Drinking Wines

Biodynamics is the practice of gardening by directing earth energies and a growing trend in today’s finest vineyards. The practice was devised a century ago by Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner and is becoming the next big fad in viticulture.

Although the methods seem far from scientific, one can’t deny the results - biodynamic procedures are used in France’s most prestigious vineyards including Domaine Leflaive in Burgundy whose wines sells for around $1000 US a bottle.

Biodynamics, however wasn’t always for wine. Rudolf Steiner had developed the system for his own gardening pursuits. The most popular treatment seems to be a concoction called preparation 500.

In this practice, cow horns are hollowed and filled with cow manure. They are then buried, on the fall equinox, in places around the property where astral energy lines cross. On the spring equinox, they are dug up and the contents diluted in rainwater.

This mixture is then stirred, by hand, in alternate directions for an hour to dynamize it. Using only about a handful for every acre, the mixture is then watered down and sprayed on plants and the ground. Preparation 500 is believed to transfer the life giving force of the earth to the plants.

A little less romantic, and a little more sadistic is a recipe for biodynamic pesticide. You must first capture some offending insects and char them in a wood stove. Then, grind the charred remains in a mortar and pestle and sprinkle the ashes around the garden.

All of this must be done when the moon is in Scorpio. I hate to see any creature killed, but if it does work, I suppose it’s better than spraying the earth full of chemicals and killing them all anyway. What’s the life of a few to save the lives of many, maybe?

I have no personal experience with biodynamics and have no idea whether or not I should believe the claims. Mind you, the fall equinox is coming and my garden could always use a little help - anyone have a cow horn I could borrow?

Ivy Mills has been researching chemical sensitivity and natural alternatives for over five years and has brought her knowledge to the marketplace in her company, Valhalla Essences. Her personal experiences have fed a passion to help others with the same problem. Ivy welcomes others to share their stories and experiences on her blog, Peaceful Power.

As you work on perfecting your homemade wine, it is important to spend a little time each month tending to your garden. Here I have broken down by month some of the things that you will want to do to ensure a bountiful harvest that you can use when making your own wine at home.

January

Little can be done this month, and much will depend on how much has been done in previous months. If the weather is mild the planting of fruit trees and bushes may be undertaken, but do this only if the weather appears likely to stay mild for a few days at least.

Look to blackcurrant bushes and remove any swollen buds and burn them.

Get in supplies of insecticides and fertilizers.

February

Make sure all trained fruits are tied to their supports securely, and give each a mulch of manure if there is plenty available. If only limited amounts of manure or compost are available keep these till later on. Loganberries and raspberries not already cut down should be attended to and the new canes tied in.

If the weather is mild a light forking of the top soil round fruit bushes and along rows of canes, followed by a dusting of lime, will do a lot of good. This will also unearth a few pests for the attention of birds.

All fruit trees and bushes should have been planted by now; if they have not, get them in before the end of the month.

March

Gooseberries and currants should be sprayed this month with paraffin emulsion to safeguard them against brown scale and red spider.

Watch blackcurrants for big bud and pinch off any suspects and burn them. Care must be taken now because the buds may be at the point of opening.

Fork round bushes and canes as for February if this was not done last month.

April

Spray blackcurrants with a lime and sulphur wash where big bud is suspected. Repeat if necessary.

The main activity in the garden now will be spreading compost or manure and keeping down weeds before they get a hold.

Any weak growths on fruit bushes may be cut out so as to leave the stronger growths to bear the fruit. This will also help the growth of new wood on which next year’s fruit will be borne.

May

To keep strawberries clean put clean straw round the plants. Before doing this dress the bed with two ounces of super phosphate per square yard and hoe this in lightly.

Give all fruit a mulch of manure or compost, or dead leaves. Begin weekly feeding with liquid manure.

Watch all fruit for signs of pests and diseases and spray with proprietary brands of insecticide.

June

Gooseberries often need thinning at this time of the year. Do this so that the smaller fruits are left to develop fully.

Make wine with the thinning.

If the weather is very dry, mulch fruit bushes with manure, compost, leaves, straw, lawn mowing or whatever is available. Mulching conserves moisture in the soil and helps the fruit to swell. This can increase the annual yield by as much as a third.

If green-fly appears spray with a proprietary brand of insecticide.

July

Fruit bushes and trees make rapid growth at this time of the year. If there is any suggestion of overcrowding, cut out some of this new growth, leaving the strongest to grow on.

Look to the vines; if there is an abundance of long straggling growths, cut some of them out, leaving those you will want for cutting back in the autumn.

