General:
Darling lies within the Cape West Coast Biosphere with a wonderfully diverse composition of soil, fauna and flora and terroir. The predominant way of viticulture in the Darling area is dry-land and bush vine. This means that we do not irrigate, nor do we trellis our vines - everything grows in the form of a bush with no supporting poles or wires. With about 600mm of rain a year, farming sustainably is the only way to survive.
Darling has three major soil types, which leads to three distinctive vegetation types, namely Renosterveld, Strandveld and Sandveld. A fourth type, Graniteveld is also common in the hills. Both Renosterveld fynbos and Sandveld are critically threatened, with the rapid human expansion on the West Coast and agriculture the two most common reasons.
Darling Cellars currently have 6 dedicated producers who protect and rehabilitate natural areas. The main objective is to remove invasive alien trees, like the Port Jackson, Rooikrans and Blue Gum.
Vegetation:
About 1200 flower species are found in the area, with 80 or 6.5%, endemic.
Four types of veld are found in the Darling area and they are the result of different soil types with different humidity, chemical and physical composition.
Renosterveld is mostly found on the clay rich soils and is the primary flora of the Swartland and Darling area. With the predominance of clay, quite a lot of Renosterveld vlei is found in the area, where Arum lilies, Watsonia and Chinkerinchee prevail.
Granite Hills is another form of Renosterveld, but is rich in succulents, shrubs and bulbous plants, like “vygies”/mesems, “kalkoentjies” and wild rosemary.
Sandveld consist of deep, sandy and often chalky soils with predominantly reeds on the poor soils. Marshy areas are also found in the Sandveld and edible water plants like ”Water Urchin” is fairly common.
Strandveld is normally found on rich soils with plants carrying fleshy fruit that attract a wide range of birds. Bitou, Iron wood and Candle Bush are all common shrubs in this type of soil. Very few endemic species occur in this type of veld.
Wildlife:
Darling has quite a few Blue Crane breeding pairs and flocks of up to 26 (in the hundreds have been photographed) of this vulnerable species have been counted in the Darling area. The occasional Secretary Bird can also be spotted walking around on the wheat fields. For a nearly complete list of bird in the area, please click here to visit the website.
A few of the farms in the area have been converted into Wildlife and Nature reserves, bringing back the game from days gone by. Big game has been reintroduced in these reserves like Zebra, Kwagga, Gemsbok, Bontebok, Eland, with Steenbok and Duiker very common in the vineyards and surrounding natural habitats.
Actions:
With all the natural elements in the Darling area, sustainable farming has always been the way to survive and protect this most beautiful of regions. Quite a few farmers are building owl hides, to combat mice in a natural way. Only in its infant stage, we will keep you updated on this project. With joining the BWI project, Darling Cellars, its producers, shareholders and stakeholders all join forces to preserve our heritage for the generations to come.