This is a collection of articles dealing with organic gardening, ecology, environmental restoration, news items of interest, travel and just about anything else I find of interest and willing to share with others around the globe. - ENJOY!
On that note regarding nature, first of all you need to know that for successful detailed observation of Nature it does NOT require a Scientific Lens. You do NOT need to be Credentialed. You do NOT need Alphabet Soup Intitials behind your name on some business card. Same thing when it comes to making judgements about people, you don't need to be a psychologist. The old saying, "Don't judge a book by it's cover," is a metaphorical phrase that means one shouldn't prejudge the worth or value of something (or persons) by its outward appearance alone. In other words people will often not take the time to open a book to find out it's true contents if the cover & title do not have that eye candy appeal. Humans have done this for centuries and the result has brought us our present world of disunity & intense hatred which has further resulted unintended consequences of our present planet's degraded natural world. Yup, we are at a crossroads of where our planet's natural world is collapsing at an ever increasing rate because living things are being judged for the same reasons that people throughout history judged by other people from the very beginning. As imperfect human beings we all do it. We can't help it. We're predominantly visual creatures. Much like the advertisement on any product's wrapper in which consumables are packaged, this appeal to the eye not only powerfully affects what interests us, but also how we react when we open and view the contents we find inside. Scary isn't it ? 😟
Here's where often Nature falls Flat in the Eye Candy Appeal Department
Years ago in the early 1970s while in High School, I became intrigued with how various plant ecosystems functioned aside from all those narratives stated in all the science-based textbooks in my Ornamental Horticulture class. What I noticed was that people basically chose plants based on looks, colour, fragrance, food source, money making ventures, etc. Still there were 1000s of others out there that I reasoned must serve some type of useful function & purpose within the environment. Below here I stumbled upon a list somebody jotted down about important qualities for people to cultivate which they considered necessary for getting at the truth about how the natural world really works. Mainly it takes a lot of patience and careful observation in arriving at the truth which may even may lead one to alter their previous worldview on matters regarding Nature.
Illustration - Keri Smith
The one thing you have to appreciate is that Nature has basically been successful for countless 10s of 1000s of years, long before the 1950s Green Revolution where scientists insisted mankind could be saved from itself if they only gave unquestioning obedience and allegience to the prevailing Scientific Orthodoxy. Most of my Agricultural & Ornamental Horticultual textbooks back in the early 1970s were heavily influenced and inspired by the well known agro-chemical 1950s green revolution introduced by the former industrial munitions manufacturing corporate giants of World War II (both Allies & Axis Powers), now using those same bomb making chemicals for peace time agricultural business interests who claimed they only wanted to feed the world. Think I'm kidding ??? Look at this memory lane video from this 1977 Chevron commercial where they reminded us of just how harsh and unforgiving nature really was and without the help if industrial science to save us from an unforgiving planet, we had no chance.
Most of that technology was based on gross ignorance of how Nature actually works out in the wild. Pause and consider, for countless 10s of 1000s of years our planet's natural world operated like a well oiled finely tuned machine. What happened later was a little thing called human ignorance & arrogance (you can also throw in greed). Amazingly what Chevron did was use a soft warm reassuring voice of a well known actor & voice-over artist named, Mason Adams. You may remember Mason Adams was the Character Actor that starred on the TV Show "Lou Grant'. He was also the famous voice of those Smuckers Jams and Jelly TV commercials. Remember, "With a name like Smuckers, it has to taste good" ??? And people believed it and responded by throwing their hard earned money at what was advertised. He was also the famous voice behind that 73 AMC Matador Dealer Film or 64 Buick Wildcat Commercial. Indeed, so comfortable and reassuring was Mason Adams' voice, that back in the 1950s/60s that same warm Mason Adams' voice could get you to believe that Chesterfield Cigarettes were good for you and millions followed that lead much to the unintended consequences of bad health and early death. It's all marketing folks and Science has been good at marketing junk for decades and now we have Climate Change as a result. Most of the green people won't admit that of course, but it's true. Bad Science led us all here. Let's fast forward and visit another subject known as "Plant Blindness."
Back in September of 2018 of last year, the Memoria Press published an article by Martin Cothran dealing with the subject of plant blindness. The article was interesting in that it revealed far too many college students taking plant science courses are incapable of actual identification of plants (trees, shrubs, etc). But instead these students are studying plants from a commercialized applications perspective. Nobody, really seems interested in the plants and how they function and what purpose they serve within any ecosystem anymore. Like the illustration on the right, today's average student has those racehorse blinkers on which prevent them from having a peripheral view. One of the best quotes in that article was this one below:
"Not only are there fewer university botany programs, but those who graduate from them may not be well versed in plant identification. The cutting edge of plant science, which has commercial applications, is molecular. Students and universities are following the significant money."
One of the most demonized Chaparral Plants in California - Chamise (Adenostoma fasticulatum)
Photo - Gabi McLean (Eaton Canyon)
In the historic past, many ancient peoples were very familiar with a great variety of plants. Many Native Americans for example well knew which plants they could derive potions, pultices, and/or poisons, and eventually most European would have learned and recognised these same plants for food, medicine, etc. By comparison, research has shown that most modern day people can’t even name more than a few wild flowers. This is sad because it means people no longer take the time and patience to find out what good and beneficial qualities many plants serve either for us or their value and purpose within any ecosystem. Of course there’s a name which has been created for this inability to notice or recognise plants in one’s own environment, it's called “plant blindness.” Most of Earth's population resides in major large cities and urban centers, so generally speaking most city dwellers over time have been separated from nature. So there is very strong disconnect between humans and the environment, and we’re basically blind to the natural world around us. This is further exacerbated by the fact that humans spend less time outdoors in favour of their addiction to electronic devices.
