More and more winemakers and processors are interested in biodynamic viticulture. The good results after using this method, both in relation to the vitalization of the silos and the quality of the vineyard, make the wine sector bet more and more on these practices.
The importance of observing and integrating herbs
Already in this blog I have talked about herbs, clarifying that they are not bad at all and how necessary they are in the fields of our farmers and winemakers. Today in this post I want to talk more in depth about the benefits of these plants in natural and organic agriculture to give them their fair value when we talk about healthy fields and vineyards. For some years, the first thing I do when visiting a plantation is to look at the ground, it is almost an obsession; whether it is a small organic garden or extensive vineyards, I ask and observe, and the farmers transfer their experience on these vivacious plants, called adventitious and badly called “weeds”. I wanted to know more about them and I spoke with Joan Salicrú, farmer and pioneer in Catalonia in practicing biodynamics and integrating these herbs into crops to get the most out of them. He is a very close person and shares his wisdom with everyone who goes through their lands in Vallgorguina, (from great chefs who work with natural products, to farmers and wine growers who want to learn how to revitalize their lands to people sensitive to this world).
In this talk that moved in today’s post, he explained, among other things, how with time and experience he learned to observe them, distinguish them and use them in their favor.
Why do you think they call them “weeds”? Who condemned them?
Man. When the green revolution or industrialized agriculture began, they were accused of numerous damages when cultivating, working the soil and harvesting the crops. Thanks to the injection of money from the industries themselves, it was as easy as implementing in the minds of farmers, whether by books, agricultural journals or subsidized courses, the conception that these herbs would attract pests, spoil their crops or simply “they would not give a good appearance to their fields”, which encouraged many farmers to declare war on these plants by the mere fact that they are a hindrance to personal interests and the progress of their fields and therefore their economy. All this to proliferate the interests of laboratories that invented endless products to exterminate them, making a big deal with all kinds of poisons and herbicides to exterminate them, and in the process seriously damaging the land, killing not only these plants, but also the microorganisms and all the life in her, these poisons last in the time and intoxicate the plantations leaving them dependent on toxic substances for years.
Do you think it is for this reason, why many of the winemakers that we visit with Vella Terra when they “restore a vineyard treated with chemicals” should wait for years until the land and plant regain their normal state and can respond normally with their forces to external attacks?
Exactly, crops must rest and detoxify to be able to live in freedom again.
So that of weeds is an invented tale of industrialized and intensive agriculture to indoctrinate the fields, leave them clean and easy to control, with chemistry, killing the character of the land, an expense for many farmers and a mistreatment of the true agriculture, that which is born of love and respect for the land…
Yes, unfortunately it is.
Are many winemakers visiting you? How do you teach them to observe their crops?
Yes, there are farmers, winegrowers and also restaurateurs but more and more people are curious and sensitive to this world who attend the workshops that I give on my farm in Vallgorguina. I teach them through Goethian observation, through which the person learns to create an Eco landscape: herbs and crops as a whole much needed on their farm.
Goethe was a German philosopher who discovered the morphology of plants depending on the movement of the planets, if we apply it to our crops we can know that spontaneous plants can be left around the fields to help us in controlling pests, we can also see how is the land, as we are, whenever the land is treated as a living being, because it is one of the basic principles of biodynamic agriculture.
What utilities do these plants have and for what?
As I said before, they help us create a vital Eco-landscape in our farms so that they function as a single living body and make them much more sustainable. One of the basic principles of natural agriculture or biodynamics is that all herbs are useful both in the crops, and near them and also in the form of infusions or as a mass of compost, mulch and mulch, as they are rich in chlorophyll , enzymes, amino acids, organic acids and mineral salts such as nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, zinc, etc.
Then, contrary to what they have tried to make us believe. Do the weeds, although we can call them dried herbs or wild and adventitious plants, are an ally in the crops for the respectful and connected with nature?
