Small plastic cage sleeves were used to protect the native seedlings from herbivores like rabbits. Eastern Washington vineyards, with their scant rainfall and location in a high desert, are harsh environments for cover crops. It’s a challenge to get cover crops established and keep them alive when most vineyards use drip irrigation. But what if plants native to the area—and that fix nitrogen—could be used? That’s what Benton City grape grower Jim Holmes of The Ancora Estates on Red Mountain wants to find out. He’s funding research to see if nitrogen-fixing native species can be established in his vineyards, ­naturally […]