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44 acres
Rolling hills. A few rocky areas. Some side-slope where it’s too narrow for a tractor.
Handheld gas-powered weed wackers used just after weeds germinate
Gramegna tractor-mounted in-row tiller. Challenges: Slow & one-sided
Shovel
Piloting a few weed-trimmer attachments
1 - 2 passes depending on growing season conditions
Tried but were expensive, ineffective, and felt their use was moving away from why we’re organic in the first place.
Hire sheep before bud break (Kaos)
Currently, some blocks are no-till and some alternate till. Goal to be entirely no-till. Even in a dry year we didn’t see a drop in yield in no-till blocks.
Some of the very aromatic we don’t want in the fruiting zone (e.g., hit Mare’s Tail with a targeted shovel pass). Johnson grass - tall, vigorous and deep-rooted - do worry about competition.
Fair tolerance for weeds in the vineyard. Mostly dead or dormant for core vineyard management. Some dead/dormant weeds are also shading out further weed growth.
Organic
Regenerative Organic
Annual farming costs/acre ~$12,000
Weed Management Costs:
Suppress (organic herbicide): $138.57/pass
Gramegna: $141.06/pass
Weedwacker: $119.70/pass
Yearly Weed Management Cost/Acre =$400/acre