Nature abhors a vacuum. Weeding of vines made a month ago by hand or by plowing, has left the field open (as is the case to say) to summer plants. The floor was bare handed promoted dormancy of seeds. And then now mingle with some erect slipped through the cracks of our first cleaning, amaranth, black nightshade and more rarely, goosefoot.
When I see the energy that we had to make to overcome the first generation of grass (and again, I'm not quite out!) I sometimes feel like giving up. Finally, you tell me when you have your arms down, it's easier to pull weeds, but still.
I ask you, in these first days of August, when France is sunbathe on the beaches, why not I also entitled to a little vacation? True, anything. Be organic and shut up, that's it eh? Well no.
Well, the problem is knowing what impact it can have on my vines.
Besides the aesthetic aspect of the thing. This may sound silly, but when your neighbors eyes offer the walker, thanks to the trimmers and weed killers, the sight of vineyards chalk, you can not stop you from feeling guilty vines have less "clean". Probably a reminiscence of my past computer. A computer is zero or one and it has created in me a certain tendency to psychorigidité. I like things square, although I think eventually I move fast enough on that. My neighbors also, I suppose.
But that is not of course essential. The real question is what impact does this new generation of weeds on the next harvest. Can I leave it all like that and take my offspring making sandcastles by the sea, or the risk is too high to see grapes deteriorate share residual moisture created by the biomass of these plants and they constitute obstacles to the flow of air into the vines and light penetration of nourishment, to the point of compromising the potential quantity and quality of the next harvest, already undermined by unpredictable weather?
But conversely, sometimes I like to think, given the heavy rainfall in recent days, it is beneficial to the vine, absorbing excess water in the soil.
These questions are the néovigneron I am as important as that of the existence of God for a seminarian. A little less for my children who have already prepared the snorkels and diving masks.
But as for the existence of God, not easy to find some answers. Read everything and its opposite on the impact of the grass on the vine. To be honest, I've read studies that focused on reviewing the weed "mastered". In my case, a matter mastery, it was better, even if I let the grass voluntarily at first. Nevertheless, I still have grounds for satisfaction. When you do not know where you go, look where you came from, "said the sage. Well, so far, although the situation in the vineyards is a bit confusing, we have realized that a single tillage (with the exception of two parcels in which I rent where we have evidence of a little more zeal mechanics. No way to conduct experiments in vineyards that are not mine, I do not want to be responsible for the death of one of my owners, who suffered a heart attack during a visit of its vineyards). This year, very few vines have been uprooted by my plow. So when I walk into my vineyard, I am surprised at the flexibility of the soil, although they have hardly been shaken. We talked about it with my dog just yesterday evening. It is a pleasure for the pads of its paws. Issue and fuel consumption and emission of greenhouse gas emissions, I can also boast a very positive outcome for this campaign. We talked about it with my oil tank just yesterday evening. So I think it still deserves a week's leave, no.
After, I swore if I go lie in hell, I go back to the vines.
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