No, I don’t think it needs to be decimated. I’m more just using that strong language so that we come to terms with what is actually happening when we start a new culture.

I don’t have any idea how low of a pH you can maintain and still have a highly productive vineyard. Im skeptical you can maintain a pH of 4.5 and have a highly productive vineyard. But I would guess you can get away with 5.5. And you can grow pretty much anything really well at 6.5…that’s almost a universal sweet spot.

We can pretend that changing the pH is just pH change but my memory is that every 1 pH change is effectively a completely different microbiome. As in, the old micro organisms die out and the new ones multiply. Maybe not, but 2 points I am pretty sure is a completely different Microbiome without exception.

Yes I inoculate my farms with fresh root tea. I’ve never done a test on a section that gets the tea vs a section that does not. However, I’ve never seen a decline in our culture after doing it. I’ve also never seen explosively better results…but we already have a decent culture.

another idea that might actually work better… call up the nearest organic Vineyard, ask them if they will propagate your seedlings in biodegradable non-woven nursery bags, with their soil, on their land, with their nutrient program. When you transplant them you will already have the culture.

In contrast to a lot of Wholesale nurseries that I don’t think actually have very good cultural practices.