Article 1 : Plants for Life

Published Winter 2010 in United Plant Savers

Page 3

The project has begun to show the potentially positive impact of this vineyard landscape design on grape growing as cohabitation is supported and soil requirements appear to be met.  In addition,preliminary results suggest that the native meadows could reduce the use of high-maintenance foreign grass turfs that are typical in vineyard landscapes .Such intergration of native meadows can work to restore biodiversity and transition the ecology of plant conservation.

A preliminary literature review and a demographic study of  native and medicinal plants recently identified as endangered by work done in cooperation with the  Botanical Gardens at the William Brown Center at the University of Missouri  and  by the Sacred Seeds Project,and the United Plant Savers ,along with other international organizations have  inspired the attempt to show that these plants can be grown as permaculture within commercial vineyard landscapes.

Seeds procured from Horrizon Herbs of Oregon were introduced into the landscape of this vineyard and organic farm in the spring of 2005.The seeds include (a.) Echinacea  (Echinacea spp), (b.) Blue Cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides), and (c.) Ashwagandha (Withania somniferia).   This vineyard plant conservation project shows that the incorporation of native meadows and endangered plants into commercial vineyard landscapes may offer one  way to nurture environmental stewardship and responsible commerce.

The experiment seeks to present another benefit that the conservation of endangered plants is potentially one of the antidotes to the heavy commercial harvesting of medicinal plants that systematically depletes the overall density and high yields of medicinal herbs.  These helpful plants once grew in abundance throughout much of North America 's public lands.  Because mass harvesting of herbal plants is difficult to regulate, agricultural business has an opportunity to demonstrate a capacity to avert specific plant endangerment.  Specifically, vineyards can become a sanctuary for endangered plants species , thus working towards their renewal.  The repopulating of native meadows and endangered plant permaculture within vineyards also aims to reduce both water use and negative environmental impact of commercial grapes and vineyards .

Long Term Vision
 
(1) Develop a design prototype for native meadows and medicinal plant integration that provides attractive and practical landscape around vineyards
  
(2) Become a source for seeds and seedlings of endangered medicinal plants and native sedge plugs for commercial farms and vineyards.
 
 

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