The cover crop in the table grape vineyard grew tall with all the spring rains. Roberto mowed it down this week into tiny little pieces. We have had our trusty flail mower since 1995. It is a heavy duty industrial version that has repaid its high ticket price handsomely. We change the bearings every few years and keep it well-greased, and so far it has kept on running. After mowing we let the cover crop wilt for a few days and then start to disk it into the soil where the micro-fauna break it down and release nutrients. The vines can use these to grow our grapes. Table grapes are heavy feeders unlike their wine cousins that develop unique favors and aromas through starvation. We all like large, juicy sweet table grapes to eat, which means they need plenty of water and nutrients.