John and his hungry ducks!
Avondale Wines in South Africa have just been awarded LEAF Marque accreditation.
Owner Johnathan Grieve is pioneering a back-to-the-future approach to wine growing. And it is paying off.
He is taking his vineyard back to nature, and its soil back to its pre-agricultural state – but he’s combining this with 21st-century science, technology and research.
These are LEAF’s principles too, which is why LEAF and Avondale go so well together.
Natural, economical – and comical – snail control!
Cover crops are used instead of synthetic fertilizer at Avondale to restore the balance of the soil, for instance, and his posse of 100 ducks controls the snails on the whole farm (70 ha of fruit trees and 100ha of grapes), thus avoiding the problems of the toxic residue from chemicals.
“We get them in as day old ducklings in April (South Africa’s Autumn),” he says, “and we rear them until they are about two months old, which is when they start eating the snails.“
During the day they go out and roam the vineyards and orchards, with a large German Shepherd dog to keep an eye on them, and at night they live in an old converted reservoir which keeps out predators. such as lynx, eagle and hawk.
The ducks are trained to walk on to a trailer (the Duckmobile) attached to a tractor which drives them out to dinner.
When they hear the tractor coming, they trot straight out of their quarters and on to the trailer, and trot straight off it when they arrive, to start scoffing up and down the rows!
“The benefits are amazing,” enthuses Johnathan.
“It’s really economical. We spend R15 000 per season on our ducks and total snail control for 170 Ha. If I were to do it with toxic snail bait it would cost R50 000 per application and we would probably have to do two. You would spread 10kg of toxic bait evenly across the block. In the snail colonies this is too little to control the problem and in the areas where there isn’t a problem you have the toxic residues that harm our soil’s micro life.
Snails live in colonies and the ducks take longer in some areas, as they really get stuck in.
”They are very specific – they are only interested in the snails! There are no detrimental side effects, and any byproduct is entirely beneficial to the soil. “
“We constantly question what we’re doing,” explains Johnathan, “making improvements, enhancements and ever greener decision as we go. We want the Avondale farm to be there long after we’re gone, and we believe the best way to do this is to make it a sustainable business, one that always works in harmony
with the earth.“
This approach need not be confined to South Africa of course. Every farmer with slug and snail problems could get quacking on this!
Avondale vines cover 160 hectares of which 100 (25 hectares certified organic) are planted with a selection of mainly Rhône and Bordeaux grape varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, Semillon, Chenin Blanc; and Shiraz, Mourvedre, Grenache, Viognier, Rousanne, and Chardonnay. The vineyards are planted in one hectare size blocks to ensure separate vinification and ageing.
Klein Drakensbarg, Paarl, South Africa
Po Box 602, Suider Paarl, 7624
Tel: (021) 863 1976
Fax: (021) 863 1534
E-Mail: wine@avondalewine.co.za
http://www.avondalewine.co.za
