Crop Conspiracy Theory

Okay, something or someone is clearly conspiring against my farming success. It’s bad enough that we’re having what seems like the coldest summer in 25 years. Well, that could go either way. On the upside, the longer, slower ripening might allow us to make a mellower, lower alcohol wine — more like the French Rhônes we’re trying to emulate than a typical...

What’s Growing On?

I’m getting that first terrible inkling that organic farming is not going to be as easy as I thought it would be. And I didn’t go into this naively. I bought the books, I attended gardening seminars at the local nurseries, I almost gave it up because it all sounded so complicated. Then I took the plunge and just planted some stuff. Easy stuff, like tomatoes, corn, peppers...

Camp Two Terriers: Day One

Long-time readers of this blog will remember when I proposed the idea of Wine Camp. It was during our first harvest when I got the first ugly taste of just how back-breaking every aspect of the harvest/winemaking process could be. My thought was that people could send me their problem kids, I’d whip them into shape or scare them straight with a solid week of harvest and...

How Green Was My House

We’ve all fallen prey to those “easy assembly kits” that promise you can construct something “in under an hour”. We’ve personally ordered several of them — from storage sheds to a tent cabin. Even with my secret weapon which is an extremely handy husband who can take apart a car engine and put it back together, rewire a house and tile a...

About That Terroir Thing

We’re building for the future here at Two Terrier Vineyards. So even though I know virtually nothing about gardening — despite some very gratifying beginner’s luck with tomatoes, corn and cucumbers — I’m banking that one day I will. At least that’s my excuse for how out of control things got with a plan to put in a “a few raised beds”....

Under the Worm Moon

I have a great app for my iPhone. It’s called Moon Phase, and it tells me, on any given day, what phase the moon is in and scientific factoids such as how close to the earth it’s passing and what constellation it’s in. It also tells me the name of the moon, depending on who I want to refer to: the English, American Colonial Tradition, Native American, Medieval...