Little masterpieces in the vineyard – Binding according to Grandma

After winter pruning, vines need to be binded: in South Tyrol Loacker has always used golden willow to tie its vines. Binding with golden willow is a natural and ancient practice. In order to use it you need a great manual skill and a perfect knowledge of the technique, a lot of patience and care: every knot is a little masterpiece, unique and inimitable, created by human hands. “I can still hear my grandfather as he was criticizing my grandmother, the true expert in binding with the “stroppe” “Be careful, do not let anything fall on the soil and bear in mind: do not tie too tight or too loose” Until “Holmitog” (snack time) my grandma could stay still, but later…

Cut worms – that’s our enemy!
They don’t like the daylight. So they come at night to enjoy their meal. To protect our buds, we collect the worms by hand. We don’t use any insecticides because at night, you won’t only find cut worms! You will find all kinds of insects which will suffer from insecticides. Also animals that will help us with our problem. So what can we do before the cut worms raggel themselves down and come back the next night?
What is our natural insecticide?