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THE
FARMING
The
Chambers' have farmed Resonance Vineyard
sustainably since 1990, and achieved
Demeter-certified Biodynamic® status for the
farm in 2006. Demeter is the globally recognized
Biodynamic® certification agency. The Chambers
use all the BD Preps as well as whey, sulfur,
compost tea, botanical teas, horticultural oil
and
 biological
fungal controls (like Serenade and Actinovate).
The vineyard floor is managed
to maximize plant species diversity which helps maintain balanced
insect populations.
During
the early years, while Kevin worked off the
farm, Carla performed much of the hand labor,
and they shared the tractor work. Now, they
co-own a vineyard management firm, Results
Partners, who performs most of the hand labor.
Kevin and Carla do most of the tractor work and
biodynamic applications. The vine canopy is
intensely managed to provide maximum light and
air penetration, as well as careful solar
exposure of the fruit. Crop levels are monitored
closely every year. The moderately dense spacing
allows for thinning to one cluster per shoot,
yielding very close to two tons per acre every
year. All the fruit is hand harvested for very
gentle processing.
Biodynamic®
farms employ unique agricultural methods (in
addition to meeting all of the requirements for
organic certification). These include frequent
applications of field and compost preparations
and use of an astronomical calendar to determine
times of planting and harvesting. Demeter
encourages farmers to make many of their
preparations on site (the next year’s spray
material for plants or soil). To learn how to
make the preparations, Kevin and Carla have been
working with a teacher, Matthew Baker. The
Chambers’ believe that owners/farmers should be
actively involved in the Biodynamic® farming
process, as the intentionality leads to success.
Below are photos of several of the Biodynamic®
preps made by Kevin, Carla and Matthew over the
past two years.
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Barrel
compost brings all the Biodynamic® preps into
one spray. The
 preps
(in the
small plastic bags) are being inserted into cow manure for composting
over the winter.
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Horn
silica enhances light metabolism, influences
color, aroma and flavor. 
Here the quartz crystals are ground into small
particles, and mixed with soil from the farm and
inserted into the horn. This horn is then buried
for the summer before the material is ready to
spray.
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Yarrow
permits plant to attract trace mineral
elements. To make this preparation, a
stag bladder is filled with yarrow, sewed shut
and allowed to dry. Then it
is buried into a specially-prepared soil pit for the winter.
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Chamomile
establishes nitrogen within the compost, and
increases
 soil
life. This preparation, where chamomile is
stuffed into a cow’s intestine, is also buried
into an amended soil pit for the winter.
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Dandelion
stimulates the relation between silica and
potassium. Following a winter
stored in a clay pot in a soil pit, this material can be sprayed.
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