Mustard grass

One of the great joys of living in wine country is the perfection of temperate weather almost year round. But as my father used to say “Into each life some rain must fall”. And yet in the midst of the down pours, a little brightness blooms to ease our winter dormancy. The yellow tipped weeds that grow in abundance between the grape vines have a nutrient aspect as well as a historical aspect to their arrival every spring. The Franciscan Friars starting in the seventeenth century were directed to establish missions in California up the coast of Spain’s new colony. The first was established on the Baja peninsula and back then the only mode of transportation was horseback, so each mission was established a full days ride by horse apart from each other, that way you could traverse the length of California and at the end of each day you came to another mission to rest and then proceed the next day on your way. The Friar’s brought with them several viable crops they hoped to establish around each mission to help fund their expansion. Mission Olive trees were planted and remain some of the oldest still in production in California. They were used primarily for oil production as well as edible table olives. Mission figs, which still give us an early summer harvest as well as a Fall harvest from the same trees. The Mission grape, which made non descript light quaffable reds, but also made a decent brandy to fortify the wine with, thus preserving it like port, thus it transported to other churches well, thus they made income as well as established a wine culture in California. Most of California’s great viticulture appellations are juxtaposed near the original Spanish missions. They also brought a yellow tipped weed that they would spread along the trails, so every spring there would be a distinctive yellow path to follow north or south to the next mission, the infamous El Camino Real. Later on as we developed soil sciences and a better understanding of the grapevines needs for success, we learned of the mustard grasses nitrogen contribution back into the soil. Most believe that contribution to be of such minor impact that mustard grass is mostly planted for erosion control and to absorb excessive ground water. There is an old farm reference about mustard grass still in use today. The image of death, wielding the large sickle to reap the dead, is also a reference to the last job you are given as you age into retirement on the farm. Since everyone works on a farm, in retirement you were handed the sickle and told to maintain the weeds around the house and barn. So when you saw the sickle coming, you knew death was coming as well. One was allowed to officially retire on the farm the year you could no longer “Cut the Mustard”, that is where the phrase originates. Today it is celebrated as a visual relief from the dull grey wet cold season that closes out our grape harvest and ends as the frost dissipates into the welcome warm weather of May.