Two grape pruning clinics sponsored by the North Dakota Grape Growers Association (NDGGA) and North Dakota State University Extension Service will be offered in Bismarck on April 15 and Minot on April 16.
Both meetings will begin at 9 a.m. The Bismarck meeting will be held at the Burleigh County Extension office at 3715 East Bismarck Expressway. The Minot meeting will be held at the North Central Research Extension Center at 5400 U.S. Highway 83 S.
John Thull, vineyard manager at the University of Minnesota's Horticulture Research Center, will talk about balanced pruning for optimum yield and vine
health, plus vineyard management for cold-climate grapes. After a noon lunch, there will be a hands-on pruning demonstration at a nearby vineyard.
If you plan to attend the Bismarck clinic, preregister by contacting Ken Duppong at (701) 878-4167 or email mduppong@westriv.com.
If you plan to attend the Minot clinic, preregister by contacting Alan Verbitsky at (701) 477-8422 or email averbitsky@srt.com by April 13. You also can
register at the Ward County Extension office by calling (701) 857-6444.
The cost for the clinic and lunch is $15 for NDGGA members and $20 for nonmembers, which is payable the day of the clinic.
Thull earned a bachelor of science degree in biology at the University of Minnesota Duluth. He then enrolled in a one-year grape growing and winemaking practicum at Weingut Heinrichshof on the Mosel River in Zeltingen, Germany. In 2005, he started at the Horticulture Research Center and became the vineyard manager in 2006. In addition, his family grows four acres of vines on the family farm near Greenwald, Minn.
