September so far has been unusually hot in the Perigord and the winemakers are crossing their fingers that the sunshine lasts through the rest of the month, which should mean an excellent vintage this year.
The cold spring and rains in June and early July had worried them, but while the harvest will be late, it should be very good indeed. The one great fear is the storms that usually come with the equinox around September 21.
My Green friends are also worrying, because more and more winemakers in the region are going bio and avoiding pesticides and chemical treatments. But if we get heavy rains later this month and not enough wind and sun to dry the grapes, they fear that an outbreak mildew of mildew could provoke an anti-bio backlash. And while sulphur dust in limited quantities is approved for organic farmers, they prefer to use something more bio.
Some are experimenting with diluted milk as a preventive and others are using a solution of water and garlic. Put one whole bulb of garlic in a litre of water with a few drops of liquid soap for a day, then strain it and dilute in with ten times as much water and spray. It works in our vegetable garden.
The cold spring and rains in June and early July had worried them, but while the harvest will be late, it should be very good indeed. The one great fear is the storms that usually come with the equinox around September 21.
My Green friends are also worrying, because more and more winemakers in the region are going bio and avoiding pesticides and chemical treatments. But if we get heavy rains later this month and not enough wind and sun to dry the grapes, they fear that an outbreak mildew of mildew could provoke an anti-bio backlash. And while sulphur dust in limited quantities is approved for organic farmers, they prefer to use something more bio.
Some are experimenting with diluted milk as a preventive and others are using a solution of water and garlic. Put one whole bulb of garlic in a litre of water with a few drops of liquid soap for a day, then strain it and dilute in with ten times as much water and spray. It works in our vegetable garden.
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