Greetings!
I recently had the pleasure of meeting with Jim Thompson to discuss his experiences with under-vine cover crops. Jim manages Martha Clara Vineyards, where the CCE-SC grape program has the replicated trial evaluating under trellis cover crops.
Prompted by observing practices in the western US and Europe, Jim has been interested in alley and under-vine cover crops for many years. The exposure led him to critically reflect on the impact of conventional practices involving herbicide use: “As it became more obvious that herbicides were going to become an issue for growers, like leaching, disruption of the dynamics of the ecosystem on the vineyard floor…and it became more popular to think about these issues, I felt that [covercrops] just made sense.”
When Jim was confident that the vines where he observed various cover cropping techniques did thrive, he recognized the relevance such strategies could have in his own vineyard: “[My] vines are crazy vigorous, and in a region where some years you can get 10 inches of rain in June, what better way to soak up some of that water than these cover crops.”
Jim has experimented with wall to wall cover crops in years past, but he primarily maintains an herbicide strip under the vine. As he continuously follows under-vine cover crop research, I asked him if he considered the results positive such that he may be ready to adopt the practice: “Encouraging, but not positive. We haven’t hit it yet as far as I’m concerned.” As to what particularly concerns him, Jim replied: “Simply the management of them. As they get too tall and get too close to the bottom of the vines, an issue is moisture retained by those groundcovers that transpires into the canopy. If the soil is bare, then that would never happen. There’s more to think about.”
Interview by Matt Gura, CCE-SC intern
No mow only treatment at Martha Clara on July 9th.
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