Episode 160: Creating Disease-Resistant Vines without Fungicides with Steven Thompson @AdvancingEcoAgriculture

Uploaded July 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

How do you grow exceptional wine while building a thriving ecosystem? Steven Thompson believes the answer lies in regenerative viticulture and intentional design. At Analemma Wines, Steven has transitioned from conventional cherries to a biodynamic vineyard that’s as vibrant as the wines it produces.

On the podcast, John Kempf and Steven discuss:
🍒 Transitioning from cherries to regenerative wine grapes
🌱 Managing powdery mildew through nutrition and biology
💧 How dry farming became possible through soil health
📊 Using sap analysis to guide foliar nutrition
🛡️ Boosting disease resistance with microbial diversity

🎧 Listen: loom.ly/Sspjx-0

Episode 160: Creating Disease-Resistant Vines without Fungicides with Steven Thompson

6 feet of lignified shoot growth in cherries

Whiteboard: Pinions 3 modes of action to control disease

$Episode 167: Controlling Pests using Boron Instead of Insecticide with Jay Watts No insecticides. No pests. No problem! Jay Watte grows alfalfa and grasses for seed and forage in the dry, alkaline, and generally challenging environment of far southern California. Its been nearly 2 years since Jay has sprayed pesticides, but his pest pressure is a fraction of his neighbors. Instead Jay uses nutrient management, including hefty doses of boron, both soil-applied and foliar. If crops generally had adequate levels of boron . . . insecticide use would probably drop upwards of 80% across the entire industry. Learn some of Jays techniques in todays conversation with John Kempf, including: ➡️ The challenges of producing seed compared to forage ➡️ Reducing nitrogen to zero in certain fields ➡️ Improving alfalfa seed quality ➡️ Water management and irrigation challenges in a desert environment ➡️ Evolving management strategies to combat the rise in pest and disease pressure ➡️ Experiments with soil inoculations and cover crops 🎧 Listen: https://loom.ly/PAGVnu0$

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AEA seed treatment in 37 seconds - Wheat

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