Bud Burst and Jack Frost

Bud Burst - Pinot Noir

Spring sees the vines awake from their dormant period over winter. As sunshine increases, the buds begin to burst. The majority of our vines at now at the stage of "full swell". Some are at "bud burst" and a few are showing "first leaf".

This is a risky time in the vineyard as a severe frost can burn the buds. At worse this can result in the entire season's crop being lost. Whilst global warming is generally assisting viticulture in the UK, too much sunshine to early in spring means that the vines will be vulnerable to frost for longer.
 
Various attempts are often made to protect against frost including lighting oil heaters in the rows, spraying the vines with a chemical solution to form a seal around the buds, or even using helicopters to get air circulation. We can't use the chemicals or the helicopter as were organic so I guess I might be up tonight lighting oil lamps!

Let's hope that Jack Frost won't catch us out!

Something from Dr Who? No - Our New Sprayer!

Looking like something from Dr Who, the sprayer for the vineyard arrived last week.

We decided to go for a second hand model (supplied by Nick Seymour) to get some experience of spraying compost teas before investing in a new one. Already we have had some difficulties, with the larger particles in the tea blocking the nozzles but Alex is confident that we will be able to overcome this little problem by straining the tea before putting it in the tank.

The sprayer has to be kept spotlessly clean so that the organisms in the tea don't die, which means thoroughly washing it (as well as the brewer) after each application. We'll be giving it another go next Saturday.

The Best Brew in Surrey!

Vino and Joel from Laverstoke with the Compost Tea Brewer

Last week we took delivery of our very own compost tea brewer, courtesy of the team at Laverstoke Park.

Compost tea is a water based extract of compost that is "brewed" aerobically to extract organisms (bacteria, fungi, protozoa and nematodes). This is done by filling the tank with de-chlorinated water and submerging some woody compost into it (contained in a fine mash bag). Air is then pumped into the tank from the bottom (a bit like a bubble bath) for 24-36 hours.

Feed stimulants can be added to the brew to promote growth of specific organisims. In our case we're using fish and seaweed extracts to encourage the growth of fungi. When the tea is sprayed on the vines these organisms dominate the surfaces of the leaves which hopefully prevents disease-causing organisms from establishing, particularly mildews. Compost tea also provides plant food which aids healthy plant growth, strengthens the plant's defence systems and, with the addition of beneficial organisms to the soil, will help the recycling of organic matter, improving soil structure.

The tank has a capacity of 1000 litres which should be enough to spray the vineyard when we have planted the full 13 acres and the canopy is fully developed. We are planning to make a brew about every two weeks.

During the growing season Laverstoke will be analysing our compost tea every month to ensure that it has the right level and type of organisms for our soil.

We have no intention of competing with the local excellent hop brewery near Shere, or indeed Philip's magnificent brew of "English Breakfast", but hopefully our compost tea will be just the right brew for the vines.

www.alburyvineyard.com

Thanks to the team at DNX (an award winning marketing agency also based in Albury) we now have a new corporate logo and website http://www.alburyvineyard.com/.

As well as providing information about the vineyard and the wines we hope to produce, the web site also gives some background to organic viticulture and wine making in the UK. There is also a link to this blog.

Please let me have any comments you feel would be useful in improving the site.

Alex joins the team as Vineyard Manager

I'm delighted that Alex Valsecchi has joined the team as Vineyard Manager.

Until recently Alex was at at RHS Wisley responsible for the Orchard, Nursery, Model Fruit Area and the Vineyard. Alex has extensive experience in Vineyard Management having created the vineyard at Wisley following several years practical experience working on vineyards in New Zealand.

Alex will be responsible for all aspects of managing the vineyard and will work closely with me to ensure that we produce top quality English quality wines using premium organic grapes from the vineyard.

Alex was born in Italy and has the initials "AV", the same as Albury Vineyard. It was obviously meant to be!

Friendly Fungi working well

Mycorrhizal fungi at work

Back in May when we planted the vines we decided to dip the roots in a product called Rootgrow, which is a mycorrihzal fungi from a company called PlantWorks. Mycorrhizal fungi normally occurs naturally in soil. It breaks down organic matter releasing nutrients particularly phosphates and can significantly increase root capacity. Unfortunately herbicides and modern farming techniques have significantly reduced the naturally occuring fungi. The idea with Rootgrow is to give new plant roots a kick start.

Last Saturday we pruned the vines and measured the weight of the prunings of 100 vines that had been treated compared to 100 untreated vines for each variety. The results were as follows:

                          Untreated      Treated        % Increase
                          weight (kg)   weight (kg)

Pinot Meunier        1.5                1.8               20.0%
Pinot Noir              2.5                2.4               -4.0%
Chardonnay           1.6                1.9               18.8%
Total                     5.6                6.1                 8.9%

It's early days and the test is obviously not very accurate. I have no idea why the Pinot Noir didn’t seem to show any real difference but overall a very positive indication that the friendly fungi are doing a good job! We will do the same test next year and also monitor the quantity of fruit produced in 2011.

The Soil Food Web and Compost Teas

Just attended a facinating seminar on Compost Teas given by Dr Elaine R Ingham at Laverstoke Park.

The Soil Food Web is a diverse community of microscopic organism which live in the soil. There are hundreds of thousands of species and this biology is an integral part of a healthy ecosystem. These soil dwellers are performing important tasks that allow plants to thrive and grow. As they eat, grow and move through the soil, these organisms make it possible to have clean water, clean air, healthy plants and moderate water flow.

Not suprisingly pestacides and hebisides kill off this natural biological system. Organic farmers use composts and compost teas to help the biology recover and also as an effective treatment for disease control.

Compost teas  are made by aerobically brewing compost in a tank of water (a bit like a jacuzzi) typically for 24 hours. This allows the living organsim on the compost, including bacteria, fungi and nematodes to be released into the water which is then sprayed on the vines. Food such as Humic Acid or Fish Hydrolysate is often added to promote growth of the organisms. Kelp helps as a micronutrient and Trichoderma spores can be added to treat mildew but the downside is that it takes out Mycorrhizal Funghi (see earlier blog "Friendly Fungi").

It all sounds quite complicated but hopefully the guys at Laverstoke will be giving me some expert advice. Anyway, I'm convinced its the way to go for the vineyard. No copper or sulphur next year!