This week we were delighted to welcome Duncan McNeill to Lockley Farm to show him the site of Lokkelebery Vineyard. Duncan will be responsible for planting the vineyard in the very near future, so he came to check out the site and see what land preparation needs doing before planting occurs.
He was very pleased with the soil conditions and we have a strict soil plan to get the ground ready for its new crop: the vines!
The most important aspect is the ‘fine tilth’ on the top 45cm of the soil. In other words, the top layer of soil needs to be as crumbly and fine as possible. This is so that the planting machine can carve a furrow (essentially a deep trench) for the vines to be planted into, and then cover these vines over again with soft, fine soil. If the soil is in great lumps, the machine will struggle not only to create a furrow for the vine roots, but more importantly will not be able to properly cover them back over with soil after they are put into the ground. Leaving roots exposed without soil can lead to disease, dehydration and ultimately death, as the baby roots are floating in mid air without a nice warm, nutritious blanket!
Stay tuned to learn all about how we are creating the prefect ‘fine-tilth’ soil conditions for our vines.
