Soil health is a pillar of regenerative agriculture. At Alta Orsa, we thoughtfully steward our land within its unique context and continually work to regenerate the biological relationships that lead to healthy soils.
Fungal Life: We know so little about what exactly goes on underground, but we are certain fungal life - the skin of the earth - plays an integral part in water and nutrient cycles. The symbiosis with plants is barely understood, yet we know it’s crucial in building a resilient ecosystem that is less dependent on human inputs. Plants exchange carbohydrates for hard-to-access soil nutrients. For this reason, we prioritize practices that promote fungal preservation - minimizing tillage and not using systemic fungicides.
Cover Crops: help build soil organic matter, increase soil microbial diversity and plant root exudates, improve the photosynthetic potential of the land, and reduce the number of needed inputs - nitrogen and other macro/micro nutrients.
No-Till Farming: within our context, no-till farming has allowed us to build an enormous amount of organic matter that’s made farming in this very very difficult mountain site possible. This soil armor reduces or eliminates winter erosion, preserves fungal mycelium and bacterial communities, improves water infiltration by maintaining soil aggregates, lowers soil temperatures, reduces compaction, and safeguards the natural carbon, water, and nutrient cycles.
Livestock integration: has endless benefits. It reduces vineyard water consumption, decreases mowing labor and fuel, accelerates nutrient cycling, disperses free microbiological inoculating pellets, and incorporates organic matter back into the soil.
Compost: is essential for building soil organic matter and replenishing nutrients lost through harvest. While we compost all our grape pomace on-site after fermentation, we also recognize the value of bringing in high-quality compost to enrich our soils with additional nutrients, carbon, and beneficial microbes.
Insectary havens: are found throughout the property to provide beneficial insects a place to thrive and feed on nectar and pollen.