First of all, walk your vineyards. I know, you have been through it all during harvest. However, you were probably only thinking about the getting the grapes harvested. May I suggest you do a slow walk through the vineyard, looking for things out of the ordinary? Are there some vines that look unthrifty or with poor vigor? Or, the opposite, are there some that are definitely too vigorous despite to hot, dry summer? Did late mildew take over one section of the vineyard? I have found that when walking through plantings, I tend to see only those things that I am looking for. So, try walking slowly through the vineyard looking for those things out of the ordinary.

When was the last time you did a soil test? Now would be a good time to make sure your soil nutrients are at an adequate level to support next year’s crop.

Clean your sprayer and get it ready for next year. By this, I don’t mean simply washing the outside. I mean a thorough detailed cleaning of everything from the PTO shaft to the nozzles. While doing that, also check if you have any worn parts. With some pests, thorough coverage is essential and that cannot be done with a sprayer that is not clean or has worn parts.

Review your 2005 pest control program – including the weed pests. Did your herbicide program work? Is your disease and insect control what you desired? Now is the time to get out next year’s calendar and mark it up with reminders of things you need to do.

Finally, put the Southwest Michigan Horticulture Days meeting on your 2006 Calendar. It will be February 8-9.

For more details on any of these topics, contact me at 944-4126. That is all for today. This is Al Gaus for Michigan State University Extension in Berrien County.