Fathers are supposed to take the lead
Without giving a long list of the so-called ugly plant examples where people have judged certain plants worthless based solely on outward appearances, let's just take one classic example from California where I am from, Adenostoma fasciculatum (Chamise or Greasewood). This plant is often admittedly rugged and rangy looking, hence not even on a choice list of garden ornamentals. The second common name given to this plant, "Greasewood," is meant as a derogatory term describing it's explosive flare up in the event of wildfires because of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) present within it's woody stems. Of course what many people forget is that most all plants do burn ferociously under the right insanely windy weather conditions. Look at the tropical Amazon rainforests. Who would have thought wet humid tropical plants would easily go up in smoke so ferociously ??? Many also consider Chamise to be competitive towards other more desirable plants even considering it invasive in it's own native habitat, often because it dominates the wild landscape where it is native. In other words none of the desirable plants can get a foothold because of Greasewood's presence. This is totally false of course and I have my own personal experience with the plant to testify to that.
Image - Mine 2015
First, from a purely observational viewpoint, I've seen California Holly, Parry Pinyon, Coulter & Jeffrey Pines including both Cuyamaca & Tecate Cypress on steep southern slope exposures in direct sunlight exposure thrive where the plant community is dominated by Chamise. I found that curious and odd decades ago when I first noticed this in the San Jacinto Mountains above Palm Springs, California, because I also at one time viewed Chamise as an aggressor. But apparently it's not an aggressor as much as a facilitator of other plants ability to survive. One other remarkable thing about Chamise is that it will grow where most other plants will not. It has an incredibly deep root system (several meters deep). This is important for erosion control. Chamise's deep root systems will penetrate fractured rock and facilitate hydraulic life & redistristribution of water to other plants during the summer hot months and pump excess water into subsoils during the rainy season to be used later and shared with other plants if conditions are right. AND during acceptionally wet period events, this normally Endo-Mycorhizal host plant will become Ecto-Mycorrhizal by sending out chemical messages through it's root exudates to alert ectomycorrhizal fungi to colonize it's roots which will in turn help all oak and pine seedlings to pioneer and colonize into chaparral plant communities where they did not exist previously. The seeds themselves being incredibly heavy were placed there by the common ScrubJay. Same with it's relative the Redshank or Ribbonwood (Adenostoma sparsifolium) chaparral shrub. Major changes in one's worldview is drastically needed here.
A little thing called "Plant Blindness" all begins with Man's judgement of fellow Man
The majority of mankind are traveling on a broad and spaceous motorway where fast paced lifestyle, impatience and lack of being content dominate. Like literal motorways or freeways, these expressways were purposefully created to replace what was viewed as slow, outdated & old fashioned. Yet the old curvey and twisting two lane highway never offended the land. Rather they moved with the landscape, around obstacles rather than blasting through them. Yes, it was slower and took more time, but you got more out of the travel through adventure. Mankind in general needs to slow waaaay down and ditch the broad and spaceous Motorway and opt for the narrow and curving cramped one. We hear today about all these paradigm shifts and progressive movements, but in actuality these are nothing more than the same old recycling of failed ideas dressed up to look enlightened and sophisticated. Our world continues on a sharp decline. Getting back to that laundry list above on how to be a better explorer, let's just look at that first jotted down point.
#1 Always be looking (notice the ground beneath your feet)
Photo is mine from 2013 (south of Julian, CA)
I love this first suggestion of always be looking at the ground beneath your feet as you walk or hike. It took some years before I really started doing this more and more. A lot of that habit came from slowing down, observing and later doing more research about things that interested me. The photo above is of a Pisolithus tinctorius truffle or mushroom I saw on a small game trail in the Chaparral brush habitat off Hwy 79 south of the town of Julian at the Desert Viewpoint Overlook. Had I not slowed down decades ago and taken time to gain experience and do research, the intuitiveness to spot what was hidden in plain sight, this truffle would have gone unnoticed. Like the average person on a hike, I probably would have passed over this truffle thinking it was nothing more than another stone. But lo & behold I was able collect a large sack of dried curred PT Mycorrhizal truffles whose chocolate spore powder I would use for injection into my landscape on host trees back down in El Cajon. Below here in the 2nd photo of the same truffle, but I've cleared away the debris from the truffle to reveal it's true nature in the second photograph as compared to image above where it's almost camoflaged.
Photo is mine from 2013 (south of Julian, CA)
image - Wikipedia
It took me a long time to develop deep appreciation for what some call the Dog Turd Fungus (Pisolithus tinctorius) you see above. I mean it's not the most photogenic of Mushrooms or truffles. Not as popular as the Christmas mushroom icon & Mario Bros Game energy mushroom known as Amanita muscaria or more commonly known as the fly agaric or fly amanita pictured to the right. This popular forest mushroom is known for it's distinctive eye candy appearance, known for bright bright red (sometimes bright yellow) with white spots, and for their hallucinogenic properties. Here in Sandinavia where I now live, the Saami & Siberian Shamans originally dressed up in Santa Claus type outfits & used this drug trip inducing mushroom to get in touch with the spirit world. Hence the reason for so many ancient myths continuing to live on.
