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Old Vines Mustard

Old Vines Mustard is a photograph taken in the Dry Creek Valley of Sonoma County. Old Vines Mustard takes place every winter in these old Sonoma County vineyards.

Mustard in the vineyards not only provides a beautiful landscape to photograph, as in Old Vines Mustard, it is also an important component to the health of a vineyard. Mustard plants are used as a cover crop in vineyards to assist in reducing erosion. The Mustard also adds nitrogen to the soil. The ability to turn the soil is improved and it reduces water penetration into the soil.

Cover crops like Old Vine Mustard crops helps to increase organic matter and reduce soil compaction. Cover crops like mustard make the vineyard healthier by reducing “nematodes” which are small worms that eat the plants. Grapevines can be very sensitive to plant parasitic nematode populations which can cause lots of problems in proper development of a vineyard. There are several different products that are released when mustard’s breakdown in the soil that disrupt the reproductive cycle of nematodes.

Cover crops as seen in Old Vine Mustard were planted early in California’s grape growing history to reduce soil erosion. Cover cropping was abandoned in the 40′s and 50′s with the use of chemical fertilizers. In the 80′s and 90′s natural cover crops returned with the desire to utilize sustainable and organic farming.

Mustard seeds have been known to persist in soils for upwards of 20 years, and can often spring up where they haven’t been by simply plowing a field at the right time.

The mustard in Old Vines Mustard also provides a firm soil cover to provide firm footing during the wet winter weather. The cover allows for firm soil to allow for winter and early spring access in the vineyards.

Old Vines Mustard captures this colorful display that occurs every winter in the vineyards of Sonoma County.