Hello and Welcome,
The kitchen sprayer strikes again!
April 1st is the official start to the growing season. It is also April Fools’ Day. After
20 some years of farming in the Willamette Valley, we do not believe this to be
a coincidence. Whatever pranks you have planned for the day,
we can assure you Vintage 2022 will be full of surprises, and not the same
surprises as last year. Just like the pranks, the agrarian challenges get
better and better each year. You don’t have to be crazy to grow Pinot Noir, but
it helps.
April 1st Vintage 2022 is Julian calendar day 91.
Assuming we survive this year’s onslaught (a large quantity of people and/or
things that is difficult to cope with), we should be harvesting wine
berries somewhere around Julian calendar day 274. That gives us about 183 days
to get it together, however harvest dates can vary greatly. The vines know
this, and they are pre-ordained to ripen their seeds in the limited time
allowed. It is our job to harvest the wine berries enshrining these seeds at
the most optimal point in time to produce the most exemplary wines. Godspeed.
BTW: The rubber band used to bundle asparagus is the best for the kitchen
sprayer prank, so we’ve heard…
The BIG Picture
Ernie preparing the vineyard floor for Vintage 2022.
You have to start somewhere, and in the Willamette Valley, the vineyard floor
is usually a good place to start. After lifting the fog each morning, Ernie’s
next job in the spring is to rototill in last fall’s cover crop. By
incorporating these plants into soil, we feed the soil microbes, and a whole
host of other soil borne life that will digest this organic matter into food
for our vines. And then just as quick as a mousetrap hidden in the cupboard
next to the coffee, Ernie is right back out there drilling in the spring cover
crop blend of Buckwheat and Common Vetch. Yeah, he is always growing nitrogen.
Grassed rows of Tall Fescue before flailing, in the rain.
But there are goings on in the “alternate” rows as well. These are the grassed
rows, or what we call permanent cover. We use fescue, Tall Fescue. These rows
hold the canes pulled out of the trellis from last year’s growing season. Using
his handy dandy flail mower, Ernie shreds these brown canes along with about a
foot tall stand of green grass. That provides about 16 acres of buffet line,
giving a little diversity for the soil inhabitants.
Grassed rows of Tall Fescue after flailing, in the rain.
But
there is a little strip of land just under the vines, and that is where the
magic is right now...
Winemaking: The Continuation of
Terroir by Other Means. ® by Dena & Ernie from Amalie Robert
Estate. Oregon Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, Chardonnay et al. A FLOG communication
(Farming bLOG). You can keep up with our Willamette Valley Vintage 2022 by
visiting our Instagram account @AmalieRobert.
And we have moved! Won’t the neighbors be surprised. Actually, we have just
moved the FLOG. We have moved the FLOG from Google Blogger to a new platform
called Substack. If you visit Substack you can
subscribe to our FLOG – and it’s FREE. While you are there, you can view any
and all of our previous 210 FLOGs. This may take you some time, and more than a
few ARBs (Adult Recreational Beverages).
Are They Weeds or Are They Cover Crops?
They say there is a fine line between genius and insanity. Doing the same thing
over and over, expecting the same result is called farming. Expecting a
different result is called insanity. So we ask you, what is a weed?
Is this your definition of a weed?
The farming answer is that a weed is a plant growing somewhere you don’t want
it growing. These could be dandelions in your yard, or that big oak tree whose
branch befell your 20 year old Pommard vines. No matter the size, if they
are growing where you don’t want them, then they are weeds. Ernie used to think
Common Groundsel was an uncontrollable weed…
Oak tree branch fallen on Pommard Clone Pint Noir during the Ice Storm of 2011.
Common Groundsel (Senecio
vulgaris) is a ubiquitous winter annual broadleaf. This little plant grows
directly under the vines. It has strategically located itself such that it is
not in the rototiller rows, nor in the mowing rows. It therefore grows
unabated, much like a weed. But is it a weed?
Common Groundsel flowers
very early in the year. In the Willamette Valley it begins to flower in
February and continues through March and April. And as it flowers, it produces
pollen, which is protein. That is the attribute that changes Common Groundsel
from a weed into a highly regarded, naturally occurring winter cover crop.
Note: While Creeping Groundsel is closely related, it is still considered a
weed. A creepy weed…
What Does This Mean and Why Should I Care?
Got beneficial insects? Common Groundsel grows at the base of the vine.
And when it flowers it attracts insects. If you are a carnivorous insect in the
Willamette Valley you are either preying on other hapless insects, or if you
can’t find any other insects, consuming plant-based protein, aka pollen.
Plant-based protein was cool before plant-based protein became cool. Just a
different target audience today. Now that’s called marketing!
Common Groundsel growing at the base of a vine.
Common Groundsel is where the cool bugs hang out. All manner of spiders,
ladybugs, earwigs and whatever you have. They have a sip of morning dew and a
bit of pollen to start their day. Then it is off to hunt for rust mites, spider
mites or cane borers. And since Common Groundsel is growing right at the vine’s
trunk, it is a short walk to work.
Ladybug on her way to work!
This insect damaged shoot will not produce fruit, no wine!
Now, the bad bugs that want to consume the newly emerging growth from the vine
spend their winter season in the bark of the vine’s trunk. When the weather
warms up enough, they make their way up the trunk and out onto the cane. And
that is where they do their damage. They begin to bore into the new buds and
eat the pre-emergent shoots. Or they move to the underside of the leaves and
feed on the vascular tissue of the vine. Blighters one and all!
Not on my watch. Ernie takes great care to encourage Common Groundsel. It is
the earliest flowering plant in the vineyard. It produces protein rich pollen
to sustain our battalions of beneficial insects. You want a significant
advantage of good bugs over bad bugs to protect the vineyard. Some people
espouse an “insectary plot” where they grow flowering plants, but they are
usually located a fair distance from the vines. We want our beneficial insects
embedded where their primary target species live.
And what do the experts have to say about eradicating your bad bugs? Read this:
Management-biological control: An
extensive community of natural enemies successfully regulates spider mite
populations when undisturbed by pesticides. Consequently, spider mite problems
on grapes and many other crops are considered secondary pest problems resulting
from the elimination or suppression of natural enemies. Kaur, N.
(Ed.). 2022 Pacific Northwest Insect Management Handbook. © Oregon State
University.
Once again, we see that sometimes the old ways are the best. That’s farming,
slow to evolve and hard to change. Some years we have the upper hand in the
balance of good bugs to bad, and some years we don’t. That is natural
selection. But we never use pesticides to alter the balance of power. We do take
every opportunity to try and encourage as many beneficial insects as possible.
That is our primary defense, a strong offense.
And speaking of offense, Brady is back! No
foolin’! Check out the TB12 Plant Based Protein
or an Anti-Inflammatory Turmeric Smoothie!
As our Chief Farming Officer ages, he has discovered the anti-inflammatory properties
of several non-alcoholic foods and beverages including turmeric. And here
is a fun prank to share with the kids...
Culinary Prank: Carmel dipped onions, instead of apples.
These plant-based products are pretty amazing, and they are certainly gaining
attention and respect. At this point we would like to remind everyone, that
wine is in fact a plant-based product. Even the cork is fashioned from
tree bark. Or as we like to say, there is a free cork in every bottle!
Dena & Ernie
