Wine Facts: Cover Crops in a Vineyard & How They Benefit the Wine Grapes

The grape vines might be dormant in the winter but there is still a lot of activity going on out there. Growing in between the vine rows.

Do YOU know WHY vineyards plant a cover crop??

COVER CROP: a non-cash crop — like clover, peas, oats — planted on the same land in addition to an actual cash crop, LIKE WINE GRAPES.

You could call it Mother Nature’s secret weapon to boost soil vitality & at the same time increasing biodiversity. It is also quite pretty this time of year… Right?!?

In the wintertime, the vines have been pruned and are busy storing energy for next year’s growth spurt in spring. There is an eruption in the vineyard rows as new plants grow steadily in the winter rains in between the rows of sleeping vines.

FACTS ABOUT COVER CROPS IN THE VINEYARD

Most often, the plants in between the vines are not just random growth. They are planted with purpose.
There are a variety of purposes to growing a cover crop in between the vines in winter, such as:

– Helping to soak up the abundant moisture in soils resulting from heavy winter rains

– When the cover crop is tilled into soil after growth, the matter decomposes to deliver nitrogen in a more use-able way to the vines

– Plants containing more carbon can benefit the vineyard by increasing soil tilth, the structure and aeration of the dirt

– Some plants also increase water infiltration

– The right cover crop roots can encourage growth of soil microbes, which in turn produce substances that increase soil aggregation

– Flowers produced by the cover crop also have various benefits depending on the species

– Beneficial insects are attracted to the flowers and plants to keep the biodiversity balance needed in any healthy farmsite when the vines are dormant

– These beneficial insects predate on more invasive species like mites and other insects damaging to the primary crop when it starts growing in spring

– It is pretty for pictures!! ( although I doubt this is a factor in the vineyard managers decisions, hehe) I sure do love photos of mustard seed flowers in the wintertime
Cover crops have been grown in vineyards and farms since at least Roman times, when farmers planted mostly bell beans between the rows
A properly managed cover crop can reduce the stress on some grape varietals known to start early in the spring to reduce vigor and slow growth before it is time
On terraced vineyards, the cover crop also helps control erosion during heavy rainfalls
A cover crop can suppress weeds or other unwanted plants that would otherwise grow naturally with winter moisture
In drier winter regions, the crops can offer an important option in reducing airborne dust
A tall crop can increase the danger of frost damage to newly emerging leaves in early spring

A vineyard manager can choose from a lot of different choices for cover-cropping. Most likely chosen are plants that naturally grow when winter begins and water is abundant. Low maintenance with high yielding results.

Cover crops are more and more important to vineyards and should be included when considering an ecosystem in the sustainable production of healthy grapes and long term vines. What would YOU plant?

The grape vines might be dormant in the winter but there is still a lot of activity going on out there. Growing in between the vine rows.

Do YOU know WHY vineyards plant a cover crop??

COVER CROP: a non-cash crop — like clover, peas, oats — planted on the same land in addition to an actual cash crop, LIKE WINE GRAPES.

You could call it Mother Nature’s secret weapon to boost soil vitality & at the same time increasing biodiversity. It is also quite pretty this time of year… Right?!?

In the wintertime, the vines have been pruned and are busy storing energy for next year’s growth spurt in spring. There is an eruption in the vineyard rows as new plants grow steadily in the winter rains in between the rows of sleeping vines.

FACTS ABOUT COVER CROPS IN THE VINEYARD

Most often, the plants in between the vines are not just random growth. They are planted with purpose.

There are a variety of purposes to growing a cover crop in between the vines in winter, such as:

– Helping to soak up the abundant moisture in soils resulting from heavy winter rains

– When the cover crop is tilled into soil after growth, the matter decomposes to deliver nitrogen in a more use-able way to the vines

– Plants containing more carbon can benefit the vineyard by increasing soil tilth, the structure and aeration of the dirt

– Some plants also increase water infiltration

– The right cover crop roots can encourage growth of soil microbes, which in turn produce substances that increase soil aggregation

– Flowers produced by the cover crop also have various benefits depending on the species

– Beneficial insects are attracted to the flowers and plants to keep the biodiversity balance needed in any healthy farmsite when the vines are dormant

– These beneficial insects predate on more invasive species like mites and other insects damaging to the primary crop when it starts growing in spring

– It is pretty for pictures!! ( although I doubt this is a factor in the vineyard managers decisions, hehe) I sure do love photos of mustard seed flowers in the wintertime

Cover crops have been grown in vineyards and farms since at least Roman times, when farmers planted mostly bell beans between the rows

A properly managed cover crop can reduce the stress on some grape varietals known to start early in the spring to reduce vigor and slow growth before it is time

On terraced vineyards, the cover crop also helps control erosion during heavy rainfalls

A cover crop can suppress weeds or other unwanted plants that would otherwise grow naturally with winter moisture

In drier winter regions, the crops can offer an important option in reducing airborne dust

A tall crop can increase the danger of frost damage to newly emerging leaves in early spring

A vineyard manager can choose from a lot of different choices for cover-cropping. Most likely chosen are plants that naturally grow when winter begins and water is abundant. Low maintenance with high yielding results.

Cover crops are more and more important to vineyards and should be included when considering an ecosystem in the sustainable production of healthy grapes and long term vines. What would YOU plant?

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