Kevin Merrill/On the Farm | Posted: Sunday, December 3, 2006 12:00 am
Activity on our vineyards slows considerably this time of year. Usually we are able to take four days off and enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday. With the hectic rush of harvest behind us, it is nice to be able to relax and watch the last colorful leaves on the vines display their hues before the heavy frosts of winter drive them away.
During the four-day holiday last week, our two early risers, Kathleen and Clayton, informed me that, indeed, Jack Frost had made his appearance, spreading a magical dusting of ice over the vineyard and rooftops. They insisted I come over to the window, look out and see the light dusting of ice on our garage roof and lawn.
Kathleen asked if the frost would hurt the grapevines, and why didn/t I turn on the sprinklers to keep them warm? I told her that this time of year, after the grapes are picked, we need the cold weather and Jack Frost to help the vines go to sleep and rest before waking up in the springtime.
The cold mornings are a signal to me that our slow time on the vineyard will be short-lived and soon the mechanical pre-pruner will start cutting dormant canes, making the pruning job easier for the hand crews. We are probably two weeks away from starting our hand crews pruning the vines for next season/s crop.
I remember the cold mornings in Corcoran when I worked for Salyer American. Most people think of the San Joaquin Valley as being very hot, and not realizing how cold it can get there during the winter months. I went to work for Salyer the week before Thanksgiving in 1985. The Tule fog had just begun to arrive and they were still picking cotton and running equipment around the clock.
Salyer was farming 80,000 acres at that time, much of it in the lake bottom of the long-since-drained Tulare Lake. My first job there was an equipment foreman. I was responsible for making sure the equipment had drivers for two shifts, taking care of their time every day, coordinating moving equipment from block to block, and setting up the equipment in the field.
Everything was moved by truck from field to field. There were no rubber tired discs or tractors used for ground preparation. We used all Caterpillars because of the soil-compaction concerns. We farmed vast acreages or sections consisting of 640 acres at one time. A block could be two or three sections combined. When a block was finished, I would call on our two-way radio for the low beds to come and pick up the Caterpillar D-8s, along with the boom truck and trailers to move the discs, rippers and harrows to the next block, following the cotton pickers.
I will never forget how cold it was with the Tule fog settled in all around and temperatures hovered near 38 degrees. The cold would go right through you, no matter how many layers you put on. One of my first shopping sprees was a trip to J.C. Penney/s in Hanford to buy some long underwear, which helped considerably.
Our days would begin early, between 5 to 5:30 a.m., at the ranch office, where we would gather for a cup of coffee and check in with the night foreman to see where the night crews left off. It was also a chance to listen to Bill Le May, the ranch superintendent, give his commentary on current events or listen to tales of farming in the lake bottom over the past 35 years.
Bill had started out as a swamper on a boom truck after the Korean War, and moved his way up to ranch superintendent. On cold mornings, he liked to tell the story of how the Caterpillars that were left parked overnight in the field would be unable to move because their tracks would be frozen to the ground. They would have to wait for the temperature to rise enough for the ice to begin to melt before they could move the tractor.
I had a hard time believing the tracks of a D-8 could become frozen to the soil beneath it and be unable to move. I witnessed it firsthand during the big freeze we had in the late /80s or early /90s. I was working in the lake bottom and remember it was so cold that the water in the canals froze over enough for you to walk on. And yes, I had several Caterpillars that would not move until late morning due to ice between the tracks and the ground.
Here along the Central Coast, I look forward to mornings when Jack Frost spreads his magical dusting of ice over the countryside, as long as he doesn/t get carried away. I hope you are able to take some time and enjoy a beautiful holiday season with your family and friends. Remember to include some of your favorite Central Coast wine or maybe a little Brandy to keep you warm.
Kevin Merrill is a vineyard manager for Mesa Vineyard Management in Santa Maria. He is president of the Central Coast Wine Growers/ Foundation, and is a board member of the Santa Barbara County Farm Bureau. He can be reached at kmerrill@mesavineyard.com
Dec. 3, 2006