Rick is a home winemaking enthusiast and creator of Smartwinemaking.com. He started his own "high-tech micro vineyard" in his backyard and chose HOBO Data Loggers to get a better grip on the local climate and seasonal extremes.
He is using a HOBO MX2202 for light intensity and a HOBO MX2302 with the RS3-B Solar Radiation Shield for humidity and temperature.
The data loggers are set to take a reading once every 10 minutes. The data is accessed with his smartphone via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and the free HOBOmobile® app. Rick says he has found this handy on rainy days and in the winter when he doesn’t have to venture out into the freezing cold!
Some of the perks from installing HOBO data loggers in his backyard vineyard include:
- Microclimate data (Extreme Highs, Extreme Lows, Averages, Days of Full Sun vs Shade vs Rain)
- Better timing of fungicide sprays, less total over the season
- Growing Season Data (Growing Degree Days, Frost-Free Days, Light Intensity)
- Better selection of vines for each specific plot (GDD Requirements, Fungal Sensitivity, Frost-Free Days)
- Having years of data to share could improve resale value of vineyard
Rick says that his vineyard monitoring with the HOBO data loggers is going great:
“We had one night with temps dipping to -4°F according to the logger a couple weeks ago. The vines should have survived okay, but it was good to see. What I want to do is some comparisons to other areas near me to see how my microclimate compares to areas near me.”
For the full story about how Rick is using his loggers in his backyard vineyard, check out Part 2 of his Starting a Backyard Vineyard blog post or the video on his Home Winemaking YouTube channel.
Are you a commercial grower looking for a solution to monitor microclimates in your vineyard? You may want to check out the new HOBOnet System.
For more on how HOBO data loggers are helping vineyard owners and managers, click the links below:
Vineyard Management - Vineyard managers from Rhode Island, California, and Washington discuss how they use data loggers and weather stations to help run successful vineyards.
HOBO Micro Station Improves Vineyard Management - A vineyard management and development company uses data loggers and microstations to gather air temperature and wind speed & direction data that provides the guidance needed to select the best growing locations to produce great fruit.