It’s…raining? Cool!

But what does this mean for my soil moisture? Are we set for the season next year? If only I had someway to know for sure.

Let’s take a look at some of the data.

Here’s a site we monitor just north of the town of Napa. The last big rain we had was on the 24th of October and sure enough, the 6.30” of rain that fell that day was enough to fill the soil to field capacity! Yay!

…However, another site near Calistoga has 7.52” of rain. This site has a much lighter soil. Water percolates very rapidly here and sure enough, most of that water didn’t stick around.

The winter may be young, but my point is that knowledge means everything. A soil moisture probe and a weather station will tell you a lot. Add a temperature sensor and you’ve got frost and heat alerts too.

This past season we saw a lot of farmers who didn’t irrigate early enough. Vines suffered severely uneven and stunted growth whose ill effects lasted all the way to harvest in some instances. We also saw a lot of people who ran out of water early. Until we’re out of the drought for sure, why waste a single drop?

Some vineyards hold water better than others. Which case is yours?

For information on soil moisture probes and other vineyard technologies contact paul@advancedvit.com to discuss a site specific solution. 

Looking to get in on the SWEEP Grant? Soil moisture monitoring is a great addition to any application! Contact loni@advancedvit.com to discuss your future water/energy-saving project  

Drought Soil Moisture