But getting back to the uglier Pisolithus tinctorius truffle, it too has some remarkable qualities. Although not being as pretty as other mushrooms, it has amazing purpose and function in forested ecosystems where they are found. In the High Desert Mountain ranges and Chaparral plant communities of California where I come from, a healthy plant community and forested ecosystem thrives where these fungi are present. Why ???
Image - UGA Pecan Extension (Lenny Wells)
Image - Mike's Fab Shop
Shouldn't take a genius to see the advantages of a symbiotic fungi colonized on the root system of a specific host. PT Mycorrhizae will increase water and nutrient uptake for it's host tree by anywhere from 200% to 1000% depending on the health of the system. Of course in turn the tree feeds if sugars manufactured through photosynthesis. I've provided in the past when writing about this very subject with an illustration of the performance enhancing qualities of exhaust headers on a 1960s muscle car compared to the plain old stock factory exhaust system. Take the example of exhaust headers on this racing dragster in the photo on the right. They eliminate backpressure and increase horsepower with the industry’s finest selection of air-pushing, muscle-pumping performance exhaust headers compared to common factory showroom stock engine exhaust system. That's what the lowly Dog Turd fungus does for a Pine, Oak, Cottonwood, Eucalyptus or Pecan tree. Like our own gut bacteria, they can process and refine mineral nutrients from the surrounding soil which are locked up in a physical form not available to a tree on it's own. They can also send chemical messages into the tree to boost the immune system. I save money when installing an urban landscape or in habitat restoration by rejecting science-based synthetic chemicals for this natural option which has worked for countless 1000s of years. This is the same PT Mycorrhize I mentioned above which will colonize Chamise roots in exceptionally wet periods allowing forest trees to increase by pioneering into dense chaparral cover. When the fungal grid is present and pine nut or oak acorn germinates, it's taproot will immediately connect to the fungal grid establishing the trees and eventually replacing the chaparral 100s of years later. This understanding did not come over night and it certainly was not enhanced by the truffle's rather drab appearance. But seriously, if you saw at first glance this basket of Pisolithus tinctorius (dog turd) truffles, what would be your first impression minus all the knowledge we now possess as to their real worth ??? 😐
Pisolithus tinctorius photo by Tanya Riedel
Without all that knowledge of all these trees, shrubs and fungi you lose so much value for practical application in restoration work, landscape installation, etc. What is even more amazing is that even the credentialed people who champion the cause for Chaparral plant ecosystems don't even discuss this phenomena. Mainly it's mostly politics which offers no value in understanding our natural world. And yet researchers have written about it for decades, but to be fair, most environmental organizations push politics over education and that too is killing this planet. This very same thing works when it comes to judging people for their real worth by taking time and getting to know them, irrespective of their race, colour, ethicity, tribe, clan, culture, language, economic social background, etc.
Let's take some simple Illustrations from Familiar Situations that can actually Teach
Image - Pebble Shore Lake, Glacier National Park, Montana
Think back when you were a kid out on a camping trip or on a day picnic outing with family and friends along a lake or seashore. What was it that motivated you to chose the rocks you collected ? Was it the rock's colour, shape, size or pattern ? 😍 Whatever it was, it start with the natural eye candy visual of outward appearance. And as in the case of the photo above, there are so many options to choose from.
Image - The Rock Shed
But what about these stones in the photo above ??? Based on outward appearance, would any of you chosen any of these ??? You and I both know almost no one would ever collect such rocks when out on a hiking adventure, unless of course they had acquired knowledge of the true value of such rocks. And right there is the biggest problem. Actually taking the time and effort needed in getting to know the truth about any subject is looked upon as laborious and boring.
Animation - WikiHow
These rocks of course are called Geodes. Here is the Wikipedia explanation of what Geodes are.
"Geodes (derived from the Greek word "γεώδης" meaning "Earth like") are geological secondary formation within sedimentary and volcanic rocks. Geodes are hollow, vaguely circular rocks, in which masses of mineral matter (which may include crystals) are secluded."
Since I come from the desert (volcanic) regions of the Southwestern USA, I learned about Geodes and hunted for them since I was a kid in the middle 1960s. That's because somebody older took the patience and time to teach my friends and I such things. I am very familiar with many different types, but only because I learned from someone else who was experienced and taught me about them. Of course when it comes to collecting nothing is certain, so you need to be patient by taking a rock hammer and chisel or rock saw and very carefully opening and looking inside to reveal the true contents of the rock or stone.
Image - kabeeragate.com
So what is inside ? Could be a number of beautiful colours and patterns. Every geode is unique and different. Many are hollow while others solid. But in most cases beautiful patterns and colours emerge. Hollow geodes have various beautiful crystal formations known as Amethyst. You may even recognize many of these types of rocks from your past when you saw beautiful bookends on someone's bookshelf, although you may not have known at that time they were called geodes or where they came from.
Photo - Marie Douce
The whole point of this post is to illustrate how all things can have real value and worth though not immediately revealed by it's outward appearance. Mankind's mistreatment of each other has also been a reflection on why they fail miserably to hold value on all things in the wild. Many things in Nature have suffered because they were not immediately eye pleasing or perhaps no monetary value could be found in them, hence this is where biodiversity suffers and monocultures are desired. The effects on the planet have been devestating as a result. So who's responsible for a young person's appreciation of nature and fellow human beings ??? Environmentalists ??? Social Justice Warriors ??? Churches ??? Government or Public Schools ???
It's a Parent's responsibility to instill appreciation for Nature at an early age. Not the State's, not the Public School's, not some militant non-profit radical environmentalist group. It's all on Parents.
Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew (Credit: Getty)
It is important to get children involved with plants early, such as on nature walks, like the one shown here at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew in the United Kingdom. There is a biblical example which illustrates this beautifully. You don't have to believe in the bible to get the point here. The nation of Israel wanted a King so that they could be like all the other nations around them. They in effect wanted to reject theocracy (God rule) in favour of democracy or human rule. The almost impossible task of choosing was given to the Prophet Samuel. Notice how that went at 1 Samuel 16:6-7:
6 As they came in and he saw E·liʹab, he said: “Surely here before Jehovah stands his anointed one.” 7 But Jehovah said to Samuel: “Do not pay attention to his appearance and how tall he is, for I have rejected him. For the way man sees is not the way God sees, because mere man sees what appears to the eyes, but Jehovah sees into the heart.”
Humans of course do not possess supernatural abilities when it comes to sizing up another person and determining who and what they are as far as worth as to character. We have to work harder at that, but that's the point, it takes time and energy on our part to get to know what qualities another person posesses as to their true value and worth or whether association with them should be rejected altogether. Ponder over this info the next time you make a judgement call towards another human being or something else out there in the natural world. 😉
June 10, 2016 by Paso Robles Daily News Editor Skye Ravy
The heated controversy over a vineyard-development project in California's Paso Robles region has taken a interesting twist now that the owners of Justin Vineyards and Winery issued an apology statement for cutting an estimated 100 acres of oak trees and promising to donate the 380-acre property to a nonprofit conservation organization and plant 5,000 new oaks on their other area properties. See Here >> (Justin Vineyards apologizes and donates Land
When this story first broke, environmental organizations and ecology groups across California immediately jumped on the corporation hate bandwagon denouncing the Vineyards expansion. I do understand the passion and upset of another part of the natural world being dismembered. But not one of the groups made any attempts to find a solution for a fix and repair of the damage done, other than the usual call for lawsuits, legal penalty action and punitive punishment, etc. Calls also went out for major boycotts of all products produced by the Billionaire husband and wife owners of the Wonderful Company who had their life history trashed all over the internet as greedy so and sos. But again not a single group offered solutions for a correction. This is common with the environmental groups these days. Most people claiming to support an ecological movement do so mainly by joining an online Social Media Network page where actual participation is a mere clicking of a "LIKE" post, providing verbal vitriol in the comments sections, signing an online petitions, etc. I find very few actually get themselves outdoors, study nature, involve themselves in habitat restoration, etc. There are many who do this, but the majority don't.
OK enough of the negative, now what positive corrections can be done. The main worry I saw with people calling for a halt to the work being done was that if they were completely successful in stopping the project, the next rainy season could have created terrible erorsion problems on the area in question. Fortunately that has not happened.
Photo Image by Craig Heaton
Some good news from the same source referenced above here, they said that San Luis Obispo County won’t pursue code enforcement action due to the donation of property to a conservancy and land remediation.
"The county is already working with Justin to address potential erosion and runoff issues caused by any grading violations, Bergman said. The company will need additional permits to begin remediation, and Bergman said county officials will work with Justin to quickly develop and implement plans."
Some of the concern came from the removal of vegetation on extreme steep slopes. That also concerns me, but what's interesting is that steep slope vineyards & farming in general are nothing new and have been done all over the world for centuries without problems. However, those farmers and terrace builders actually took the time, patience and effort to create a solid terraced infrastructure system that was practically meant to last forever. Of course this was done by hand and without the fast convenience of modern day mechanized equipment. The people then took their time and were very skilled at what they did. As an example, the Rhineland area of Germany is well known for it's steep slope vineyards, but no one complains about those. Take for example the beautifully designed infrastructure of these steep hillside vineyards along the Ahr Valley below. Notice the rock and stone work ?
Image - Romantic Germany Rhineland Palatinate A well-terraced steep hillside landscape in the Ahr Valley of Germany.
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For a change, what we offer as advice to Justin Vineyards in replacing the Oaks, planting new Grape Vineyards and dealing with the present water crisis issues ?
As I've written previously, there are clearly more eco-friendly ways of doing things, but most modern day folks need to be deprogrammed and re-educated as to how this should be done. We all went to conventional institutions of learning and were taught at the time the conventional science-based industrial methods of quickly acquiring a profit with minimum amount of input. We were all taught this was just good business sense and modern scientific innovation was going to help us accomplish this goal. Except this same science has brought us the ruined natural world & climate disruptions we all experience today and hardly anyone is pointing this out with the exception of a handful of science researchers and other dedicated people who understand the real issues.
