As Stewards of the Land, you always want to ensure you’re applying vineyard practices that bring out the best in your vineyard, whilst also minimising your environmental footprint. An issue of major concern to us is the use of pesticides. Not only does their use affect consumers who have sensitivities toward them, but it also affects the people who are in the vineyard applying the chemicals, and all the people (and the environment) that the chemicals then come in contact with.
An insectarium is a purpose built vegetation corridor of native shrubs that provides a pollen and nectar source for a range of beneficial insects. ‘Beneficial’ insects prey on the pest insects that do damage to the vines. By providing a suitable & attractive habitat for the beneficial insects, we are encouraging them to go out and prey on the pest insects located in the vineyard. In their new home, the beneficial insects will lay their eggs, which will provide us with generations of beneficial insects, thus reducing our need for pesticides for decades to come. The concept of beneficial (or predator) insects has been around for thousands of years, but rather than buy beneficial insects that last just one season, we have been focusing on finding the plants that best attract the various species of beneficial insects.
Using this natural approach to pest control we aim to reduce our chemical use (and chemical costs) by 75% in the next decade. So when do we start? We already have! The shrubs are planted and the ‘Vacancy’ sign is out! We’ll be keeping a watchful eye, hoping to see the numbers of beneficial insects grow steadily into the future.
