It’s Earth Day, and – fresh from his latest worm counts – Jon Pollard shares a clear-eyed view from the vineyards as the season begins to gather pace.
There are a few points in the growing year that feel especially like a tightrope walk. Mid-spring is one of them, bringing with it that beautiful, sap-rising burst of life in the vines, but also the nighttime peril of frost as winter refuses to relinquish its grip.
For Jon Pollard, Vineyard Manager at Gusbourne, this is a familiar rhythm. “We’ve had a handful of cold nights,” he says. “So, we’ve been out on frost watch a few times since the end of March. But really, we’ve had the most minute damage – just a few external leaves a little frazzled.”
At this stage in the season, young growth is vulnerable, and protecting it can make all the difference. Thankfully, gone are the days of having to drag a cumbersome Frost Buster machine behind the tractor. “The frost fans are much easier,” says Jon.
Spring’s other surprise is just how quickly the land here dries out once the season begins to gather pace. The clay soils are already cracked, even if there is still moisture a little further down. “We call them ‘minute’ soils,” says Jon. “One minute they’re too wet, then they’re too dry.”
That tension – between weather, timing and soil condition – shapes much of the work now underway in Butness vineyard, where Gusbourne’s One Block Challenge continues.
The current focus is on trialling cover crop establishment, with several different methods being tested across the block. One involves direct drilling after a light, targeted herbicide application, another direct drilling into closely mown grass, and a third uses a spring tine harrow to disturb only the very top of the soil surface before seed is rolled in. Rozeta red clover, fenugreek, sheep’s parsley, daikon radish, rivendell… the seed mix sounds full of promise; the challenge is to make it take.
“You can’t fix all the variables,” Jon says. “You could keep adding different variations, but then you end up with so many experiments across six hectares that it stops being useful. So, we’ll keep it relatively simple.”
Elsewhere, newly planted willow whips near the ditch lines are beginning to establish, with mulch laid around them to help retain moisture through the dry spell. Jon is keeping a close eye on them. “They’ve all got a couple of healthy shoots on them,” he says. “We just need to get their roots established and then they’ll be fine.” Once mature, the willow will be harvested to help feed Gusbourne’s grape marc compost.
Alongside this, Jon and the team have also been carrying out worm counts across the estate as part of ongoing sustainability monitoring – around two pits per field in most cases, including repeat counts in Butness. It is laborious work: digging a pit, breaking the soil down by hand and counting every worm found. But it offers a simple, tangible indication of soil life.
The numbers, Jon says, remain healthy. Just as telling is the smell – deep, clay-rich and unmistakably alive. “That earthy smell is a pretty good sign of health,” he says. “It means there’s fungal activity going on in those soils.”
For all the technology, planning and logistics involved in vineyard management, nothing beats being out among the vines – boots on, hands dirty. It’s where Jon is happiest, and it’s easy to see why. This is where the work feels most real: caring for the land, understanding it more closely - and finding thoughtful ways to leave it better than we found it.
If you'd like to learn more about how we farm our grapes or make our wines, plan your visit to the vineyard. We're open year-round and would love to welcome you.
