Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Vineyard Wildlife by Steve Cass

We often talk about pests such as gophers and squirrels when we talk about the small animals in the vineyards, however there are a lot of animals we do not consider pests that leave peacefully amoungst our farming operations.
  
Last summer I was frequently seeing several jack rabbits between the rows, they are bigger than a cat, and easily evade dogs and tractors. They don't harm the vines or the drip system so we leave them alone. Because the vineyard is fenced to keep out deer,it also limits the number of coyotes that get in, so  the jack rabbtis were flourishing, until this year.  We discovered a family of red-tail fox in the Cabernet Franc block last month, which may explain why we don't see as many of the jackrabbits this year. Their burrow is under the vine row,  so it does not get run over  by the tractor passes.  They also help keep the squirrel and gopher poulation down.   
Owls are frequently recruited to keep the gophers under control by placing owl boxes around the vineyard. I have 10 of them. 8 were put up when we planted the vineyard in 2001. We have seen most of them populated most of the years,so at 2-3 babies per season, per box,  we have helped to add over 100 new owls to the local population. Last week I counted 28 gopher skulls at the base of one of the boxes, so they work.

The boxes have a hinged front for cleaning periodically.  I took a tall ladder to each of them last week and found them packed to the top of the opening with owl scat, and it was hard packed into a brick that took a shovel to pry out. I also found the corpses of 3 juveniles that looked pretty old, so we can't claim 100% survival. 

We have 2 mountain lion stories  in the vineyard.  One was a sighting by a grower representative who was in the middle of a block checking sugars several years ago when he spooked up a small one resting between rows, it took off towards my house, the grower rep called me at my office, very excited, and told be to bring in the dogs. That same year one of Jesus's largest goats (Jesus works for me and used to live in the vineyard) disappeared from its pen.  It was a 100 lb goat, much too large for a coyote, and there were signs the animal was dragged under its fence and there were lots of mountain lion sized tracks around.
 
The most popular bird of prey is the red tail hawk, they love squirrels and gophers, especialy the ones we have just trapped and tossed onto the ground behind our ATV...they follow that ATV like seagulls follow a fishing  boat. The turkey vulture is really ugly but as large as an eagle and half the time we think we see an eagle, it is a turkey vulture.  We do have 1 or 2 local  golden eagles and are occasionaly graced by them circling the winery in search of a snack.
 
There are lots of deer, and we do our best to keep them out of the vineyard, there is a road runner in the vicinty of my house,  we spot a bobcat about once a year, and there are badgers around, but as soon as their den is spotted they move on.
 
The most populas non-wild life is the cow...think carne asadas taco's !
 

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Chef's Garden

    Well, the heat of summer is upon us finally!  While some people think about their rising air-conditioning bills and taking trips to the beach, I, as the chef, like to focus on what to eat!  More specifically though, I like to be acutely aware of what is happening in my garden here at the winery.  And what is happening is awesome!  There's something very primal, to me, about planting a seed, fostering it, watching it grow, and then EATING IT!  This past winter, together with Steve's (and Sous Chef Ben's) assistance, I put in a very quaint, small organic garden just west of the main entrance to the winery.  It consists of 2- 24 foot raised beds, 2- 30 foot rows for tomatoes, 12- 1/2 barrels for herbs, and a few miscellaneous plants here and there.  As the first attempt at this here at Cass, I wanted to keep it manageable.  Large enough to produce quantities of vegetables that would have an impact on what I serve in the Cafe, but small enough that it wouldn't get out of hand during what is one of our busiest times of the year.   

       
   
    The first thing that I definitely knew that I wanted to be growing this year was tomatoes.  Such a versatile little fruit, I can use them in many ways.  The undisputed "Tomato King and Queen", in my opinion, are Bill and Barbara Spencer of Windrose Farm. (www.windrosefarm.org)  They grow dozens and dozens of varieties of heirloom tomatoes each year, as they have for a very long time, and have perfected techniques to both benefit the plant, and increase the crop.  So, currently in the ground at the winery, and mere days away from the beginning of a huge harvest, are some 14 unique varieties of tomatoes such as: Japanese Black Trifele, Paris Market, Dr. Wyche's Yellow, Old German, Odoriko, and my personal favorite (name-wise, anyway), the Missouri Pink Love Apple.  I had a small set of criteria that I wanted to adhere to when deciding what tomato varieties to plant.  First of all, they obviously have to all have the potential to taste delicious.  Secondly, I wanted to select tomato plants that produce a variety of different shapes and colors.  Very unlike the universal, hothouse tomatoes that one might find in their local supermarket.  I wanted it to be eye-catching.  Thirdly, and equally important, from a logistical standpoint for me, is the expected harvest time from bloom to ripened fruit.  All varieties of tomatoes ripen at different paces.  Understanding this and utilizing this information can help tremendously.  This provides me with a guideline of what to expect when, and allows me to plan menus accordingly.  Also, if planned correctly, will allow me to have fresh tomatoes from now until the latter part of October, and possibly into November, weather dependent.

    In addition to the tomatoes, I originally planted a 32sq ft plot of baby lettuces.  Four varieties, to be exact.  Those have a short growing season, 5-6 weeks, but produced some amazing lettuces for service here at the Cafe.  At it's peak, that little bed was producing in the neighborhood of 12-15 lbs of lettuce every week to 10 days.  I used a regenerating harvesting technique commonly called 'cut-and-come-again'.  When I cut the lettuces down, just below the lowest leaf, it created a canvas for new leaves to grow quickly.  It was really quite remarkable!  Now that the lettuce season has come and gone, I've since pulled the plants out and have replanted the spot with fall squash.  In addition to the lettuce, I am growing a couple different varieties of cucumbers, 4 different types of peppers, arugula, 2 types of onions, watermelons, 4types of basil (Lemon basil = HEAVEN!), heirloom dill, parsley, chives, sage, oregano, and cilantro.  So, come by Cass, drink some wine, say hello to me, and let me give you a tour of what I'm doing over here...