<div>Burgandy was shocked some decades ago when a soil expert said "there was more life in the soils of the Sahara than in Burgundian vineyards." Grapes aren't strawberries; their natural home is up in trees and their roots will go down 50 feet if they can. But they get lots of nutrients from the top foot or so.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Therefore, one can treat a rich crop of "weeds" in the vineyard as sign of good soil life--at least on the surface. What I try to do is get that "rich zone" to entend down as deeply as possible. Therefore, no herbicides--all of which kill and damage indiscriminately. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>The useful alternative I have found is to go back to the older methods of Burgundy and Bordeaux and plough (or rototill or harrow) with enough regularity to enrich your soils. Cold climate Europe traditionally mounded up rows in the fall and unmounded them in the spring. I have green manured for a more rapid specific enrichment in trouble spots, but in general any mixed crop of "unwanted greens" does just as well in terms of production of a mass of potential nutrients. There are dozens of good books on how to build up the intrinsic richness of your soil.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>This strategy means no heavy cedar bark mulches and definitely no plastic--both of which build poverty rather than richness in the soil. If you don't like your current mix of "weeds" then winter rye is a good choice (in certain climates) to reduce diversity and seeding with clovers is a good way to produce a mowable cover that helps keep your balance of natural nutrients where it should be. For fields with lots of clay, a year or two of mangles before planting produced an enormous mass of matter and the root penetration is far better preparation than the "bulldozer plough" which is recommended here in BC. One traditional measure of soil richness is number of earthworms per cubic foot; definitely an incomplete measure, but a good quick indicator.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Among my preferred weeds for enrichment are:</div>
<div>stinging nettle---great producer of early mass of green in spring and easily mowe</div>
<div>dock--good green mass and a root that's good for increasing aeration down deep </div>
<div>broom--used selectively in very heavy clays; prune a plant back to the ground with lopers every year or so to keep new growth out of the canopy and you'll force a deep root down to open up a path to lower soil levels</div>
<div>St. John's Wort--in moderation; definitely increases the micro fauna</div>
<div>mustard--at least with our warm winters provides pleasant colour in the winter</div>
<div>horsetail--works well against Canada thistle in sandy soils</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Every climate and soil mixture needs its own formula for beneficial weeds.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Dave Godfrey</div>
<div>GB Vineyards</div>
<div>Vancouver Island<br></div>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Jun 6, 2008 at 3:54 AM, Glenda Baker <<a href="mailto:glenda@dccw.ca">glenda@dccw.ca</a>> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid">It doesn't matter what is used here, the weeds grow through it, any openings<br>in the fabric for the vines sprout weeds, stones and rocks on top of black<br>
fabric don't stop the weeds. Even 4-6 inches of wood chips/mulch don't work.<br><br><br>I can't use herbicides so I've been thinking of using a very short<br>aggressive cover bamboo, it gets mowed once each spring, anyone ever tried<br>
something like that?<br><br>Glenda in Newfoundland<br>
<div class="Ih2E3d"><br>-----Original Message-----<br>From: <a href="mailto:growwine-bounces@littlefatwino.com">growwine-bounces@littlefatwino.com</a><br>[mailto:<a href="mailto:growwine-bounces@littlefatwino.com">growwine-bounces@littlefatwino.com</a>] On Behalf Of Steve Melchiskey<br>
Sent: June 5, 2008 9:12 PM<br>To: <a href="mailto:growwine@littlefatwino.com">growwine@littlefatwino.com</a><br>Subject: Re: [Growwine] Plastic mulch, Wavelength selective mulches<br><br></div>
<div class="Ih2E3d">I've used the woven black mulch for a full 3 years now.....no<br>problems except those identified by Alain. The other issue is that<br>the behind the tractor mower doesn't get near enough to the mulch<br>
line, so there is a 4 inch row of weeds I have to weed whack, and<br>deal with or they get very, very high. I don't use round up, but am<br>tempted (too bad I grow organic). It actually has been the best thing<br>I did for my vineyard and my back. I highly recommend it......<br>
<br>I have also been thinking of pulling up the mulch and planting a low,<br>dwarf grass where the mulch was.....some way of using the bare ground<br>as a transition point. Haven't figured this out yet. Need an<br>aggressive growing, dwarf grass......<br>
<br>best,<br>steve<br>maine coast vineyards<br><br><br><br><br></div>
<div>
<div></div>
<div class="Wj3C7c">_______________________________________________<br>Growwine mailing list<br><a href="mailto:Growwine@littlefatwino.com">Growwine@littlefatwino.com</a><br><a href="http://lists.littlefatwino.com/mailman/listinfo/growwine" target="_blank">http://lists.littlefatwino.com/mailman/listinfo/growwine</a><br>
</div></div></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Dave Godfrey<br>Godfrey Brownell Vineyards<br>Glenora, BC, Canada