Sustainable verses Organic Vineyard Practices

We found that sustainability practices are more in line with what we want to practice than organic practices. One key sustainability practice not typically part of organic practices is no-till farming.

No-till farming is the practice of sowing seed and terminating cover crops with minimal or no disturbance of the soil. Tilling is a major cause of destroying soil health. Tilling exposes the beneficial microbes to the air, rain, and sun. Contrary to what many believe, tilling is a destructive practice to soil microbes. The 🌞 bakes the microbes and can kill them. The rain beating down on the field can harm the microbes with its force. And the air can dry them out. Conversely, no-till keeps the microbes much cooler under the Earth (as much as 20 degrees F cooler) on 🌞 days . The undisturbed mulch from no-till protects the microbes from the falling rain and drying wind.

Sustainability practices encourage a holistic approach to managing planet, people, and profit. Each must work harmoniously together to get best outcomes. I think this approach is a winning strategy and makes a lot of sense.