This i correct, there are countless benefits if you learn to know, you recognize to take advantage of them, many of these plants are medicinal and therapeutic, others edible and can be used in crops as fertilizer, you can easily make natural products with them; they are true allelopathic allies (property of a plant to have attractive, repellent, inhibitory or stimulating effects on other plants, insects, etc.) Also, the herbs are indicators of the habitat, the quality and structure of the cultivation soils where they grow. Its role is fundamental in favoring the expansion of the agrosystem and the development of soil biodiversity, increasing the number of microorganisms and insects that maintain the balance of wildlife and the biological control of pests. They slow down soil erosion and prevent compaction, contributing organic matter rich in nutrients. They can serve as mulch and cover crops. They are excellent extra additions that improve the quality of the compost).
From your experience, what is the best way to integrate them into crops and control them naturally?
Through Goethian observation. So we can use the potentials of these plants controlling their invasive effects and taking advantage of their presence in the following ways: little tillage combined with the use of quilts, which prevent them from taking up all the vital space. They are collected and piled fresh young and without flowers, elaborating with them bioferlilizantes or elaborated natural products with an immunostimulant and preventive, attractive or repellent effect. Taking advantage of the components released by both in the environment, arranging them for their allelopathic properties, and thus they themselves control each other. In this case also the crops keep them at bay.
Winegrowers are visiting you to learn about biodynamic and integrative agriculture? Do you see a significant change in the way other farmers think?
Yes, more and more, especially those who apply biodynamic preparations, the earth is vivified in such a way that new species emerge, and if they do not know how to observe them, they can not create an Eco landscape, so necessary for the proper functioning of their farm. The farmer’s mentality has changed a lot due to the crisis, because it is more important to cultivate vineyards in organic or biodynamic agriculture than by throwing pesticides and chemicals. Although this is the case, the change is welcome.
The ancient beekeepers say that “The flower of rosemary, of the bee is a healer” referring to the properties that these small and laborious insects see in this herb. What property do you highlight in the herbs?
Rue, for example, is very beneficial, so much so that in popular belief it is compared to the miracles of a virgin, affirming … “Whoever in his mountain does not take rude, the Virgin does not greet him”. The soil is measured by its herbs since ancient times, our ancestors were passing this popular wisdom and little by little it was diluted. All cultures and since ancient times already recognized and cataloged species indicating climate, environment and soil. In those times, there were no pesticide or herbicide poisons … everything was guided by a natural cycle; the green, the life, the moon, the tides. There are popular sayings and sayings throughout the world that warn when a piece of land is suitable or not for cultivation only mentioning the presence of these good herbs.
How would you diagnose the soil for its herbs?
I always diagnose them from the observation: the Capsala Bursa Pastoris and the Diplotaxis Erucoides indicate soils rich in phosphorus and potassium. La Hierbabuena (Mentha Arvensis) and the coltsfoot (Tussilago Fárfara) spread on soils with good water retention. Nettle (Urtica) is an indicator of fertile and nourished soils; although you can also tell us about excess manure.
Plantain, chamomiles and potentils reveal compact soils and clayey silt. Altema, sagebrush and centurae grow on soils high in potassium. Violets, salvias, purples and digitalis purpurea are found in soils with little lime. Veronicas, Ilex Aquifolium and Galeopsis indicate acid soils. The grasses, rushes, the Alquemilas, and the Equisetum are established in poor soils.
What are the herbs that you should not miss in a field?
Telling that they all serve for something, the ones I consider indispensable are: dandelion, Mazanilla, Yarrow, Valerian, Salvia Officinalis, Ulivarda, Pimpernel, Silene, Rue, Lavender officinalis, Calendula, Potentilla, Brambles, Rosemary, Mint, Veronicas, Nettle, Comfrey, Greater Plantain and Capuchin.
After this talk, this reflection arises in me:
“Life makes its way, whenever and wherever. Blessed is the farmer who knows how to guide and make good use of it. ”
Thanks Joan for the experience that today I can share with all of you.
If you want to learn more about the Goethian observation, Joan Salicrú will give a workshop on March 24 in the morning, and at 6 pm on the same day she will give a talk on “How a biodynamic garden is implanted”.
For more information you can check the website section of the course http://www.viverssalicru.cat/cursos.html
With the hope that after reading this article, when you see green and lively fields, you will emerge a smile full of hope.