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Oak Habitat Restoration
Image - Groasis.com
Since the Oak Tree removal was the main point of protest, it's only logical and fair to begin here. One of the more fascinating things I've found recently with the planting innovation referenced in the above photograph is that California Native Plants establishment can be incredibly easy. I first noticed in Southern California how and under what conditions most all types of native plant communities expand and/or restore themselves to be mainly during extreme wet weather events like an El Nino. My very first observation was the wetter periods between the years 1978-1983. I wrote about Bajadas and the extreme flooding events which allowed massive saturation over entire alluvial fans. One such Bajada was just northwest of the city of San Jacinto California where Portrero Creek drainage from Beaumont and points north from the San Bernardino Mountains runs through a narrow slit in the foothills of the lower San Bernardino Mountains and striaght into the San Jacinto River. This is easily seen from Hwy 79 & Gilman Springs Rd. My original curiosity for some years prior to this El Nino wet period was how do single or grouped California Sycamores & various Oaks over in and around the city of San Bernardino in those large large boulder strewn flood plains towards the north & west towards L.A. which drain from the Angeles National Forest, how do such huge trees manage to establish themselves and thrive when first hand observation reveals they were never even remotely close to any permanent running streams or other water sources ? In the western United States, where such streams do not exist, such trees need a good permanent water source to emerge and maintain themselves during the hot dry summers. It was the 1983 Flood in San Jacinto Valley where I saw first hand how massive amounts of Cottonwoods, Sycamores, Willows, etc established themselves. Years after that only the strongest survived down to the present. But I found this also to be true of other type of plant community ecosystems like forest tree movement intrusion into the Chaparral Plant community where Oaks and Pines utilized Chamise and other chaparral plants as Nurse companions via the planting by ScrubJays. The Groasis Waterboxx as far as I have carefully observed and researched replicates this perfectly. I've provided some links and videos done by Ranchers and University eXtensions in establishing various species of Oaks, Elderberry and other California native plants within the same central California region where Justin Vineyard & Winery is located The only other extremely important thing to do besides the planting with these devices is inoculating the Oak seedlings at time of planting with Ecto-Mycorrhizal Fungi and it's imperative that Pisolithus tinctorius be the specific fungi choice utilized.
Green news from the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Other References - Oaks planted using Groasis Waterboxx
Oak tree planting using the Groasis Waterboxx in California
UCCE studies a Dutch invention for regenerating trees and shrubs on oak woodland
Image - Hunter Industries
Once the Oak tree seedlings are planted and established, a simple deep pipe irrigation system (preferrably installed within the target area ahead of Oak seedling planting), should be periodically turned on in order to counter the negative effects of an unreliable hydrological cycling thanks to climate change. The rules have changed now and mankind is responsible for that change. Again, small seedlings should ONLY be used for successful deep root development. I don't care about five gallon six+ foot tall specimens which are often recruited as some type of 'eye candy' to appease the rabin activist protestors. Do it correctly the first time around and it will save you money. Also the re-established Oak woodland ecosystems will develop much better in succession with other chaparral plants like California Coffeeberry, California Holly (Toyon), Manzanita, etc which should be used as companion plants for faster ecosystem establishment and long term ecosystem health. You simply cannot just plant oak trees the conventional way all by themselves. They do better with nurse companions and that is what biomimetics is all about.
Image taken from pinterest.com
Natural Companion Plants - Oaks & California Coffeeberry
I'll offer further input on the why of deep pipe irrigation below. But Justin Vineyards, please take note of the natural companion relationship above and I'll explain the reason why below. Replanting oak trees to satisfy an offical legal agreement and damage control is not enough. You have to do it right and do it smart. It is good business sense and aesthetically more pleasing. An important note here. If you fail to inoculate with the proper mycorrhizal species mix, your Oak restoration project will fail or at best be many years delayed.
The example photo above is of the groasis waterboxx is being done to reintroduce newer vines as replacements for those that have died or were found unproductive. The process here will establish vines very quickly as opposed to the old conventional methods and provide a deeper root infrastructure which will greatly aid in survival with very little water needed.
Image - DewHarvest.com
I love the Canary Islands because it feels so much like home. The islands are very much involved in the vineyards and wine making business. We've even gone on some wine tasting tours there. Below is an example of dryland vineyards on the volcanic desert island Vineyards of Lanzarote. This region hardy gets any rain, yet look at the results. It's not about irrigation, it's about planting techniques and training these grapevine roots to grow deeper. It's not the subsoil moisture, but rather the capillary action movement of water within the soil which hydrates plants.
The Volcanic Desert Vineyards of Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain
Reference Links and Videos for Establishing Vineyards
The vines were planted beginning of July 2010, the film was end of October 2010 at Will Bucklin's "Old Hill Ranch." Incredible root development on these grapevines growing straight downwards in that short period of time of only four months. Here is the video link:
How does this system save Water ? How does this deeper root development where hydration takes place in subsoil layers as opposed to Drip Irrigation ?
Illustration - Wikimedia - (2006)
I really dislike the illutrative layout above of a sophisticated $-expensive-$ drip irrigation system. While I understand it does save water as opposed to conventional flood irrigation and sprinkler irrigation as practiced in the central valley mega-vineyards, this should not be attempted in Paso Robles. The photo to the right is a simple animation of a deep pipe irrigation, though primitive and simple, even a child gets this. The main problem I have with drip is constant ongoing checking and maintenance. Plus, valuable water on the surface of the soil still heats up and evaporates. Water on the surface also encourages annual weeds (ruderals) which compete for both water and nutrients. There is also the problem of wild animals desperate in these drought years destroying drip system componants looking for water. It's not their fault as they as desperate for survival and act on instinct. While the illustration above shows a simplified garden version of a hand watering practice, below here is another illustration which shows a concept created by irrigation manufacturer Hunter Industries who has developed a deep pipe root irrigation system which I have a feeling many have not taken much advantage of as yet. Mostly because they do not understand the basic fundamentals and principles of how most whole plant ecosystems work, function and operate. The fact is every single agricultural enterprise should be replicated with these very native plant root infrastructures in mind.
