What is Biodynamic Farming?
With much anticipation last Saturday I gathered up the clan with mom / grandma and headed out to Healdsburg to visit the impressive gardens of Quivira Winery.
Along with the always gorgeous landscaping of most wineries Quivira has taken the next step and have added an entire biodynamic estate garden along with a very happy flock of chickens adding their contribution to the green efforts. Now I am no stranger to this famous little corner of Sonoma wine country, many a time I have taken the West Dry Creek Road and enjoyed immensely the row of high end wineries from Rafanellis, Belvedere, Hop Kiln, Rochioli and their tremendous Pinots, to Lambert Bridge winery makers of my favorite Viongier! In fact I would have to say this is my single favorite stretch of wineries in all of wine country & I’m from Napa! Quivira is just a bit north on West Dry Creek Road so I have tended to miss this winery as I always headed south….I will certainly be adding this facility as a must visit winery from now on!
Now let’s start with a little background information on this wonderful little winery. Quivira, along with precious few other wineries, are true pioneers in the field of biodynamic farming for both their vineyards and their estate gardens. In fact their mantra is ‘Biodynamics maintains that nature is very powerful… if you let it reign.’ They generally feel that the core of biodynamics is the creation of the best soil possible. So with a mix of science and a little spiritual attitude mixed in they have built a standard of horticultural practices that would be a major boon to the environment if practiced by the wine industry in general. The norm in the industry is to mono crop acres of vines, use devastating chemicals which together do not create a natural balance at all in the vast amount of vineyard areas that dominate Sonoma, Napa, and Mendocino counties!
The Biodynamic Gardens of Quivira
So what is Biodynamic farming? Is it a fancy term for organic farming or sustainable farming? Or is it a unique entity that has its own standard of rules and practices? As mentioned above the main focus of Biodynamics is the soil and how to build it to a healthy sustaining entity that thrives with living organic activity. Normal farming practices generally deplete and sap the soil of its vitality, eventually only able to sustain crops with heavy doses of chemical fertilizers to get them to grow in this now poor soil devoid of any organic material. With no natural ecosystem in place copious doses of pesticides and herbicides must be applied throughout the growing season to ensure there will be a crop at the end of the process! No Good! Biodynamic farming strives to put back into the soil what was taken from it. The end goal is to make the farm, as a whole, a healthy self-contained, sustainable entity that is reliant upon the plants, animals, soil, and us humans to make it work. So yes it is organic, and yes it is sustainable …but these are just individual factors that make up Biodynamic farming in general.
So how exactly is Biodynamic farming carried out? For it to be true to its definition it must really be a farm …..a farm as we all picture in our minds as it should be. With lots of diverse and beneficial plantings of crops and non crop plants that bring in a diverse population of insects that will carry out the natural order of things. If you lack these plants that house these beneficial insects that prey on the very bugs that dine on your crops you leave your ecosystem out of balance resulting in a lack of vitality in your plants and biosystem in general. What else do you see on a farm? Animals! At Quivira it is the chickens and bees that
Busy Busy Bees!
are making the biggest impact …along with a little help of their bovine friends. They prepare natural spray applications that are generated from their animal manure, herbs, and essential minerals. These application formulas are quite diverse as they have nine different concoctions of different ingredients that are timed to be applied at certain times of year to focus on the life cycle of their plants and grapevines. These are focused specially for rebuilding the soil, stimulating root growth, feeding beneficial microorganisms, and aiding the plants in photosynthesis. Specific examples are given at Quivira, which include:
- To stimulate microbial life in the soil in the springtime they create a spray that is developed starting in the fall when they bury cow horns stuffed with cow manure. These remain buried all winter long and dug up in the spring after they have gone through an entire biological transformation and are teaming with beneficial microbes and broken down micro elements.
- They grow stinging nettle in their gardens (so be careful of what you touch!) to harvest and bury in containers in the ground to decomposed. The end resulting material is added to the compost piles, which when applied to the vineyards supplies unique nutritional elements that are vital for peak health of the vines.
Another side to Biodynamic farming practices that are lacking in the organic and sustainable models is a bit of the cosmic and mystical element. So when they are doing these applications to the vineyards and gardens, Quivira sticks to a strict schedule that is supplied by the astronomical calendar. This includes all horticultural practices that take place at the winery estate including pruning, cultivating, and harvesting. The end result of all this nurturing and care are impressively healthy vineyards and crops that are naturally more resistant to pests and disease. How about you? Do you know a farm or family that is practicing Biodynamic activities to grow their crops? I would love to hear their or your story of maintaining gardens in balance with nature…naturally!
