Weed Badger® offers many tools, attachments, and options to maintain the vineyard year-round. Following is a sample timeline utilizing Weed Badger® in-row management tools once the Breakout Procedure has been accomplished.

Spring – As soon as it is possible to get into the field use Weed Badger Magnum Coil Tines or Super Magnum Coil Tines. Get weeds before they grow taller than six inches in height and before they compete for water and nutrients. Weeds haven’t yet gone to seed. You move forward faster because you get weeds before reaching the problem stage. Sweeper/Tiller Tines can be used for sweeping winter debris off and getting those small weeds before they become bigger problems. This is your chance to destroy winter’s crop of soilborne insect pests that over-winter in the strip. Eliminate potential disease sources by exposing them to sunlight and air.

Early Summer – The second seasonal pass using Magnum Coil Tines should be done before regrowth of perennial weeds exceeds six inches tall. Regular “Badgering” starves perennial weeds. Deep root systems don’t survive long without above ground leaves sustaining photosynthesis. Remove the top growth and even deep root systems die. They soon become fertilizer.

Mid-Summer – Summer cultivation is an opportunity to improve soil tilth while again controlling weeds. Break up hard baked surface soil crusting following wet periods. Add organic matter to keep valuable moisture where it belongs, improve percolation, and prevent runoff. The Rotor Shroud Assembly will allow late season “Badgering” even after grape cane has dropped close to the ground.

Broadcast composted materials or soil amendments on top of the soil. Incorporate it into the top 2 inches of soil surface utilizing the Rotor Shroud Assembly. Organic matter is the “sponge” in the soil. The organic matter is now where roots and earthworms can utilize it. Earthworms feed, tunnel down, and deposit castings rich with nutrients far below. In the process their vertical tunnels create pathways for roots, air, and nutrients to travel even deeper. Microbial life is vital to healthy soil and introducing air and organic matter is essential to promoting soil health. Weed Badger's® unique, shallow, horizontal, rotary action aerates the in-row strip without destroying soil structure and tilth below in the root zone. Suspend the rotor with the Hydraulic Side Lift Kit for very shallow tillage. This also is a very helpful option when using the Undercutter Disk Attachment.

Fall – Cleanup is essential to prevent insects and rodents from overwintering in the under-canopy strip. After “Badgering” there is no inviting cover or habitat remaining. Sanitize rows. Sweep out fallen fruit, leaves, and twigs with the Badger Broom or Sweeper/Tiller Tines.

Winter – Rake or sweep prunings from your tractor seat. The Brush Rake Package or Sweeper/Tiller Tines will move pruned canes and twigs away from the row. Prunings lie in a straight windrow for chopping, disking, or other removal methods. This greatly reduces hand labor. You can move soil back into the row or build berms using Reverse-Wound Magnum Coil Tines. Simply change the rotor rotation to clockwise and adjust the rotor pitch and tilt.

There are many other vineyard jobs Weed Badger® can perform during the season.

• Switch to the Model 3875 Mower Attachment. Maintain permanent cover and mow with precision.
• Clean up the field perimeter. Kill weeds and widen out borders at up to seven MPH using the Qwik Disk Assembly. Keep weed seeds from drifting into your fields.