Grapes
I don't know if I mentioned that I now have a small vineyard on my property. I was approached by our local Tumwater Winery because the owner knows I have a couple acres I'm not using, and I'm in forestry/agricultural zoning. This part of my property is on a slight southern hillside and I was having to keep the blackberries and tall grasses at bay by hiring big mowers to come in the summer to keep the fire hazard down. I had considered renting goats to keep it in check, but I think I would have needed to provide shelter for them. And Sadie might never have recovered from the excitement!
So we negotiated, and in November four different types of one year old Chardonnay vines were planted. It's basically a lease of the land; the winery takes care of everything. The benefit to me is that it maintains my extra property while making it useful and attractive. Wine makers don't consider the vines fully productive until five years old. But when they've been in the ground for three years, I'll start getting a property tax deferment from Oregon--which is a bonus.
I moved Sadie's Invisible Fence so she can't fertilize the grapes or eat them (not good for dogs). I also decided to plant a few table (eating) grapes of my own--two green, two red, and a dark purple. Mine are three-year-old vines.
Sadly, I can't actually see the grapes from my house. The hillside is beyond the greenhouse. But, as luck would have it, the winery owner knows my neighbors too, and is putting grapes on even more of their property. And the first couple acres will be planted right along side my driveway. So I'll get the benefit of driving in past another vineyard. The land's been cleared, the vines will be planted in the fall.
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