News from Scout supporters Le Vieux Pin and LaStella

We take the environment very seriously; and to protect what Mother Nature has provided us with we maintain the following practices…

Irrigation – In an arid region like the South Okanagan Valley (less than 30cm of rainfall annually), irrigation plays a very important role in agriculture. Even more vital is the need to conserve water for the future. As sustainable growers we take this responsibility very seriously. Water is applied sparingly to our vineyards and different methods are employed to produce the most efficient results with the least amount of water usage. We employ a combination of overhead sprinklers, under vine sprinklers, drip and underground drip irrigation.

Drip irrigation is the most effective method of delivering water to the plants with the least amount of waste. Very little water is lost to evaporation because each plant is watered by its own emitter that is attached to a pipe low to the ground, so all of it goes to where it’s needed. Using the least amount of water with the most results makes drip our number one choice of irrigation methods.

Vinyl Posts – Vinyl may not sound organic but these posts are much friendlier to the environment than wooden or iron posts.

First there’s the obvious: We didn’t have to chop down any trees to make these posts.

The other benefits may be less apparent: Wooden posts are treated with a host of herbicides and fungicides in order to preserve the wood. Over time these chemicals leach into the soil, which poses a risk to ground water and to any plants growing in that soil. Iron posts too, eventually leach out minerals to the ground and change the soil composition. Vinyl posts are treated with titanium dioxide and don’t leach anything into the soil. They also have a much longer life span than the wooden and iron posts (min 50 years) which means they have to be replaced much less. This translates into less waste and less pollution from shipping. As vinyl posts are a fairly recent development we have only our Selona vineyard (10 acres) in Osoyoos built entirely with these white posts, but we have big plans for the future.

Falconry – Our biggest threat at harvest time are hungry birds! The use of predatory birds such as falcons and hawks to manage crop damage is not a new concept; it originated in the Orient, and is nearly 4,000 years old. Today, vineyards, farms and various other venues employ falcons to reduce bird problems. We have several Peregrine falcons patrolling our vineyards. They are trained to hunt a lure, (fake bird) attached to a rope and swung in the air. When prey species see a falcon in hunt mode they will leave the vineyard. After repeated attempts, the nuisance birds will simply move off to a safer area. Each falcon can be flown 6 to 8 times a day if necessary. There is no better scare tactic than a prey’s natural enemy!

Using ecologically sound tactics is what we aim to achieve when controlling pests but it needs to be effective. With the falcons we accomplish both goals.

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