A Planting Fool

By now you've heard about my over planting of zucchini problem.  People always ask me, "Oh, you should make zucchini bread!  Do you ever do that?" 

Yes.  Yes, I've made zucchini bread!  Do you know how much zucchini it takes to make zucchini bread?  About two cups.  Shredded.

These were just some of the zucchini left over from last year after I had made 672 batches of zucchini bread, 14 zucchini lasagnas, zucchini pancakes, zucchini chips, zucchini pizza, dressed them up in costumes and gave them as gifts, handed them out to friends and family and people on the street, and carried one around like a baby for a week. 

What I didn't mention last fall was what we did with all of these over-sized zucchinis at the end of the season.  As much as I would love to say we loaded them in a semi-truck and brought them to a food shelter, we took the easier route of just dumping them into our compost pile in the middle of our field to rot.  Compost, we've learned is great for the soil in the vineyard, so it is convenient to have it right there.

The other morning when I went out to snap some pictures of the shiny red wagon and walked past the compost pile, I noticed that it didn't look like a compost pile at all.  It looked like a green and leafy full-of-life giant garden mound. 

At first it looked like pumpkins, which would have been awesome since our pumpkin patch is looking sparse this year.  And we did also throw old pumpkins into the compost pile.

I got a little closer to see what in the world was growing ALL OVER our compost pile. 

ZUCCHINIS! 

Unbelievable.  I was too incredulous to take the time to count the mound of zucchinis that had self-reproduced from last year's decomposing vegetables, but let's just say it's a lot. 

This is my real garden.  The one where I deliberately planted zucchinis this year. 

When we had the frost in early May, the plants didn't come up, so I planted a few more.  Then when my nieces came over to help, they were really excited about the zucchinis, so I let them plant a few more.  And then they all came up, so I had alatta zucchini to begin with just in the garden. 

Not to mention the 15 lettuce plants, 7 cucumber plants,

13 bean plants, 27 tomato plants and 32 pepper plants. 

Oh, and the 3500 grapevines that require major attention.

Why?  Why do I do this? 

What makes me think I am some gardening goddess capable of managing this many plants?  I think it has a little to do with the fact that I have a lot of garden space to fill, I have no planting strategy other than just dumping seeds in the ground or transferring anything that looks alive from the greenhouse to the garden, and I plan for lots of plants not making it so I plant extra just in case.  I'm a planting fool.

Note to self for garden planning next year:  A little goes a long way, Aaron gets sick of eating vegetables for dinner every night by about mid-July, and be careful what I compost. 

In the meantime...Help!  What can I do with all these zucchinis?

The Wagon

Being Aaron's BIRTHDAY and all today, I thought it only appropriate to do an Aaron related post. 

A few weeks ago I posted pictures of all of Aaron's inventions and projects.  The last picture was of something Aaron had picked up from a farmer down the road who had it for sale. 

I was still at work and Aaron was on his way home after getting this item.

Aaron: "Hey, I have a surprise for you when you get home!"

Me:  "Really?  What is it?"

Aaron: "You'll have to wait to find out.  $10!  I picked it up on the side of the road for only $10!  It is following me home right now."

Me:  "Following you home?  Oh, it must be something you have on the trailer. Oooh, it's something big!  Okay, I'll wait until I get home!"

Since he had prefaced this whole conversation with, "I have a surprise for you," I truly was under the impression in was something for me.  Something that would make me squeal!  My head was swimming with ideas and on my drive home had already convinced myself he had found a garden trellis for a steal and decided to buy it since we had just been talking about it. 

But to my surprise, I jumped out of the car when I got home and found this sitting in our yard.

That's a weird looking garden trellis.

Some women are surprised with diamond earrings. Some women are surprised with, um, this thing. 

To Aaron's credit, while I just saw rusted out metal on rickety wheels that might as well have had a "Free" sign on it, Aaron saw: 

• A wagon to haul bamboo around so his pregnant wife doesn't have to carry around bamboo poles out in the vineyard every day. 

• A shiny red wagon to pull behind the tractor for hayrides that our kids will have fun on one day.

