Published November 7, 2024
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As fall turns toward winter, here in the Northwest we are enjoying a spectacular show as the vines are turning yellow and dropping their leaves. Along with the maples and oaks, the yellow vines are framed by the lush green grass and the deep evergreen trees to create an impressionist painting in every direction.
Appreciating the Soil Activity Below
Not as showy, but just as important, is the activity happening below the surface of the soil. Mushrooms are sprouting in the vineyard, reminding us that healthy soil contains an enormous web of fungi that support the vines and other plants by making soil nutrients available.
On rainy walks in the vineyard, I also love to see the small mounds of leaves and bits of grass that are scattered across the vineyard floor. If you bend down and carefully move one of the mounds, you will see that it covers the entrance to an earthworm’s home.
Earthworms and fungi thrive is soil that is not regularly disturbed by cultivation, which is one of the reasons that we maintain most of the vineyard floor in a permanent cover of grass and wildflowers. By leaving them undisturbed to work the soil, they support the vines all year long.
