Infrastructure first

I thought this post would include beautiful pictures of our newly planted vineyard.  Chris went up there for a week to see how things were progressing and to do some work on the solar setup. As it turns out, there were other tasks that had to be done in the vineyard before the vines were planted.  The focus of the week was infrastructure; the solar setup had to be modified and the water lines for the irrigation system had to be laid.

Chris worked hard to install 8 new solar panels to support the irrigation system.  There was already one panel on the roof of the shed to provide power for the well pump.  There will be an additional 2 panels installed on the next trip.

The other big task for the week was to install the water lines from the shed to the vineyard site.  This was approximately 1600 feet of trenching and pipe installation. The photos below show the trench from start (near the shed) to finish (at the valve box).

While the vines were not planted before Chris left for home, they were delivered to the property.  The vines have since been planted.  I will be sure to get pictures when we go to visit in a couple of weeks.  In the mean time, here is a photo of the un-planted vines.  It may not look like that many now, but this spring we will have around 3 acres of vines planted!

Now that the vines are planted, the trellis will be built and the drip lines will be installed.  Check back at the end of April for the latest update.