Here on the left is Hunter's complete design concept with PCV pipe junctional fittings, branch pipe sections with goose neck design, internal bubbler fittings, etc, etc, etc. Frankly the design is great with the exception that I would prefer a solid pipe as a sleeve which would not have the various holes spaced all the way down the pipe and be perhaps a meter in length where medium sized crushed gravel were used at the bottom of the hole to aid in percolation. The solid sides would also not allow fine sand or silt to infiltrate as would a mesh type design. I understand the idea of water percolating from top to bottom, but truthfully you only need water at the very bottom a meter down. The plants through the phenomena of hydraulic life & redistribution will supply the deeper available stored water to move upwards through their root systems into the mcorrhizal fungal network which in turn are connected to other vines or perennial plants in a mutual cooperation interface. All of this is programmed and encoded within the informational content of all these living organism's DNA. Up until now this has all been ignored by the industrial science business models which have made an obscene profit off keeping the status quo. To this very day they continue to fight against this type of research. Anything Justin Vineyards & Winery can do to keep their vines well balanced and the fruiting zone aerated with dappled sunlight will also help the grapevine's internal pest-management mechanisms to be firing on all pistons. Grapevines that are excessively vigorous (excessive water and nitrogen by conventional means) are likely to be more attractive to leaf hoppers, powdery mildew and bunch rot. No chemicals necessary here, it's all about getting deprogrammed and re-educated. The money savings from not purchasing ANY synthetic chemical inputs will also be money in your pockets. Take a close look at the picture below and meditate on it's true meaning. Most wineries understand this. Less water is most often better.
Image - WineFolly.com High skin ratio grapes produce wines with more concentration
“we started to reduce the use of water in the vineyard [and] we got to amazing results. 1.) The vine can live with less water of what most of the people think, 2.) when you used less water, the size of the cluster and berries decrease, so finally you get more concentration and equilibrium in your wines.”
The wine industry's more quality conscious growers are not necessarily interested in the mega-quantity volume producing yields like those of a Boone's Farm or a Gallo jug wine business model, but rather a quality grape which will produce more flavour. Huge grape clusters with bulging grape diameters are not necessarily what they want as the image above from Wine Folly illustrates. So a vineyard can actually do better on less water and produce a finer wine quality grape. One thing I always found interesting about some of those old historical grape growing photographs like the one to the right which shows a man at a roadside stand selling those large heavy clusters of grapes in early 1900s El Cajon Valley California where I grew up, they actually did this without much irrigation at all if any. They mostly dryland farmed as you can see here in the other historical photograph below. Many people have no clue as to how grapes were grown in the early days of California agricultural enterprises early on. Most grape vineyards were dryland farms and most older folks have probably even forgotten that. Growing up in El Cajon Valley in the early 1960s, there were still several huge tracts of land where free standing grape vines existed, produced vines and grapes although the land had been long abandoned and sold off by previous owners to speculative land developers. Areas east of Los Angeles Like Ontario, Fontana, etc were almost entirely free standing dryland famed vineyards with deeply rooted grapevines. These continued to produce leaves and grapes long after the land was sold and vacated to land developers.
El Cajon California was once 48,000+ acres of Agriculture. Most of that was free standing grape Vineyard dryland farming
There was an Aqueduct flume which was built to bring irrigation water from the Cuyamaca Mountains in the east to El Cajon Valley's citrus orchards which were also plentiful. But I doubt there was enough water for the 1000s upon 1000s of acres of vineyards. Today in many parts of the globe like Spain, they also dryland farm vineyards like the one in the photograph below. What is interesting about El Cajon Valley is that even to this day the water table is extremely high. Water can be hit 10' below the surface. Water was present at 10' when they test drilled at El Cajon Valley High School in the early 1970s prior to building the commercial pool and there was also some test drilling miles north of the school for water contamination studies in the early 2000s at my former place of employment as a landscaper between Bradly Avenue and Greenfield Drive where water was also hit at the 10' (little over 3 meters) below ground level. These vines are capable of reaching and utilizing water at those depths if trained properly in the begining. But again, even if they do not hit the water table, it's the soil's capillary action which moves moisture upwards which hydrate plants.
Real World Sustainability without Insecticides, Herbicides, Fungicides and Sythetic Fertilizers & going full blown "Organic" ???
What's the difference between organic and inorganic wines ? In a nut shell, organic means to limit the human intervention during the vineyard farming and wine production process. The 'organic' label philosophy starts in the actual Vineyards where zero to very limited use of chemicals such as pesticides or fertilizers are allowed to be used for the vineyard management processes. During the wine production process, the organic wine makers usually will not allow or will use only a very limited quantity of synthetic componants for the fermenting, bottling or cellaring choices. Organic wines usually have more characters, reflect better the terroir [environmental cues such as soil & climate - loosely translated epigenetics] and they are unique to other batches of wines in terms of vintages, origins, winemaking methods, aging techniques, etc. If Justin Vineyards & Winery want to create an image make over, then organic is the way to go. Over here in Europe, my wife and I always purchase an organically produced wine and I can tell you the popularity is growing. It does matter if it costs a little more. The actual price is actually not that much more expensive. But it's what we choose.
Image - Pinterify.org
Image - mycoapplycertified.com
The idea behind companion planting here with regards numerous perennials and mycorrhizal annuals is not only to attract pollinators, but also mycorrhizal associations on grape vine rootsystems which will tap into the nitrogen fixing micro-organisms, but also mycorrhizal fungi's ability of mining the soils for nutrients which they accomplish very efficiently. They can increase a plant's nutrient and water uptake by anywhere from 200% to 800% depending on the species and soil conditions. I'll post some other links in references below this section. I'm seeing more and more vineyards incorporating numerous flowering perenials into their vineyard systems and it's not only smart, it's beautifully attractive as a whole. But there is more to this infrastructure. Aside from mycorrhizal fungi colonizing and creating a strong interface between these other plants and the grape vines, they also attract the beneficial pollinators who are also pest predators.
