The Art of Sustainable Vineyards

The Flora

The Flora - Vineyard/Farm as a living, life giving system

COVER CROPS (OG/Organic & BD/Biodynamic)

• Cover crops such as California poppies and crimson clover attract and feed beneficial insects.
• A cover crop of oats helps preserve sensitive mountain soils from erosion during heavy winter rains.
• Plants such as white alyssum and purple vetch, planted in between vineyard rows, help provide food for the soil.
• Cover crops extract nitrogen, an essential food for plants, from the air and transfer it to the soil where the vine can access it.
• These plants are tilled in the spring to provide green manure that is broken down by microbes into humus, a natural foods source for vines.

FAMILY GARDENS (OG, BD)

• Gardens encourage biodiversity and preservation of heirloom varieties while providing fresh, local and organic food for the farmer’s family.

BUG FARMS & HABITAT CORRIDORS (BD)

• Vineyard habitat breaks of yarrow, olive trees and rose clover encourage diverse populations of beneficial insects.
• Increased vineyard biodiversity creates a self-regulating insect and bird population which keeps pest populations in check.
• Insects are important pollinators of various plants.

WILD AREAS (BD)

• By leaving some of the property, such as surrounding woodlands, in its natural state, the farmer increases the biodiversity of the farm and promotes a healthy, self-regulating system to control pests and diseases.
• Wild areas encourage beneficial plants, insects, animals and birds to move into the vineyard to help regulate pests that harm vineyards.