Compost Spreading Vineyards

Although the weather outside is frightful…the time for compost will soon be here, and so we need to start planning for 2020. There are multiple compost options for organic and non-organic vineyards, such as green waste, or food/green waste combined. These products meet the PAS100 and compost quality protocol standards, which is a fundamental requirement for most vineyards. However, we can also supply non-PAS100 material, should that be required for soil conditioners or mulch.

The main benefits of compost are the following:

·        To provide nutrients for plant growth

·        To increase soil organic matter

·        To improve soil structure

·        To mitigate soil erosion

Compost Background

Compost is normally applied over the first 2-3 years of a vineyard, to ensure the best start for the vines. This is particularly important when planting new vines in the warmer months of the year, especially given the extreme weather conditions we have seen in those months recently. With a total establishment cost around ￡25k per hectare, this requires planning and is a long-term investment.

We also supply and spread compost for established vines, normally at a period of every 4-5 years from the last previous application.

Factors that influence compost requirements are normally gleaned from the soil analysis and of course, the customers’ requirements. We also take into account the appearance of existing vines and how the compost has degraded at the bed of the vines. Analysis of the compost for nitrogen levels is key, as an excess of nitrogen can mean over-abundant plant growth, resulting in a poor fruit harvest. Compost also contains important macro- and micro nutrients including nitrogen, potassium, calcium, magnesium, boron, iron, copper and magnesium all of which confirm it being a great all-round fertiliser.

All these factors assist in formulating the optimal application style and application rate.

Compost Delivery Choices

We can look at several options

·        Source Material only – Vineyard to spread themselves

·        Spread Only – Customer to supply their own product

·        Supply and Spread – We source the most suitable material and spread it

The most common method is supply and spread, as this guarantees the quality of the material being delivered and spread on site. Only the most stringent source sites are used from the data base of sites we have. Factors that go into the choice of source and material are

·        Site requirements, e.g. organic

·        Quality and variability of incoming feedstock

·        Cleaning process of the end material, e.g. windsifter

·        Maturation time during the process

·        Screening process of the product, how many times and screen size

·        Visual look of product, ensuring no obvious visual contamination

·        Distance to the vineyard

Compost Application Method

Agricultural compost is normally 20-30mm in size, the finer material such as 5-12mm is used for horticultural blending and manufacturing of BS 3882:2015 topsoil.

The material is delivered to site by tractor-trailer, rigid tipper or articulated walking floor HGV. As a rule of thumb, we work at an application rate of around 50-80t per hectare and maximise payloads by delivering on lightweight aluminium bodied tipper trucks. The compost is tipped into a large stockpile at an agreed location ensuring this doesn’t impact vineyard/farm then it is loaded into our bespoke spreading trailer.

Spreading can be done in different ways:

·        Broadcast Spreading – this is normally done prior to new vines being planted and involves driving up and down the rows spreading as much compost over the relevant area as possible. This can improve the pH level of the whole field should it be required; from my experience this is normally the first stage when establishing a new vineyard

·        Row Spreading Option 1 – applying compost at the agreed rate down the row. The machine we use needs just one pass of the vine and spreads compost to the base of vines at about 0.3 metre width and 7cm depth. It offers a uniform application rate down the rows and would be done after the installation of the vines.

·        Row Spreading Option 2 – we can split the delivery, so that half the required rate is spread prior to the vines being planted. Once the vineyard is planted the remaining amount is spread on top of the vines, ensuring maximum benefit. Although this way is more costly, it ensures that compost is delivered into the hole prior to the vine being planted, ensuring that the roots are eased very gently into the hole.