• A platform for grape pickers to put their filled lugs of grapes on and not have to carry them all the way up to the processing building. 

Who can deny those aren't all thoughtful gestures?

All it took was an eye like Aaron's to turn a piece of junk into a multi-purpose treasure.  And some paint, WD-40, heavy duty wood from Home Depot, and a few hours of sweat of course.  It may not be a garden trellis, or diamond earrings, but a shiny red wagon built by my husband....I'll take any day. 

Tonight we celebrate Aaron's birthday by breaking in our outdoor hibachi grill (otherwise known as Schramihana) for the summer season with some garden fresh stir-fry.  It is to die for!  Happy Birthday, Aaron!!

And speaking of garden fresh, I have a story for you.  And it might have to do with zucchinis and why I might just have a zucchini farm this year...by accident.

Buns of Steel ...and Winners!

Anyone who wants to challenge that vineyard maintenance is not an amazing workout, consider this:

We have approximately 3500 vines in the ground.  These vines are at three different developmental stages due to their three different ages and require different types of care and maintenance respective to their stages.

The oldest vines are coming along beautifully. Over the weekend Aaron worked on cleaning up all the vines that were dragging on the ground and training them up on the wires.

Before.

After.  Much cleaner.

He also mowed the vineyard over the weekend, so now it actually looks like a vineyard and not a place where monkeys should live.  Amazing what cut grass can do for aesthetics and visual appeal!

Many of these older vines get confused and they still try to grow shoots from the bottom of the trunk.  So I have to squat down to snip those from 220 vines.

Our second oldest vines had a lot of rigorous growth this spring.  They sprout all sorts of vines from the trunk and it is our job to cut off those out-of-place shoots and keep only one or two shoots to train it into the VSP system.  Again, this requires squatting down to prune all these from the bottom of the trunk on all 1800 or so of those vines.

We also get weeds around the vines that we need to clean up if it is too close to the vine to spray.  This requires squatting down to pull up any weeds or crabgrass interfering with the vines' growth.
And then there are our newest vines.  The other day, I put growing tubes around these to protect them from outer elements like wind and critters since these vines are so delicate the first year.  This requires bending over, squatting down, and placing the tubes just right around the vine.

Most of the other newer vines are ready to start growing up on bamboo poles.  This gives them something to grab on to and grow up on to give some structure rather than flopping over and dragging on the ground.  We have to carry around large bundles of bamboo and sticking them in the ground next to their respective vines.  Don't worry, they weren't too heavy.  We have to do this to the 1200 or so newest vines.

Once the bamboo is in, I have to squat down and tape up the little vine to the bamboo so they know where to grow.  Poor little vulnerable vines get lost otherwise. 

As I am working, the dogs follow me around.  As soon as they see me glance their direction, they'll roll over paws up and and wait for a belly rub.  I'd be heartless if I could resist that, so being the softy that I am, I stop periodically to squat down and give them a good belly scratch. 

It's either something like that, or a distraction, like when they discovered a toad and thought it was the most curious thing in the world.  The played with it, pawed at it, sniffed it, and cocked their heads at it for 10 minutes before I had to stop what I was doing and rescue the poor toad by gently tossing him over the fence where the dogs wouldn't give him a heart attack. 

Have I mentioned my OCD of pulling random weeds because I can't stand the sight of them and don't have the patience to wait until the weather is perfect enough to spray them?  No?  Well I do.  There is nothing more satisfying than yanking out a weed out of the ground, roots and all.  When I see one, I can't help myself and I have to pull it out!  I'm trying to get help for this. 

I got a high out of pulling these suckers out.  Yes!

The last several weeks, we've been working all weekend long and nights after work.  I think it is fair to say that I've gotten to each vine over the last several weeks and each vine has gotten at least one squat held for 20-30 seconds while I complete the work for each vine. 

Clearly, I am not counting accurately, but if 3500 squats are why my hamstrings hurt every time sit down and why my bum feels like I've been doing Buns of Steel videos...then I'd say that's a pretty good work-out, wouldn't you?

And, it's cheaper than a gym membership!  Not that I have any time to go to the gym anyway. 

