Welcome to the blog of Johnathan Grieve.
I am the proprietor of Avondale wine estate, and pioneer of the BioLOGIC® approach to sustainable viticulture. The transformation of Avondale from over-used and abused land into a thriving, robust vineyard ecosystem has been a personal learning journey of more than a decade long. This blog is where I share some of what I have learnt about promoting life on our farm and the wonderful impact this has had on our handcrafted premium quality wines.
Johnathan Grieve
Spur-winged Goose Family enjoying Avondale’s Sweet Waters
My father, John Grieve is always on the look-out for the ‘nature happenings’ on the farm. He was delighted to come across this family of Spur-winged geese (Plectropterus gambensis) at the water’s edge of one of dams. The Spur-winged goose is the largest of the indigenous geese and ducks of Southern Africa, and is common throughout its range, occurring on rivers, lakes and other wetlands.
Avondale ‘s Leopard Visitor Survives the Great Fire
Many of you have asked for us to keep you up to date with any further information we may have about the beautiful Leopard who we photographed on the farm in September last year. After the great fire that swept down the mountain two weeks ago, we were concerned about the fate of the Leopard. We contacted the Cape Leopard Trust who fitted the Leopard known as “BM4” (Boland Male 4) with a GPS collar to find out if they had any news, and we’re pleased to report that they are continuing to track the Leopard who is moving about the territory as usual.
Nutrients and their impact on healthy plant growth – Ca is for Calcium
At Avondale, we take soil samples to check if maintenance applications of Calcium will be necessary. If so, we’ll apply natural forms of Calcium such as Calcitic Lime, Dolomitic Lime, Gypsum or Rock Phosphate in autumn before the rains. Of course, we also pay much attention to having a thriving ecosystem in the soil so that an abundance of micro-organisms can do their work of digesting and solubilising the Calcium, making it readily available to our vines.
Nutrients and their impact on healthy plant growth – Si is for Silica
As a plant nutrient, Silica should be hard for the farmer to ignore. Yet, many conventional farmers, with their narrow focus on Nitrogen (N), Phosphorous (P) and Potassium (K), have little or no idea that Silica plays such a great role in plant nutrition. There’s also the common perception that because soil is to a large degree made up of Silica, it is necessary to consider supplementing it. However, the issue is that this Silica is not available to the plant. For interest sake, legumes and specifically Medics, clovers and the like, foster acidic conditions around their roots systems which helps to solubilise the fixed silica rock. Our cover cropping system makes extensive use of legumes to help us with this.
New Adventures in Quantum Agriculture
Most of my overseas travels are busy business trips taken up with the work of developing new markets for Avondale’s extraordinary wines approved by Mother Nature. So, it was refreshing for me to get out to the Gold Coast of New South Wales in Australia with the aim of attending an Advanced Course in Quantum Agriculture. Hosted and facilitated by Quantum Agriculture pioneer Hugh Lovel and his wife Shabari Bird, the course promised to be a chance for me to deepen my understanding and share knowledge.
Cape Leopard Trust Identifies Avondale’s Midnight Prowler
The beautiful Leopard captured by our camera on Avondale land on the night of 22nd September has been identified by the Cape Leopard Trust (CLT) as “BM4” (Boland Male 4). As part of the CLT Boland Project, BM4 was trapped, immobilised and fitted with a GPS collar just the week before in the Wemmershoek Dam area.
Avondale’s Magnificent Midnight Prowler
We feel privileged to know that Avondale is providing a safe and bountiful haven for this beautiful creature. You may notice that this Leopard is wearing a tracking collar. We think it might be a male that was recently tagged in the Wemmershoek Dam area, and we are in the process of finding out more about it from nature conservation officials.