my vines are very healthy this year I won’t have to do that.

I purchased this small sprayer that was designed for an ATV from a firm in the mid-west and then had a local person make a custom trailer and plenum. I tried it on Thursday May 24th and did about 10 rows before the wheels literally fell off (see last picture). I had to back pack spray Friday….started at 6am to get it done. Off it went and on Saturday got some very beefy wheels and will try it again this next week. In addition we changed the plenum a little to enhance the air flow. Hopefully this will now ruffle the leaves sufficiently to evenly coat them as I will have a full canopy later in the year and back pack spraying won’t work well.