Lastly, the four winners of the wine stoppers were determined by Random.org.  Thanks for all of your nice comments.  It is great to hear from all of you!

The following numbers were winners:

#25 Yahres
#9 Lindsay
#21 Jensamom23
#6 Murdock's Mama

Congrats winners!  Email me your full name and address at schramvineyards@gmail.com and I will mail out your wine stoppers!

Thank you!

Father of the Bride: Big Juicy Grapes

The other day, I posted some highlights from our wedding, June 19th, 2009.  Being our anniversary and Father's Day all on the same weekend, I thought it only appropriate to have a post dedicated to another big highlight from our wedding: The Father of the Bride speech.  It was unforgettable, entertaining, and so...my dad.  This toast has undoubtedly gone unmatched to all Father of the Bride toasts in history.  But maybe I am biased.

This is my dad addressing the crowd before dinner.  Probably looks like any other Father of the Bride addressing a crowd, right? 

But then he pulled out this violin.  The crowd held their breath and waited in anticipation.  And I sat a blushing bride wondering what my goofball father had up his sleeve this time.

You see, my dad doesn't play the violin.  Not one lick.

For a split of a split second, I thought he had learned how to play and had kept it a surprise until my wedding day.  But then I knew better.  And I think most people in attendance knew my theatrical father well enough to know he was likely going to pull out something extraordinary.

As he began to "sing" his father of the bride speech, we quickly learned the violin was just a prop to throw us off. 

And within moments, he had the guests all singing along.

He left big shoes to fill for the Pastor who came up next to give the blessing. 

My dad wrote the lyrics to this song, sung to the tune of "Sweet Violets", a tune we used to sing around the campfire.  He lost 20 lbs before our wedding because he would walk nearly 5 miles every day composing the lyrics and memorizing the song for his big moment.

And it was a huge hit.  Here it is...

****
Big juicy grapes. Big and red and juicy. Covered all over from head to toe. Covered all over with big juicy grapes.


There once was a farmer who took a young miss in back of the bar where he gave her a ...
lecture on tractors and vineyards and farms. He wanted to hold her right there in his ...
memory as someone who loved him and then if she did, they'd move to Waconia and raise their first...


Big juicy grapes. Big and red and juicy. Covered all over from head to toe. Covered all over with big juicy grapes.


The girl told the farmer that he'd better stop. Then she called her father and he called a ...
family reunion to think this thing out, but they all stood up and they gave a great ...
sigh of relief cause the search was now done and they knew for certain that Aaron's the ...
person who surely was sent from above to give their dear Ashley a lifetime of...


Big juicy grapes. Big and red and juicy. Covered all over from head to toe. Covered all over with big juicy grapes.


The farmer decided he'd wed anyway. So she stared planning for her wedding ... 
party but then she was just out of luck. Her Mom and her Dad were down to their last ... 
daughter and that's why tonight when we dine, it's chicken and water not prime rib and ...


Big juicy grapes. Big and red and juicy. Covered all over from head to toe. Covered all over with big juicy grapes.


I know that you think that my song is now done. Pastor Dave's waiting so I've got to ...
think of a way to get out of this rhyme. The schedule is tight and I haven't got ...
Anything much left that needs to be said. I know that you'd rather be home in your ...
house where your lives will now start. Just know that I love you with all of my ...


Big juicy grapes. Big and red and juicy. Covered all over from head to toe. Covered all over with big juicy grapes.

****

Thank you, Dad, for such a unique speech and for capturing our story so well.  I wouldn't have expected anything less from you!  I still have friends singing Big, Juicy Grapes out of the blue to me. Happy Father's Day!


And to the rest of you, thanks for putting up with me and my wedding highlights this anniversary weekend.  I wanted to do it before I am no longer considered a newlywed!  Back to the real world next week where I will update you on our growing-like-crazy vineyard and my 72 lettuce plants.  And remember to enter to win a wine stopper from my previous post by next Tuesday night!

Wine Theme Wedding plus Reader Appreciation!

