Sonoma County: January 2014:The Shone farm

     The Mayor is back in school; the Spring semester is underway all over the institutional landscape.  That includes the campus of Santa Rosa JC, in Santa Rosa.  The school is a hotbed of programs, many of which are focused on the county's agricultural heritage.  So, I'm learning how to prune, to prune grapevines exactly.
     After a lecture Friday night in the Richard Thomas classroom off Eastside Road,  we, the 30 students in the class, showed up at Shone farm to do some hands on work in the school's extensive vineyards(85+ acres).
     With our instructor, Marilark, we walked to a block of Syrah to do some spur pruning of a 15 year old planting.  Mari demonstrated techniques using out Felco shears, bypass cutters with very sharp blades.  A First Aid kit was kept handy, just in case.   With our theory explained the night before and clear demo completed, we attacked the vines.   The early morning sun warmed our backs as we proceeded east along the row of quadrilateral trellised vines.  Some were diseased, and bypassed.  We were told to prune to 2 buds, as per the guidance of the farm manager, Mr. Frechetti.  After several hours and a temperature rise of at least 25 degrees(from 40 to 65 degrees), we took a break for lunch.

The Shone Farm
         It was another gorgeous day in California and especially at Shone Farm of SRJC.  This facility was originally a military base during WW II, used as a radio transmitting station and listening post.  It was given over to the college after the war, as long as it was dedicated to educational usage.   After years of use with many losing seasons, the Board of trustees decided to sell it off in 2005.  But, with clear insight, a move was made to hire professional management to put the operation on a self-sustaining basis. 
      A farm manager was hired; a vineyard manager was hired, and funds were directed to marketing the products grown on the farm.  The result is a sustainable operation, utilizing modern management and accounting to further the educational goals of the school and its students.   The farm has its own wine label and sells much of its grape harvest to many notable wineries, such as Clos du Bois, Benzinger, and La Crema, to name a few.
      The 385 acres are also home to the County Probation Dept.'s youth training facility, and the Ya-Kam-Aka Indian Cultural Center.   The Russian River itself is less than a mile to the north as it winds its way to the coast at Jenner.  The soil at the site is a rich, deep loam that can grow about anything well.  The farm is irrigated without wells, using reclaimed water from the town of Windsor, a short distance to the east.
      In the afternoon, we went to a student block of vines to do some "head pruning".  This technique uses similar cutting methods, but on untrellised vines.  They typically are cited as traditional or natural growing vines.  We cut to 2 buds here also, and the removal of year old canes went quickly.  By 3pm, we were done, completing 5 rows of vines, or more than 300 vines.  This is a block designed with a number of varieties to assist students in the identification of rootstocks used in the county.  After cleaning and oiling our tools;we called it a day.
Next week:  pruning for yield and balance of the vine.