Yes, Spring is officially here, but last week we had a sneak peek into summer – afternoons in the 70′s and sun!  The vines are definitely being woken up from a winter of dormancy.

With spring in full effect, our cover crops and native grasses are popping up fast.  We like the grasses in our vine rows because they can attract beneficial insects, help balance vine vigor, naturally add organic matter to the soil, prevent soil erosion and reduce the amount of dust pollution in our vineyards.

‘No-till’, as it is sometimes referred to, is the practice of mowing down your cover crops rather than cultivating.  The more ‘no-till’ we can do the better!

Mowing our vineyard rows is also a vital part of frost protection.  A vineyard floor of closely-mowed grass helps keep the cold air near the ground and away from the delicate shoots.  Ground with short grasses will also absorb more heat throughout the day than tall grasses, which helps when the frigid temperatures of early morning arrive.

If we let the grasses grow tall and frost threatens, our crop can be ruined.

Also, one of the benefits of having cover crops in the vineyard means we have California poppies adding color in the springtime!

Tags: California Poppies in vineyard, cover crops, frost protection, native grasses in vineyard, no-till sustainable winegrowing practices, springtime mowing, vineyard floor

This entry was posted on Monday, March 23rd, 2009 at 4:22 pm and is filed under In the Vineyards. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.