This Saturday, June 19th, marks one year since we said "I do" and officially started this journey together as a married couple.  We just got all of our professional digital pictures and photo album last week. I waited patiently for nearly a year for these, so humor me will you, and let me show you a few pictures and highlights from our....


Wine Theme Wedding!

The Gentleman Farmer and his Bride.  See?  We do clean up once in a while. 

Grape garland swags on the guests' chairs.

This is one of my favorite pictures.  These beauties are Emma, my Jr. Bridesmaid, and my three flower girls, named Daisy, Lilly, and Elizabeth Rose.  It's true, I had three flower girls with perfect names for the role.  They each wore a flower hair piece that corresponded with their name.

And our handsome pages, Joe, Mason, and Tommy.  

They paired up and carried the grape garlands and hung them on the archway we got married under. 

What a crew!

It was just too good that there was a gravel pathway on the property where we got married.  It is so symbolic of our life together, literally and figuratively.  We're taking the road less traveled...and well, you've heard about our gravel road. 

Our pastor was tasteful and light humored in incorporating this theme and this journey we have ahead together into his message.  

You probably recognize this photo.  Instead of a unity candle, we did a unity wine pour.  Aaron poured a bottle of red wine and I poured a bottle of white wine and we made a beautiful rose together.  We never practiced how this would go and it exceeded our expectations by turning out to be one of the most magical moments of our wedding.  I love when things go right like that.

Some of our guests may or may not have stolen this wine glass at the reception and passed it around the table taking turns chug-a-lugging the wine from this giant glass.  

Who knew a six year old could be such a sap at a wedding.  If she is anything like me, she broke down when the soloist sang "Bless the Broken Road."  This was taken after we walked back up the aisle and she came to give me a hug, wiping her tears away as she told me she was crying because she was so happy.  And it was so genuine!  

The guests found their wine cork place cards.  These corks were (almost) all from bottles of wine Aaron and I drank or shared with guests and collected over the last few years.  And we had A LOT of corks!  I even went so far to try and put a person's place card with a wine cork that I knew they liked or from a bottle I knew we shared together.  It was a personal touch that probably few people noticed and was a lot of work, but I thought it was fun.  

Ugh!  Get a room you two!  

For dessert we had chocolate covered strawberries and Aaron's Frontenac Port wine he bottled in 2004 and saved for this very occasion.  The rave reviews from our guests were encouraging.

Later in the night the lederhosen came out... much to my surprise!

As did the giant foam cowboy hats that were the groomsman gifts.  It was funny, entertaining and weird all at the same time.  

But I still can't resist my man in lederhosen. We do-si-doed to "Roll out the Barrel" which, now that I think about it,  really has more to do with beer than wine.  But the lederhosen were meaningful to us.  One of these days, when I am not pruning grapevines or mowing the lawn, I'll sit down and write up that "how we met" story and how a pair of lederhosen completely changed my life.  Maybe our kids will want to read it someday. 

To top it all off, it was sunny all day, but down poured as soon as we were seated inside for dinner, and then this rainbow made an appearance before we hit the dance floor.  I promise it was real!  It wasn't just photoshopped in!  

Our centerpieces were all wine bottles labeled with different pictures of us and coordinating quotes.  This one says, "Anyone can be passionate, but it takes real lovers to be silly."  It is a picture of us on our first Halloween together.  And those silver heart shaped wine stoppers you see were the favors.  

It just so happens I have some extras of these wine stoppers we bought for the wedding that we didn't use.

I've never done any giveaways on this blog, but thought, what the heck, it's our anniversary, it's Father's day, Aaron' birthday is next week, I'm pregnant and wine stoppers are no use to me right now anyway, why not show a little reader appreciation, spread some love and give some away!  

And you can think of Schram Vineyards next time you cork up a bottle of wine.  

Here's how it works:

Leave a comment on this post between now and Tuesday at 6pm, you will be entered to win one of 4 wine stoppers.  Good odds!  

And go ahead and leave 1 extra entry if you are a follower or email subscriber.  Just leave an extra comment telling me so!

Good luck and check back for another big wedding highlight this weekend, one that I felt was deserving of its very own post.