Runners from strawberry plants may be pegged down to make new plants. Peg down the strongest young crown on the runners that come from the plants bearing the heaviest crop. Pinch off the runner an inch beyond the crown to be pegged down. If this is not done the runner will continue to run and develop new crowns; this will weaken the parent plant and will also produce an abundance of new weakling plants.

If tree-fruit crops are heavy, thin to two or three fruits to each cluster. Far better to have three good fruits to each bunch than five or six under-sized ones.

August

Keep down weeds with the hoe. Gather apples and pears if ready and look to later varieties: thin these as necessary.

September

Loganberries and raspberries that have borne fruit may be cut down now and the new canes tied in.

Clean up round trees and bushes and burn all leaves if pests and diseases have been prevalent. The ash, if there is enough of it, should be stored for hoeing in round fruit bushes in the spring. Hoeing now will help to prevent weeds growing from seeds dropped earlier.

Pegged-down strawberry runners may be lifted now, severed from the parent plant and planted out. Strawberry beds need replacing every three years; it is a good plan then to replace a third of the bed each year with these new plants.

October

Clean up and burn all rubbish round fruit bushes and canes. If loganberries and raspberries have not yet been cut down and the new canes tied in, do this now.

Prune currants and gooseberry bushes.

Plant fruit bushes and early varieties of tree fruits.

November

All those jobs that you should have done during August, September and October must be done now.

December

Look to blackcurrants for big bud; pinch off infected buds and burn them.

Plant and prune vines, fruit trees, bushes and canes.

Make sure that you are getting a good supply of compost ready for next year.

Brian Cook is a freelance writer whose articles on home wine making have appeared in print and on many websites. You can find more of these at: Homemade Wine

There are countless varieties of apples in general cultivation in this country and all have their likes and dislikes - yet all the all-round varieties seem to do well almost anywhere.

Like all fruits they like to be treated well and will reward those who remember this. I am concerned with growing apples and other fruits such as plums for wine-making; therefore there seems little point in covering the growing of these fruits in the espalier fashion or as cordons. Apart from the fact that the average home-grower will not want this type of tree, he will want as much fruit as he can get from as little space as he can allow. No one will dispute the quality of fruits grown as cordons, but they are expensive to start with and cannot hope to compete with the bush tree when a lot of fruit is the aim of the grower.

The bush tree is the most suitable for the small garden where the owner wants as much fruit as he can get from a small space and for a minimum of labor.

Deep digging is essential, for it must be remembered that trees, once planted, will remain perhaps the lifetime of the owner.

The roots of apples go a great deal deeper than is generally imagined and provided the right variety for the type of soil is planted, the trees will settle down and fruit well. Unless your garden is in what we call a frost hole - a natural depression in the lie of the land that catches the spring frosts harder than elsewhere and then catches the first rays of the morning sun - you can grow apples without fear of the frosts depriving you of your crops.

Bush apples are usually planted ten to twelve feet apart and are put in before Christmas. Early February is the latest that I would leave this job.

Prepare the soil well in advance and allow it to settle before planting. Six months in advance is not too early to get the first digging done if the soil has never before been broken.

When planting, take out holes a good bit larger than are required to accommodate all the roots without cramping. The depth of the hole will depend on the depth the young tree had been planted before it was delivered to you and this will be clearly marked on the young trunk.

Any roots damaged in transit should be cut off cleanly with a sharp knife.

It is best to drive a stake firmly into the middle of the hole and to tie the tree to this while planting. Spread out the roots, shovel sifted soil over them and firm each layer by treading. Rattle the tree occasionally so that the soil is shaken down between the roots. Plant firmly; insecure planting is the most frequent cause of deaths among young trees. When firmly planted, untie the tree from the stake and bind the trunk with felt or some other material and bind this part to the stake. This will prevent chafing of the bark.

For general purposes it is best not to prune a young tree during the first season after planting, but pruning thereafter is of the greatest importance. Not only does it keep the tree in shape but it prevents overcrowding and ensures regular and heavy fruiting.

In the case of bush apples, each leading shoot - that is the growing tip of each main branch - is cut back by about six inches. The young growths growing off this main branch are laterals; these must not be allowed to become branches otherwise the tree will become overcrowded. These laterals are pruned back to leave four or five buds.

The following precautions should be taken against pests and diseases. Spray during winter with a tar-distillate wash. Spray with a nicotine wash in spring, when the buds begin to open and again a week after the petals have fallen. Fix grease bands to the trunks.

Brian Cook is a freelance writer whose articles on home wine making have appeared in print and on many websites. You can find more of these at: Homemade Wine