Two Lads Winery on Old Mission Peninsula is wrapping up a two-year experiment with cover crops that could drastically reduce the use of chemicals in Michigan vineyards.
Test plots on its 22 acres are planted with various crops between and below the rows that slow the growth of weeds and deter insects that damage the vines, says Chris Baldyga, who co-owns the winery and vineyard with winemaker Cornel Oliver.
The goal is to see if vineyards can reduce the use of the herbicides, especially
Roundup, gramoxones and pre-emergents, and keep them out of the soil, Baldyga says. On the test plots, Two Lads has been using flowers below the vines and a variety of grains and other legumes between the rows.
The test is part of a Michigan State University initiative. If the experiments prove successful, farmers around the state could introduce more sustainable practices in their vineyards. The results will be evaluated in coming months.
Baldyga says the sustainable approach fits well with the Two Lads philosophy. As wine-making processes become more standardized, "the farming part is where you really stand out. No one could ever duplicate your dirt and your fruit from any given single season," he says.
The idea is to control weeds and insect infestation without competing with the vines for nutrients. "Native flowers are used to draw in predatory wasps, ladybugs and praying mantis, and they eat a lot of aphids and other vineyard pests," Baldyga says.
He says the Two Lads vineyard and MSU are going to communicate the results widely. But he is already seeing benefits for his vineyard. "Our farm is more green than it has ever been in the past, even though we used low-impact spraying and other good practices. Today, we are leaps and bounds ahead of where we were."
Source: Chris BaldygaWriter: Gary Hoffman
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