2015 YEAR OF THE GREEN WOODEN SHEEP ... YEAR OF ABUNDANCE

2015 looking forward to a new horizon and a new beginning. We may not be Chinese nor  believers of Feng Sui , but when Chinese businesses sees prediction like this Definitely More Money will move , investments will be inevitable. Expect economic development specially Asia.

2015 The Year Of The GREEN WOODEN SHEEP

"2015 as the year of Yui Wei or the 32nd year of the Green Wooden Sheep  is allegorically represented as the period of a passing summer – the period of prosperity and well-being. Quite often one can come across the following wording: “The creative side of the Wooden Ram; its diligence applied to hard work ensures prosperity”…

LETS AGREE WITH THIS , LET 2015 BE A YEAR OF ABUNDANCE !!!

Posted 3 minutes ago by Bong Tanedo

How to start a grapes plant from cutings

After we have done some pruning lastt october , we experimented with the cuttings. Our firts venture last August was not successfull.

We ended up killing all 100 uprooted cutting we got from La union. to our frustration , To be successful  is very  important to us to learn how to root cuttings. Rooted cuttings are very expensive (100-150) , uprooted cutting would cost 10 pesos and we get them from our own vines then this will be free.

Our first Uprooted Try 100% Dead

Our Second Try Using Root Hormones

I am hoping by January all of this cuttings will have complete healthy root and they will ready for planting on seed bags.

See you January 2015 . If you have any questions or request , feel free to comment or email me at bong755@gmail.com. HAPPY NEW YEAR  EVERY BODY !!!!

We Save the Newly Planted Vines

Last September , Joe Gapuz visited my place and provided new Cuttings when he learned that I almost loss all my grapes. We planted this cutting last October and they started to grow. But then again the same problem occurred , cut leaves , crumpled leaves and half eaten stem. By November we already loss 10 out of  30 newly planted cutting. It was really very frustrating but when  we see what happened to the fruiting grapes, we immediately   covered the planted cuttings with screen.

True to our expectation the infestation stop

To this period all the remaining newly planted cuttings are doing good

Because of the success (learning all the ropes the hard way) , we are now ready to plant our first commercial Vineyard in Palawan this 2015. Our experimental vineyard here in Tarlac will continue to grow under the supervision of Dave. We are expecting to grow at least 50 Vines ,till the middle of 2015. Once pruning starts by mid of 2015 out of the cuttings we expect to be able to plant more.

The prospective Vine Yard in Berong Palawan will have initial 100 Vines , we expect to plant by February after we have prepared everything this January and it will be under the supervision of Badong.

Grapes Grapes Grapes

The only surviving Mature grapes is flowering

Upon arriving late late October I was surprised to see this (Flower Clusters)

We covered the grapes with mosquito net screen to prevent the beirds from eating the flowers and the emerging clusters

And lo and behold , all the leaf infestation stops , after covering them with screen the grapes became healthy , with no leaf damages up to this period everything is working fine.

The grapes flowers turned into Clusters

By December 25 , this is how big they are and how healthy the vines are

We are expecting to have our first Grapes Harvest this February , I hope they are sweet. It took us six months of frantic study and experimentation before we have our first grapes clusters (a record breaker). I was informed by Gapuz Grapes Farms the nearest was 8 Months. So I guess we did good. Although I have almost 90 % mortality the remaining 4 Grapes are doing great.

So what was the cause of all the problem with the leaves and the vines ? , BUGS. They suck the sap of the vines , preventing the nutrition to go to the leaves. So in the morning the leaves looks like acid had pass through them. There was no fungal infestation but plain BUGS and mosquitos , they are so plenty in the evening that no pestiside can solve the p[roblem, The mosquito net prevented them from attacking the plants. So now we have healthy looking vines.

Planting My Grapes Cutting

August 14, 2014

Planting my first cutting

After Visiting Gapuz Farm in late May and undergoing a seminar on grape planting. Joe Gapuz who became a good friend gave me several cuttings to plant. I was so excited to start my new vineyard

Given the information that it is necessary to plant grapes where sunlight is abundant , I choose to start an experimental; vineyard in my one hectare farm in Balibago 1st. My farm having a small fishpond will provide plenty of water for irrigating and a larger space for expansion/

I choose to plant the Vines at the side of the fishpond  (later on I learned it was poor choice of location). The area where grapes should be planted needs a good drainage , grapes are not happy with too much water it tend to clog the roots and stunt growth.

So here I go with 30 Pieces of rooted cuttings , I started planting the grapes on the right side of the pond. Digging holes , I filled them with organic matters (chicken dung and dried malungay leaves).
I planted 30 Pcs of rooted cuttings , and it was may in the middle of rainy season .

I was so positive Im doing everything correctly

1st day Planting (May 14)

By August 15 , almost 50% of my grapes died (lol).  Some died because of too much rain (rain melts the new leafs) , bugs and fungus having a fiesta and my own in experience on the timing of fertilizer application. I actually experimented on the poor vines , trying to learn the best tricks.

Some have been stunted

Some having tremendous Success

By September , I have 10 successful vines. Then this happened. It took a long time to realized what is happening , grapes are healthy today the next day they look like this

I have tried to prevent the deterioration by pruning the affected area, but new leafs will appear having the same problem. , I Sprasyed fungicide to no avail. I tried a broad spectrum insecticide with no effect. Everyday , it got worst.

By  October  I only have 4 Surviving grapes , with only one mature grapes ready for pruning (Pencil Thick Trunk)

So On October 4 , I pruned the one remaining for pruning and left for Palawan , stayed there for 3 weeks. I was expecting to se my grapes dead by the time I Arrived

Lets Plant Grapes

August 5, 2014

Lets plant grapes ,  I remember when I was still in High School my dad brought home a grape cutting from la union , a gift from a friend, and following the instruction of his friend we planted the grape cutting  in our back yard.

I was the one who was assigned to take care of the grape , after a year it yielded fruits. The grapes where green and tasted like kalamansi. My Aunt uses them to cure her cough.  It did not yield so much fruit because we do not know how to prune it nor what fertilizer to use to make the yield larger and sweeter. Because of too much leaves it became a haven for garter snakes and large red ants. In the end my dad decided to cut it , and that was the end of my affair with grape and my first vineyard.

Sometimes this year I saw an Ad on FB regarding grapes , large red cardinal grapes in  La Union , raise by Gapuz Farm. I became so curious that I visited the place and I fell in love. I am now dreaming of having my own vine yard and since there are no information nor books available on how to plant grapes in our country , join me in documenting my up coming adventure and love affair with grapes

GAPUZ FARM LA UNION