Remember when you were a kid and the feeling you had when you woke up on Christmas morning?  Well that’s how we felt Saturday!  We were up and in the vineyard at 6:30am yesterday morning ready to go!  Mike started by putting soil amendments in the pre-dug holes. I started setting the plants out in each row accordingly to what varietal was being planted where. 

Oh, I never did mention the varietals we ended up getting!  We got Cabernet Sauvignon, Primitivo (Italian version of Zinfandel), Viogner and Orange Muscat.  The Viogner and Orange Muscat are a white grape. We are going out on a limb by trying these.  However there is a need for more white grapes in Ramona so we thought, what the heck.  Mom and Jeff got here around 7am and they started setting the plants out in each hole.  I started folding the grow tubes and setting them on the ground by each hole. 

John and Alan York and grandma Ellie arrived around 8am to assist.  Alan and grandma started putting the bamboo stakes in all the holes.  John started the planting.  He wanted to get a method going so we would all be uniform and follow in his lead.  He did a good job and so did everybody else.  First John started, then I, then Alan, then mom and Jeff.  Alan kept saying, “this feels like, 99 bottles of beer on the wall”. Everytime you would look up from planting, the work was getting less and less. 

Grandma was spraying the plants with misted water while they waited their turn to get put in a hole and planted. It was starting to get very hot out.  Yay!  Here comes Dick and Mary York to help!  Mary had a sprained wrist so she was on light duty. She helped pick up all the empty pots that were left on the ground.  Then her and Dick helped with the planting. 

We couldn’t believe how fast this went.  We were done by 10:13am.  Mike had left to go into town to by some drinks and sandwiches for when we finished.  We all took a break and sat under a shade tree. 

Still waiting for Mike to return, we decided to finish up by getting our little red cups, filling them up with 15-15-15 fertilizer and walking the lines sprinkling a little bit around each basin of the plant.  Finally, we are finished with the job and Mike has returned with the goods!  Job well done team!

TO SEE MORE PICS OF PLANTING, GO TO THE WWW.PAMOVALLEYWINERY.COM /GALLERY/BLACK CANYON VINEYARD!