Description
Pomace Organic Grapes Fertilizer for Vineyards – 30 Pound Bucket
Weight: 30 Pounds
Shipping Weight: 32 Pounds
Pail Size: Five (5) Gallons
This is the same Pomace we return to fertilize and enrich the soil for our own vineyards.
Pomace, which is the skins, seeds, and stems leftover from wine processing and pressing, can indeed be returned to the field as a soil amendment. You deposit it in a thin layer in the vine rows where it can act as an effective mulch against weeds and help keep moisture in the soil. When it is tilled back in, the pomace provides additional organic material and nutrients to the vineyard. However, as you suggest, it’s not that simple. Spent grape skins and stems have to be composted and ideally mixed with other amendments before they are ready for use and may need quite a lot of help from you to become an ideal part of your viticultural regimen. Read on for more dirt (ahem) on how you can turn your winery waste to your advantage.
Using pomace for compost in the vineyard has many benefits. It can increase the number and variety of beneficial soil microbes, which better protect your vineyard from the ravages of pests and diseases. It increases the level of organic matter in the soil, adds to the soil nutrient profile (N-P-K-Ca is around 2.0-0.5-2.0-2.0), loosens heavy soils, and improves drainage. Compost is typically applied at a rate of 1–5 tons per acre, typically in the summertime around June or July, which can return anywhere from 1⁄2 to 1⁄3 of the nutrients back to the soil.
As beneficial as compost from pomace can be, it’s important to not over-apply it as too much nitrogen can cause overly vigorous canopies, can increase the number of hours needed to tend those big canopies, and can increase susceptibility to rot and mold. Once the compost is applied, its effects can be felt for 5–7 years afterward so it’s important to go gradually and not to over-add. Figure that about three tons of grapes will yield around 1 ton of compost.
