Hardscrabble Journal

The Cicadas Aren’t Coming

Linden is in a different 17-year brood cycle. We last had them in 2013. 2030 is just around the corner.

They don’t do a whole lot of damage to the vines. The females insert their eggs midway into tender shoots which will make a weak stress point. Rough handling or an ill-timed storm can break individual shoots, but even in that event a lateral shoot will take over as the growing tip.

The much bigger problem is an acorn shortage. When the females lay their eggs on oak trees, the twigs break under the weight of the developing acorns. 

Acorns are an extremely important food source for bear, raccoon,  skunk, opossum, and squirrel. In the fall they all need to “carb up” for the winter. In cicada years they attack vineyards with a vengeance. Nothing will keep a hungry bear out of the vines. They dig massive tunnels under fencing, or opt for an easier route of scaling posts. Electric fences work for a while, but hungry animals with no other obligations will eventually find a way in. 

2013 was a great vintage. Unfortunately in some blocks we lost up to half the crop to predators. We now have a new super-duper fortress of a fence around the vineyard. It works in normal years, but 2030 will put it to the test.

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Linden Vineyards / Learn More / Latest at Linden | Journal: May 17, 2021