Chilled but not frosted.
True, it seems late for cold weather, after all it is nearly June. However, my weather diary (most farmers have one) shows that in the last five years a frost has occurred after Mother’s Day 7 times.
- Ground level frost and a functioning frost drain.
Although it’s somewhat difficult to tell in this photograph our vineyard is situated at about 1250 feet above sea level. Someone just asked why we planted it clear up there. The answer, so that frost can drain away. As you may be able to tell in the picture from the South end of our largest vineyard, the ground slopes sharply away on all sides. If you look closely you can see a difinitive line where the May 17, 2012 ground level frost did not make it into the vineyard, although it very easily could have, had the temperature dropped a few more degrees. This type of frost rarely causes much damage as it is only at ground level, still fascinating to note where it developes.
