Protecting the landscape, cultivating balance
Through its sustainable farming practices, the Cooperativa Toscana Giaggiolo protects the landscape and its native species. With the ‘Sovescio’ project, we regenerate the soil’s fertility, while with the ‘Farfalle’ project, we protect the pollinators and monitor the health of the agricultural ecosystems.
Project ‘Sovescio’
The soil is the real wealth of our fields: it’s through this soil that we are able to achieve the vitality of the iris and see the quality of our daily work. With the ‘Sovescio’ project, we take care of the land using an ancient practice that is now more relevant than ever. ‘Sovescio’ (or ‘green manure’) consists of planting a very particular mix of legumes and grasses in the terrain that’s left fallow during the three-year iris rotation. Once sown, these plants naturally enrich the soil, releasing nitrogen and organic matter, all while improving the soil’s structure and porosity.
In the hillside fields, this practice takes on an even greater importance: it protects the slopes from erosion, maintains natural fertility, and creates microhabitats perfect for insects and small organisms.
Even during the periods when iris is not in production, the soil never rests, but continues to regenerate, preparing the terrain for a new season of growth. This is how the ‘Sovescio’ project becomes a bridge between tradition and innovation, something that restores to the soil that which the harvest has taken away, guaranteeing continuity and vitality for the future.
Project ‘Farfalle’
Butterflies aren’t just fascinating creatures: they really are sentinels of nature, capable of describing the health of an ecosystem just by their very presence. In our iris fields, we have chosen to protect and study butterflies, launching project ‘Farfalle’ in collaboration with qualified specialists. The research has already identified 35 different species belonging to five different Lepidoptera families, of which 18 are extremely rare and unique – all of this is testament to the natural richness of these sites.
In order to protect this rich heritage, we have decided to keep the brambles and wild flora on the edges of our fields, as they are an essential source of nourishment and shelter for insects. We take care of the meadows by respecting their life cycles, cutting the grass only after the spring flowering, and we enrich the landscape by introducing new and aromatic wild species.
For us, the butterflies’ flight amongst the irises is a sign of balance: proof that respectful farming can become the engine of life. Wherever butterflies find a home, we know that nature is continuing to prosper.