On Boundaries: Good Will Fences
Each year when our certifier asks about the buffer zone between our vines and a southern portion of our boundary shared with two neighboring properties, we say we have a “good will buffer.” This means that we have the good fortune to have neighbors who agree to not spray herbicides or other agricultural chemicals near the boundary line. In return, we mow unsightly weeds.
It is contact that brings a sense of good will: we are doing something of mutual benefit. Our neighbors are not confronted with the high, thick hedge we would be required to plant if we wanted to continue harvesting certified grapes in this area, and we can continue to harvest the grapes along the boundary line.
Attention to boundaries also affords us opportunity to know the people living on the other side of the fence and to develop some working relationship with them. In defining our boundaries, we define our relationship with the land and people around us.