July 2023

Biodynamic sprays

In a bid to give the vines resistance to mildew, we use plants with medicinal properties out of which we make ‘teas’ for spraying during the rainy July.

The sprays are either standard organic or biodynamic: we use sulphur and a tiny bit of copper plus young willow whips which are harvested from along the local canal banks.

The shoots are:

• fed into a chipper and chopped into small pieces

• simmered in water for two hours and then left to steep

The concentrated solution is then diluted with water and add to the spray tank.

We also use dried horsetail — that invidious ‘weed’ for gardeners — that is steeped for 2 hours and then diluted. Both plants contain salicylic acid (as in aspirin).

The above photo shows the sprayer, with 4 nozzles per side, that I use for my biodynamic applications. It can spray at 5 bar pressure — sufficiently powerful to penetrate the canopy. It attaches to the back of my ride-on mower and offers a low impact and effective solution in terms of weight on the ground.

Another key task — and a long and tedious one — is to work down every row and untangle each vine that has blown into its neighbour. This happened as a result of the wind and the rain we experienced in July. Once upright we insert a biodegradable clip on the wire to keep the shoots apart. If a vine’s leaves are partly shaded behind another, it follows that the sun cannot reach them directly. This will impair good photosynthesis.

This photo shows dried horsetail and willow bark (harvested locally) before making a tea from them. There is quite a smell in the kitchen!