Our vines need to be pruned in the next week or so as the first of their buds are bursting. We wait this late because by pruning now as the vine is waking up we can delay the flowering. Why would we want to delay the flowers? Frost is the answer. We have all seen those wind machines in the Napa Valley whose job it is to move the air on frosty mornings. We have only a couple of acres of vines so we can delay pruning and get the job done quickly. Our flowers, and yes vines have flowers, will bloom ten to fourteen days late, which with our hot summers makes much less difference in the harvest dates as you would imagine. Between the vines there is a cover crop growing. This has plants that fix nitrogen from the air. When we mow this and incorporate it into the soil, it releases the nitrogen to the plant roots. Table grapes need lots of feeding unlike their starved wine cousins.