Farming

Sustainable farming at Larkmead involves minimal use of pesticides and herbicides. Employing both cordon and cane pruning techniques, most blocks use vertical shoot-positioned trellising, while some use lyre trellising. Our oldest vines are head-trained.

Spring Rows

In 1998, Larkmead began efforts to restore parts of the Napa River and Selby Creek running through its lands and to eliminate the habitat for the blue-green sharpshooter which is the vector for the Pierce's Disease. Extensive erosion required a full-scale restoration project.

Ann Baker, with a Masters Degree in landscape architecture, led this effort, and today, after six years of effort and significant expense, biotechnical (natural, plant intensive) slope protection measures have been installed. We have removed invasive non-native vegetation, and planted diverse native plants on the Napa River and Selby Creek banks. This effort has been aided by the expertise of Evan Engber of Bioengineering Associates, Kelly Ginn at the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Lara Hadhazi at the Resource Conservation District, and Chris Sauer at the California Conservation Corps. Our current big project is joining with neighbors, and beginning a larger restoration of the Selby Creek watershed, which sustains one of the last wild Steelhead trout runs in the Upper Napa Valley.