Soil Health and Bloom in the Vineyard
Hallo, mes amis! Today Susan Sokol Blosser led a few members of Sokol Blosser's diligent and lovely staff out into the vineyard for a lesson on soil health and what it means to work with organic soil.
Susan provided the staff with this information about soil health: "The soil foodweb is a complex, interdependent and mutually beneficial group of organisms ranging in size from bacteria to worms and beetles. They develop soil structure by sticking the little pieces of clay and silt together and breaking up large clods. This makes possible good air and water movement through the soil.
Soil foodweb organisms break down and capture nutrients in the soil and make them available tot he plants. In turn, plants excrete material from their roots, which are additional food for soil organisms.
The soil foodweb suppresses disease-causing organisms and other plant pests by out-competing them for food, sometimes by simply eating them, and by altering the soil conditions so they cannot thrive."
Merci, Susan! I'll be looking forward to another visit from the Sokol Blosser staff out here in the vineyard very soon!