What did those soil results show?
Finally received the soil analysis results which contained some surprises. As usual there was a very low soil Phosphorous - especially in the gravels of the south west of Western Australia which have high levels of Iron and Aluminium and as a result a high Phosphorous Retention Index (PRI). Also Manganese, Zinc and also Magnesium were at the low end. My aim here is to have blended a fertiliser in the proportions required and apply it during the later stages of spring. In this way there will still be sufficient rainfal to wash it in and as budburst approaches it will be readily available to the vines.
Over the years I have been loath to open or cultivate between the vine rows as it generally has a detrimental affect on soil structure. What goes along with this approach is that unwanted weeds can take over; one such plant, Flat Weed, has done that and has choked out a lot of the clover and rye grass.
As a result the time was right to have the vineyard floor sprayed with a broad leaf herbicide, thereby leaving the grasses unaffected.
Once the weeds were showing the affects of the spray, alternate rows were ploughed in preparation for the seeding of a specific cover crop.
In this regard I have chosen a blend of a number of species made up of peas, vetch, lupins, cereal rye and canolla/mustard.
This blend is known as a Green Manure Mix and has been planted at a high sowing rate ensuring a high volume of vegetative material to be mulched in late spring.
All we need now is a good rainfall event to get things germinated and growth underway. The only problem is that the outlook for rain over the coming week or two is not good. By way of example, today the temperature has risen to around 29C!!
Bring on the rain!
Vineman
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