Image - Hydroponics Online Earth's Natuural Pest Control
Image - Wikipedia
A huge part of being an organically run vineyard is NOT using ANY synthetic or Organic chemical sprays in preventing pests from decimating your vines. Did you all pay attention to where I stated even "organic" sprays ? Technically the official organic verification gang allows such chemicals if they are considered to be "100% Natural." But that wouldn't exactly biomimic how the natural world works when keeping balance within any ecosystem. See this small pic of a parasitic wasp ? This is an Aleiodes indiscretus wasp parasitizing gypsy moth caterpillar. Many Vineyards in California and other parts of the world are purposely planting many pollinator attracting plants for the purpose of attracting these little (almost invisible) insectt helpers. These predatary insects do not feed on the pests they hunt and kill, but their larva do. The adults however do need pollen and nectar to keep themselves healthy and functioning. That's why the flowering perenials, annuals and native chaparral shrubs are so important. The conventional Industrial Agricultural practice is to sterilize the ground of all farms. Seriously look at any farm and the only plants are those crops on industrial medical lifesupport. And it costs large amounts of money to keep that type of a system going aisde from the negative side effects to the environment. Let's consider the importance of a few beneficial chaparral shrubs that most folks have never considered.
Image - Las Pilitas Nursery (Bert Wilson)
Image - MotherNatureBackyard
This picture above is California Coffeeberry. In a way, it does look a bit like a photo of a coffee tree with green foliage and different coloured berries. But aside frombeing very ornamental and attractive, it's value is in it being one of the earliest bloomers (March) for a chaparral native. Unlike the other flowering plants we've seen in all the photographs in vineyards, this evergreen shrub has the most inconspicuous flowers you'll ever observe. But when it's dull olive yellow-green flowers do appear, what causes you to pause and take note is the loud humming coming from those shrubs. Every species of bee, wasp, fly, mosquito, beetle, gnat, etc, etc, etc are stumbling over each other on these flower clusters hoping to get a taste of whatever it is that is driving them nuts. On close inspection however, you will see tonnes of the smallest and tiniest predatory wasps who've never even imagined existed. When people in general follow the expert recommendations of using those conventional science-based synthetic sprays to kill the target pests, the chemical has no clue as to what the target is and obliterates almost everything else that is present. That's why our planet is in such a mess and why other more responsible science research is making folks take notice. Mainly because they are forced to now.
Image - Las Pilitas Nursery
Image - Eden by the Bay
The next bloomer is around the month of late May through most of June to July. The California Holly or Toyon is also a beautiful ornamental shrub which is evergreen, has large clusters of bright red berries in Fall through Winter which makes it also a nice addition for Justin Vineyards & Wines to incorporate within the native Oak tree plantings. You simply cannot plant these Oaks by themselves, you need to create a living mechanized biological infrastructure all working in mutual cooperation with one another. But knowing various plants, their blooming schedule and great companion plant abilities, not to mention the wildlife food sources which will help distract them from your grapes will be a plus. But there are other chaparral plants that don't bloom till July/August like Redshank or Ribbonwood. There are also some ornamental native Mediterranean plants which actually fit like a glove in a vineyard theme.
Image - Saint Castor Estate
Image - Ale Etiquetas
This one is a perfect match for the vineyards and general landscape around the buildings. There are so many types and varieties of Lavenders. They can bloom from Spring to Fall. Many of them also do very well here in Sweden which is something I never thought I'd see because of the damp cold. But they also thrive well in hot Summertime heat. I once saw a documentary on one Southern California News station where the reporter was interviewing a Northern California Vineyard grower. He incorporated lots of Lavender around his vineyards just because of their long blooming ability which attracted all sorts of beneficial predatory wasps which required the nectar as a food source. The man said his operation no longer used insecticides, but they still used fungiicdes for things like powdery mildew on grape leaves. However, some mycorrhizal fungi present in some of the micro-organisms blends out there add a couple of species of fungi, Trichoderma virens and Trichoderma harzianum, into the mix as they have the ability send a chemical message up into their plant host through the roots they colonize which flips an epigenetic switch to turn on and kickstart the grapewine's immune system. This wards off the mildew problems rendering fungicides useless. I'll post a link below. Many large industrial agricultural operations in the Central & San Joaquin Vallets are planting Chaparral hedges and Mounds bordering their fields so as not to have to use insecticides. Believe it or not, good science is being revealed despite the propaganda attempts by the agro-chemical industry that the world's farmers cannot live without them. Now for one of the best resources available for native plants and extremely close to Justin Vineyards.
Image - Bert Wilson
Las Pilitas California Native Plant Nursery Salvia Celestial Blue with masses of purple flowers
Great Local Native Plant Resource for Justin Vineyards & Winery & everyone else
Image - Taylor Vineyards and the Duro Valley Portugal
The photograph above points out the direction Justin Vineyards should go. They've certainly got the capital and resources available to them. The course here now is literal soil damage control and rebuilding a reputation. Heading in a eco-green organic and sustainable course is the way to go. They could show their neighbours how to proceed and I kid you not, the average small weekend ranchette landowner collectively do far worse than those large businesses put together. So even here Justin Vineyards could set a precedent and local example to be replicated by other vineyards. I like the arrangement of terrace size here in the photo which allows three or four grapevine rows on a terraced hillside. You could incorporate at the start of your vineyard project after terracing is completed & before planting, two or three rows of underground deep pipe irrigation network, only to be used after the biodegradable Groasis Waterboxx Cocoon has accomplished it's work of forcing the grapevine root systems to grow straight down deep into the subterranean soil layers. It does not matter that a deep pipe system which would place water into the soil two or three foot down, because the process of hydraulic life and redistribution will pull water towards the surface lateral roots, connecting the mycorrhizal fungi and reconnecting also with other vines and unrelated perennial plants as borders. This creates a mutually cooperative selfsustaining living system.
