Increasingly, large vineyards are yielding the benefits of giving back to the soil that provides for them by increasing organic matter through the use of products like Hort Compost. The Grape Days seminar, New Zealand Wine Growers annual technical event, held recently in Marlborough, had a focus on fighting disease, innovating and the future.
In support of these aims, organisations like Wholesale Landscapes are providing vineyards with access to sustainable solutions for the betterment of their grape-producing land.
Grape growers commonly equate a healthy soil with good biological activity. This soil features the appropriate types and populations of soil organisms, ranging from bacteria and fungi to earthworms, which cycle nutrients, improve soil structure, control diseases and enhance plant growth.
Composts, generated from the controlled microbiological transformation of organic materials, provide a source of nutrition as well as contributing soil-conditioning benefits through the provision of carbon and microbial activity. Composts can be applied to the topsoil or subsoil and have been shown to improve organic carbon levels, soil water and nutrient-holding capacity, microbial biomass activity and available nitrogen and phosphorous content.
Made over a 12-month period, Wholesale Landscapes’ Hort Compost is produced using bio-products including waste from freezing works and sheep manure. This odourless, organic-based compost has a pH of 5.5 – 6, the optimal range for plants to access soil nutrients to improve grape quality and yield. Hort Compost is free from residual herbicides, sprays and fungicides and its method of production ensures it is weed-free. Produced and sold by Wholesale Landscapes for over 10 years, Hort Compost is a proven compost for commercial growers.
When applied to vineyards, Hort Compost improves crop health, yield and quality by enhancing soil conditions through increased organic content and improved nutrient release. This, in turn, enables a reduction in the application of fertilisers through improved fertiliser efficacy. The weed suppression it provides reduces herbicide usage and maintenance costs. Hort Compost also increases soil-moisture retention enabling a reduction in irrigation and improving plants’ drought resistance.
Click the video below to see more about Wholesale Landscapes’ horticultural services.
