Soil structure

It's interesting that so many of the old prescriptive practices on soil and farm management are being debunked. It used to be that farmers were told they had to eliminate all weeds, till the soil annually to aerate it and fertilize routinely. Today we know, that tilling disturbs the natural soil structure, especially the mycorrhiza, and fertilization reduce mycorrhization. Using cover crops favours arbuscular mycorrhiza funghi. We are trying to disturb the soil as little as possible. We have also set aside swaths of land as a natural habitat to encourage wildflowers and grasses as well as insects and bees. It seems to be working.

Progress in the vineyard

Not only are the grapevines leafing and flowering nicely, but also the development of the vineyard itself - the trellises and supports for the vines - is progressing at a rapid pace and we are preparing to construct the overhead pergolas.

Spring has finally arrived

Rondo is most advanced

After weeks of cold dry weather, a few days of sprinkles was followed by a week of fine warm weather over Easter. Finally, the vines were ready to burst forth. All have done so now. The five-year-old Rondo and Solaris vines have leafed. The two-year-old Solaris vines have leafed. The Chardonnays are just beginning. The Pinot and Albariño vines have started leafing, too. There is life in the vineyard, and the donkeys are back in the field next door. Alex is preparing to erect the first of the overhead trellises and he has bought a gate wide enough to drive a tractor through. Thinking ahead.

Last planting of the season

Today, we awoke to brilliant sunshine and, hopefully, one of the last times we will be changing the clocks. So, we grabbed the remaining Albarino vines, some shovels, gloves, and knee pads, and headed into the vineyard to plant them. The buds were growing and it was time. Alex had pre-dug the holes. He distributed the vines as I got to work.

Brilliant day

3-y-o Solaris vine

We are experiencing an amazing weather week. No rain, light winds, and, today, brilliant sunshine. It was glorious. I walked up into the vineyard to check on progress as the plum and cherry trees are in full bloom already.  Lo and behold, although the 5-year-old vines had not yet leafed, the first leaves were unfurling on the three-year-old specimens. Interesting.

Pollinators and grapes

The headlines last month were dire. "Plummeting insect numbers 'threaten collapse of nature'" warned The Guardian. "The rate of insect extinction is eight times faster than that of mammals, birds, and reptiles." That is such a definitive and frightening statement. 

The analysis of 73 historical reports, published in the journal Biological Conservation, concludes that intensive agriculture is the main driver of the declines, particularly the heavy use of pesticides.  They provide a few highlights of the exhaustive analysis:

Highlights

• Over 40% of insect species are threatened with extinction.
• Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera and dung beetles (Coleoptera) are the taxa most affected.
• Four aquatic taxa are imperiled and have already lost a large proportion of species.
• Habitat loss by conversion to intensive agriculture is the main driver of the declines.
• Agro-chemical pollutants, invasive species and climate change are additional causes.

Spring is trying, then retreating

Several weeks ago it was warm enough to be out in T-shirts. Alex noted that the new chardonnay vines were sprouting and quickly planted them out in the field. Then he planted out the Pinot vines. There is still a batch of Albarino bare root vines that are heeled in to plant and trellises to build. But he was off buying cattle for his mother today so it will have to wait. Tomorrow, we're doing a webinar about sailing in Galicia, so it will have to wait again. Oh well, we have a few days open next week I think.

The bumblebees were out in force, feeding on the heather during the good weather. I counted 13 queens on one bush one day, mostly Bombus leucorum. It was good to hear their buzzing in the garden. The heather bush was the first thing I had planted when we were building the house. So glad I did. But I was also glad to learn that grapevines are not dependent on bees for pollination. The news about the collapse of the insect populations last week was alarming. More about that another day.