Image - Catacurian.com
Of course they could go the cheap route and save money by simple mechanical shaping and terracing, but for me there are drawbacks to this. First there is the small slopes which are still subject to possible future erosion and also weed control issues. All that costs maintenance money. A terraced rock wall system allows for more precious space to be utilized aside from providing less weed opportunities which offer an offensive spring boards for weed seeds to infect the vineyard system itself, further costs for herbicides and/or workers weed whacking them with a power trimmer. The photo above is from Spain. The Portugese company Taylor Vineyards on their website also have simple soil terraces without the rock walls and the offer advice on how the annual plants also provide a measure of pollinator attraction in the Springtime, but there are ways around that. Anyway here is Taylor Vineyards link to sustainable Viticulture:
As I explained above, Lavender is an excellent summer flowering shrub which not only attracts and sustains beneficial predatory pollinators, but adds an element of Mediterranean visual to the overall vineyard landscape theme. If the rock retaining walls were shorter in height and had a shorter slope behind and above them, then this area could be planted in two rows of Lavender. It would also create a weed barrier screen and fill in space where such companion planting would be a perfect fit. They could also be deep pipe irrigate here as well.
As I stated at the beginning, not one militant environmental activist organization offered any sustainable viable ecosolutions for Justin Winery to correct the mistakes made other than the usual activist vitriol, threats of lawsuits, online petition grand standing and product boycotts in hopes that the Wonderful Company would have all it's business ventures ruined and shutting their doors. This information I've provided can be used by anyone out there reading with an ecological passion for the natural world and growing things, not just the poeple from the Paso Robles winery. Hopefully something positive will be accomplished in Paso Robles without further negativity. Here is an excellent example of good results using mycorrhizal fungi
"When I visited the Rosella Winery in 2011, Sandi took me out to see her section of Zinfindel grapes. They had been struggling for years and the owners were considering tearing them out. I asked her to give MycoApply® a chance before starting over. Even though a surface soil application is not best for grapes I knew with time and with a couple applications the inoculum would work down into the rooting zone with the winter rains on this rocky soil. Here is her story."
Dr Mike Amaranthus
Below is a copy of the email letter Sandi Garoutte to Mike Amaranthus thanking him for the advice not to tear out their unproductive Zinfandel vineyards and give MycoApply a try. Here is what resulted below.
"Hello Dr. Mike,
Rosellas-Vineyard-Winery-Wine-Tasting-Sign Just wanted to follow up on our conversation regarding the application of Mycorrhizal Applications Mycorrhiza on our vineyard. If I misuse the application of the word, I do apologize. Mycorrhiza/Mycorrhizae/Mycorrhizal, it’s confusing!
We have a vineyard in Southern Oregon on the Missouri Flat Bench. I am aware that you have done extensive soil testing in this area. After showing you our Zinfandel, you thought that there was a hardpan layer preventing the vines from getting their roots deeper in the soils.
Due to the rocky soil and the fact that we Dry Farm, the Zinfandel, in particular, has always struggled. So we took your advise and applied the first Mycorrhizae to all the soils in 2012. Placing a tablespoon at the base of each plant and letting the Fall Rains wash it in to the roots. Then we applied the 2nd Mycorrhizae to the Zinfandel in Spring of 2014 and most recently the Spring of 2015 during the rains.
The upper block of Zinfandel is now on it’s 9th leaf. We noticed a marked change after the first application in 2012. The subsequent Spring of 2013, the vigor of the vines and the fruit set and were much improved. So we set out to apply again in the Spring of 2014. The vines did so well that in a heavy wind one entire row was blown over, trellis and all because it was so heavy with fruit!
Indeed, last year was a record year for growth the Zinfandel section of the vineyard, the rest of the vineyard has definitely benefitted, and most notably in the Zin. The girth of the trunks almost doubled. They went from 3″ to about 6″. We have again applied Mycorrhizae this Spring. We look forward to watching the vines continue to survive.
We are entering a palpable drought. It will affect us all. I am so amazed at the symbiosis of these tiny little creatures with the root systems of plants. I admire your knowledge and dedication to the production of this product. We look forward to using it through the years.
Kindly, Sandi Garoutte (The link to this letter on mycorrhizae.com is below)
The majority of mankind are traveling on a broad and spaceous motorway where fast paced lifestyle, impatience and lack of being content dominate. Like literal motorways or freeways, these expressways were purposefully created to replace what was viewed as slow, outdated & old fashioned. Yet the old curvey and twisting two lane highway never offended the land. Rather they moved with the landscape, around obstacles rather than blasting through them. Yes, it was slower and took more time, but you got more out of the travel through adventure. Mankind in general needs to slow waaaay down and ditch the broad and spaceous Motorway and opt for the narrow and curving cramped one. We hear today about all these paradigm shifts and progressive movements, but in actuality these are nothing more than the same old recycling of failed ideas dressed up to look enlightened and sophisticated. Our world continues on a sharp decline. Getting back to that laundry list above on how to be a better explorer, let's just look at that first jotted down point. 
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