A few weeks ago, we talked to you about agroforestry and the benefits of planting trees and hedges in our vineyards. And since at Oé, we don't do things by halves, we wanted to tell you a little more about the use of hedges in viticulture. It's an opportunity to pay a real tribute, if we dare say, to our trees and shrubs that we love so much and which help us so much!
Our friends the hedges, allies of the vines
There are many types of hedges: monospecific hedges, composite hedges, field hedges, hedgerow hedges… Wait, you can't make sense of all these terms? No panic, at Oé we like to take care of our readers like our wines. We'll explain things to you little by little. First, let's start with the most important thing, what exactly is a hedge?
The real definition of a hedge is a vegetable border that serves to delimit a field, a garden or any agricultural plot, such as a vineyard for example. It is composed of trees and/or shrubs and branches of different sizes and functions. It can be located at the edge of a ditch, along a embankment or between two agricultural plots.
It serves first as a fence and a shield for the plot it delimits. Yes, yes, the hedge is a shield that protects, thanks to its many branches and leaves, against fire, wind, frost, heat and even pests. The hedge is to the plot what Gandalf is to the fellowship of the ring: it lets nothing through. A hedge is not just a barrier, it is also a place of life. It is the dream home for a bird to reproduce, eat and rest. The hedge becomes a real biodiversity reservoir.
We talk about a monospecific hedge when a hedge is composed of a single species of tree or shrub and a composite hedge for hedges composed of different species and sizes.
The field hedges or hedgerow hedges refer to hedges that bring together many local plant species. There are many other types of hedges: dry hedges composed of dry or dead plants, the free hedges that grow freely, the planted hedges, spontaneous hedges...As you can tell, there is something for every taste and above all for all biodiversity.
The different sizes of hedges
In architecture, we make the difference between a building and a house, don't we? Well, it's the same story with hedges. We distinguish three sizes of hedges and they can have several levels, where many residents live:
- The low hedges, which are composed ofshrubby species. Shrubby species are shrubs that do not exceed 8 meters like the broom or the blackthorn,
- The medium-sized hedges, composed of shrubby species andstandard trees. Standard trees are trees between 8 and 15 meters like the birch or the apple tree,
- The tall hedges, which also contain tall trees. Tall trees are these majestic tall trees from 15 to 30 meters high like the poplar.
If we take the example of a tall hedge, it is made up of several levels that we call strata. And it is these different strata, by their variety, that bring a great biodiversity. Magical, isn't it?
- On the ground floor, we find the muscinal stratum, where there is moss, mushrooms and other microorganisms,
- The first floor is the herbaceous stratum which consists mainly of flowers, the favorite meeting place of pollinating insects,
- The second floor is what we call the shrubby stratum which contains the small shrubs of shrubby species, we meet many small birds and mammals there,
- The shrub stratum, that's our third floor, composed of standard trees,
- And arriving at the fifth floor, we find the arboreal stratum where we have the tall trees.
The visit is over, everyone get down!
The role of hedges in the vines
The trees are our friends. At Oé, we often talk to you about them and we fight for their protection. Planting a hedge in a vineyard is always a good idea. Whether in terms of cultural and heritage landscape, the trees and shrubs embellish the vine and add to it a diversity and a gain of life appreciable for our friends the animals and insects. Diversity is also made at the level of fauna and flora. The more the hedge is composite, the more it attracts varied species. This biodiversity stabilizes the ecosystem, the crop auxiliaries become allies against pests and parasites. Insects, birds, amphibians and mammals find enough to house, eat, reproduce, hide. A real life is articulated between the branches and the foliage. It is both a biological reservoir and a biological corridor.
A biological corridor? No panic, we explain to you. It is a natural corridor that participates in the movement of species within the agricultural plot and promotes its balance. And this thanks to the other elements of biodiversity: wood, stems, branches, thickets...It is a set of infrastructures where everyone has their place, where everyone participates in the balance and development of their environment. Like the bees that circulate pollen within the vines. If you want to know more about the crop auxiliaries and the role of bees in the vines it is by here!
Hedges also play a role of protection. In addition to offering a natural barrier against the damage of wind, fire and the spraying of phytosanitary products, they effectively diffuse the runoff of water, facilitate its infiltration and limit soil erosion within the vine. They facilitate the work of winegrowers who do not need additional work, the hedges take care of everything. It's cool, isn't it?
Windbreak hedges have the particularity of moderating the air corridors and, in the long run, regulating the climatic effects. They also offer complementary production sources to winegrowers (such as wood, fruit, honey). If you want to know more about this, we talk about microclimate and the benefits of agroforestry here!
Photo by Klara Kulikova on Unsplash
When and how to plant a hedge in the vines
Planting a hedge within a vineyard is not done lightly. We do not plant a vine like we change a shirt. There are many components to take into account depending on the function you want to give to your vineyard. So how to choose your hedge well Jamy?
To promote a good biodiversity, it is preferable to use a set of varied species of at least 15 species, of different sizes and different foliage. Deciduous trees, that is to say that lose their leaves in winter, bring an addition of biomass to the soils.
For a windbreak effect, you must favor tall trees like oak and place the hedge downstream of the vine, perpendicular to the prevailing winds. To fight erosion, the hedge must be placed on the break of slope, on the embankments. To set up a biological corridor, a hedge will have all its place between the plots and the vines. It is also better to favor local species that have a better capacity of adaptation to the soils and do not invade the existing elements.
You are wondering when and how to plant a hedge? The ideal season is from October to March without favoring the winter months. Autumn and early spring are the most favorable times. A distance of 2.50 meters between the hedge and the vine is ideal. You must think to work the soil before planting and to put a mulch to facilitate its aeration, that is to say covering the soils with straw, bark and wood sawdust. Pruning is done every two years in winter so that the species do not grow too much and do not invade the vines. We tell you everything you need to know about winter pruning here!
The planting of hedges costs 20 euros per meter and fits perfectly in the current concerns of winegrowers to change our way of operating and encourage an organic agriculture that is efficient and non-polluting. The government understood it that is why it set up the operation « Let's plant hedges! » to encourage farmers to plant hedges on their plots.
On the side of Oé, our winegrowers adopted this technique. It is the case of François who produces Le Côtes de Bergerac and Frank and Véronique our Oé winegrowers in Pujols, who produce our delicious red wines.
As you may have seen, we have launched our Oé Biodiversity Program and two partners are supporting us on this initiative: the crowdfunding platform Miimosa and thelabel EcoFarms. If you want to learn more, we invite you to discover our project here! And for our first action, we decided to help Franck and Véronique.
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Vines full of life for wines full of flavor! The next time we enjoy a good glass of organic wine, we will think of this entire ecosystem coming alive, buzzing and thriving in our vineyards and hedgerows, won't you?
