herbicide-free case studies

- CASE STUDY V -

ESTATE VALLEY FLOOR

Vineyard area:

44 acres

Site Characteristics:

Rolling hills. A few rocky areas. Some side-slope where itโ€™s too narrow for a tractor.

Tools/Equipment used:

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

Passes:

1 - 2 passes depending on growing season conditions

Organic Herbicides?

Tried but were expensive, ineffective, and felt their use was moving away from why weโ€™re organic in the first place.

GRAZING?

Hire sheep before bud break (Kaos)

Tillage?

Currently, some blocks are no-till and some alternate till. Goal to be entirely no-till. Even in a dry year we didnโ€™t see a drop in yield in no-till blocks.

Weeds of concern?

Some of the very aromatic we donโ€™t want in the fruiting zone (e.g., hit Mareโ€™s Tail with a targeted shovel pass). Johnson grass - tall, vigorous and deep-rooted - do worry about competition.

Aesthetics?

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.

Certification(s):

Organic
Regenerative Organic

COSTs:

Annual farming costs/acre ~$12,000

Weed Management Costs:
Suppress (organic herbicide): $138.57/pass
Gramegna: $141.06/pass
Weedwacker: $119.70/pass โ€‹โ€‹
Yearly Weed Management Cost/Acre =$400/acre