North Coast Soil Health Hub Newsletter
News, events, and tools to maximize soil health on farms in
Sonoma, Napa, and Mendocino counties
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How Do Farmers Use SoilHub.org?
There are many ways to engage in the Hub:
The SoilHub.org website is a platform for sharing information, having discussions, and connecting farmers with the resources they need to be resilient and sustainable in the North Coast region and throughout the state.
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Farmer Feature: Gamble Ranch
By Charles Schembre, CPESC
Napa County RCD
The Napa County Resource Conservation District has teamed up with Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) to conduct long term soil health monitoring at TWE’s historic Gamble Ranch in Yountville, CA. Gamble Ranch is located within the Oakville AVA in the middle of Napa Valley. The ranch is approximately 830 acres in size, of which 525 acres are planted to vineyards. The varieties grown on the ranch include Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot, Petite Sirah, Petite Verdot, and Sauvignon blanc. There are 11 different soils series on the ranch. The soils are, for the most part, alluvium derived from volcanic, metamorphic or sedimentary rock, but there are some soils derived from volcanic parent material weathering in place. Although the ranch is primarily flat on the valley floor, the views are spectacular. There is a great deal of diversity in the landscape including three significant riparian corridors of Rector Creek, Conn Creek, and Napa River. In addition, there are two oak woodlands located on the property. The Gamble Ranch is certified by the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance and is certified Fish Friendly Farming and Napa Green through the California Land Stewardship Institute.
Read more.
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Sonoma RCD Hosts Top NRCS Conservationist
By Keith Abeles
Sonoma RCD
The Sonoma RCD recently had the honor of hosting the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) State Conservationist (acting), Ray Dotson, at the Indian Springs Ranch in Kenwood. He was joined by the NRCS State Conservation Agronomist, Hudson Minshew, our District Conservationist, Jennifer Walser, and several others. While Mr. Dotson’s regular post is State Conservationist for Nevada, he is currently acting in that role for California while our State Conservationist Carlos Suarez works on hurricane recovery efforts in his native Puerto Rico.
The visit was prompted by NRCS state office interest in both local fire recovery efforts and the RCD’s vineyard tillage management study project, funded by an NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant. This opportunity allowed us to share the array of soil and water conservation projects that we have pursued with Indian Springs Ranch, a 27 acre vineyard on the western slopes of northern Sonoma Valley. Sonoma RCD worked with the ranch’s owner John MacLeod in 2015 to develop one of our initial vineyard LandSmart Plans®, and to conduct an irrigation system evaluation at the ranch. Recommendations from the irrigation evaluation and LandSmart plan led in turn to securing grant funding from the State Coastal Conservancy (SCC) to implement the highest priority practices.
Read more.
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July 27: Sonoma County Winegrower's Sustainable Winegrowing Field Day
7:00 am—2:00 pm, Shone Farm, 7450 Steve Olson Ln, Forestville, CA 95436; Free
Join the Sonoma County RCDs at this annual grower event hosted by the Sonoma County Winegrowers.
August 2: Cover crops, tillage and vineyard soil health tailgate!
10:00 am- Noon; Ridge Vineyard, 650 Lytton Springs Road, Healdsburg; Free
Join Sonoma RCD and David Gates, Senior VP of vineyard operations at Ridge Vineyards, to hear insight on their cover crop and alternative tillage practices. Participants will tour practices in the vineyard, followed by a lively discussion and Q & A on different strategies to optimize soil health and grape quality. The tour includes an optional visit to their hedgerow at the end of the morning.
RSVP here!
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Soil Health Assessments
Soil health is measured by examining biological, chemical, and physical characteristics of the soil. Your local RCD now offers vineyard soil health assessments. As part of this service, RCD staff collect soil samples, test samples for bulk density, total carbon, pH, and available water holding capacity, and consult with you about the strategies for improving soil health through practices such as reduced tillage, cover cropping, and amending your vineyard soils.
Visit our
Programs page
for more on available services and contact information for your local RCD.
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North Coast Soil Health Hub Grower Surveys are in!
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Thank you for your responses! This information will help guide us in how best to serve our grower community through workshops, demonstrations and how the SoilHub.org can meet your needs.
We greatly appreciate your time and support.
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Soil Health BMP Highlight
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Planting hedgerows for pollinators couldn’t be timelier as we celebrate National Pollinator Week June 18-24
th
, an annual week-long educational tribute to pollinators hosted by the U.S Fish & Wildlife Service. Hedgerows provide multiple benefits to both farmers and wildlife. Installing a diverse assemblage of vegetation in your hedgerow that blooms year-round offers important pollinators like bees, hummingbirds, bats, beetles, butterflies and flies with a continuous food source of nectar and pollen.
Whether you’re a ranch owner, dairy producer, winegrape grower or have a small scale orchard or row crop farm, property edges are
everywhere
. Boundaries between crops or property lines should not be undervalued or underutilized, but rather seen as an opportunity to enhance pollination, biodiversity, or soil health. Bringing these edges back to life can greatly benefit your operation from a natural resource perspective as well as increase beneficial habitat. Since grapes are self-pollinating plants, vineyard owners may be less concerned about attracting pollinators; however, these individuals can support healthy cover crop production.
Hedgerows are rows of trees, shrubs, forbs and perennial grasses. Hedgerows may serve many functions on your farm including: improving water quality, attracting beneficial insects such as pollinators, stabilizing the soil and providing ground cover, they can act as windbreaks, suppress weeds, offer habitat to wildlife, can potentially reduce the need to use pesticides. They are relatively easy to get established when utilizing drought tolerant California natives.
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Discover More at SoilHub.org
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