Autumn in the vineyard: sowing the inter-row

Once the harvest is over, the new vine growing cycle begins with the sowing of the inter-row.

Contrary to popular belief, the autumn months are not “standstill” periods in agriculture, quite the opposite.

Obviously, each company has different needs and objectives and it is therefore difficult to generalise; however, we can say that October is generally the ideal month to work the soil of the vineyards and prepare it for sowing between the rows.

A fundamental agronomic practice especially for vines grown using organic methods.

Soil preparation

As soon as we finished harvesting our grapes and olives, we began, before the rains, to work the soil superficially to make it soft and prepare it to receive both the sowing and the rainwater.

As every year, we used a mix of seeds specifically designed for the needs of our soil and our plants.

The plots of land where our vines grow in fact need to be “tamed” rather than “pushed”.

Sowing mix

Our goal is to avoid adding too much organic matter by sowing only plants, such as field beans, that fix nitrogen, making it available in the soil.

In fact, the broad bean would give the vine a lot of vegetative vigor, that is, more leaves, shoots and more robust shoots, to the detriment of the productive part.

The bunches would become larger, but of less interesting quality.

We therefore chose to add some grasses to the legumes, which compete with the roots of the vine for the absorption of nutrients from the soil.

We also inserted plants with taproots, which with their vertical growth enter deep into the soil in search of water, encouraging the growth of the vine's roots itself.

It's early November and the seeds are already starting to germinate; during the winter the little plants will get stronger and in spring they will flower.

Mowing or green manure?

After flowering, we will proceed with mowing, that is, cutting the plants, which will be left on the ground as a cover to inhibit water evaporation.

With our mild climate and increasingly limited rainfall, we need to retain water in the soil as much as possible, to leave it available to the vine roots.

Covering the ground with mown plants prevents the “bare” ground from transpiring during hot days and drying out quickly.

We prefer this technique to green manure, which instead involves burying the plants, thus increasing the organic substance in the soil. In fact, our vines suffer more from drought than from the lack of nutrients and organic substance, which the soil on which they grow is instead well endowed with.

We also think it is important to use different seeds to maintain biodiversity in our soils, to promote the life of pollinating insects and the containment of any parasitic insects or weeds.

These autumnal agronomic practices help the vine to best prepare for its new annual life cycle that begins now and will end with the 2022 harvest.

by Silvia Cirri and Linda Franceschi