CHEFS mallorca gourmet

“The earth is the most important testimony of what almost 40 years of agrochemistry and technification have meant. The soil has suffered the greatest abuses in the name of progress, production and the theoretical well-being of farmers. The inheritance of agricultural “advances” in relation with the soil is horrifying. They resemble desert soils more than the rich and fertile soils that until recent times were worked by generations and generations of farmers of all cultures who have settled in the island of Mallorca.” “In 2004 we decided to do away with the use of herbicides and chemical fertilisers and began to use vegetable cover as organic fertiliser. Since 2007, being aware of the need to make a change of paradigm, in the Jaume Mesquida vineyards we have begun to introduce a series of changes in the way of tending the vines, new methods that will constantly evolve as we learn more.” The work in the vineyards is now based on the following four supporting pillars: Definitive abandonment of the use of chemical pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilisers: Stopping the use of pesticides and herbicides is an obligation if we want to achieve a balanced, healthy agricultural ecosystem. Life itself takes charge of generating more life: when we interfere with its work we only create more problems. In nature all elements play a role. Use of vegetable cover during autumn-winter: The grasses that grow in the vineyard, far from being enemies to be eliminated, are partners that help us by protecting the soil from erosion, inviting earthworms to work in a better habitat and generate new spaces and structures that help to aireate the earth by making it spongier and more receptive. Life calls to life, plants call to animals, and animals call to plants: they depend on each other for survival. Scattering compost with biodynamic preparations and application of biodynamic preparation 500: Biodynamic preparations help to improve the earth and give us healthier and better-balanced crops that nourish the body and the soul. Rationalising the use of the tractor in the vineyards: At Jaume Mesquida we are studying how to minimise the impact of machinery in the vineyards, by using the tractor only at the most appropriate moments, replacing the tractor with a quad in certain tasks, and returning to manual labour in tasks that until now have been done by machine. We only use the tractor in the vineyard when it is indispensable, and never when the ground is wet. This year we began treatments with spray backpacks, that is to say, working on foot. Moreover they have started to reintroduce mules and horses to do the controlling work of the grasses. Santanyí magazine 17 ···