Our Agriculture Manager Pietro talks about running a bio-dynamic and organic farm

The organic / biodynamic farm is a unique organism in which all parts must be connected with each other in order to be mutually beneficial. Like the organs of a living body, each farm can live and thrive from the moment it finds the balance between its various functions. We contemplate not only the individual function of each operation, but we also take into consideration the waste produced, so that each element is sourced for more than one purpose. We try to run a closed loop system so that we do not make much external purchasing like seeds, fertilisers, plant and animal care products.

For example, we have to prune the olive trees for them to produce stronger olives. The pruned sheers are then used for the production of compost, material for mulch. This oily compost will be used in the vegetable garden where we grow our seasonal products for the restaurant. The compost and mulch keeps the ground fresh, so we need less water during the hot summers here. This is particularly important in the vineyard, where we also grow other crops mixed in so as to maximise our growing surface but also to prevent the notion of monoculture that drains the earth of its nutrients. The crops we grow there are used to feed the wild animals running on the estate. So, this is a circle – a biodynamic circle.