Grape Hoe: Catch 22

Recently we were recipients of a grape hoe, a loan from Hans of H&W Equipment for Vineyard and Winery. The grape hoe would be a great tool to use but it requires that our trellis posts be up so that the pencil rods that are currently holding our vines upright can be attached to the trellis wire. This configuration is necessary because there is a sensor that is triggered by the rigid pencil rod that protects the vine from being hoed under by the grape hoe. Pretty ingenious!

Our problem here is that at the rate that we are putting in our line posts, the weeds have gotten a good foothold in the vineyard row. So, my husband, okay, please don't tell our vineyard consultant because he specifically told us not to bring a weed wacker into the vineyard, is weed wacking the weeds that are growing. He has been very careful about the weed wacker but did confess to wacking one vine. We took that as an opportunity to see why that vine wasn't sending out a shoot. The trunk, which in our case is our scion, due to our tall grafted (some would call it uber vine) was rather dead. There was a portion of the scion that looked green. We also checked out the root system and it looked like new roots were being formed. Back to the Catch-22. At the rate that my husband is weed wacking, when he reaches the other side of the vineyard, the rows that he has already cleaned will have grown weeds again. So, he said, "We are going to get you a weed wacker!" I'm no stranger to weed wacking, but the last time I used that Husqvarna, my arm was vibrating even though I wasn't holding the weed wacker. Undaunted, I gamely said, "Okay".

So on a rainy day earlier this week, we went to see our John Deere dealer, Tim Marvin of D. H. Marvin and Son, Inc to get another Husqvarna weed wacker. After choosing the weed wacker, Tim said, have you thought about the Husqvarna HU625HWT 22in Briggs Wheeled Trimmer? We went outside to look at this trimmer. It was my dream come true! I can push it and not have to wear a holster to carry the weed wacker. I was in! My husband needed just a little convincing but we came away with the two wheeled mower! Stay tuned for how we are using it.