Biodynamic Forces at Work
Posted on Sun, Mar 08, 2009
So we’ve all heard of organic, as in organic food, farming, cotton etc, but what about biodynamic? Do you know what Demeter is, what the symbol looks like or what it stands for? What concepts underpin biodynamic practice for the farmer, smallholder or gardener and how can these be applied to anyone’s backyard? Intrigued and slightly dubious, but open and wanting to learn more about biodynamic farming, I recently attended a weekend course in Biodynamic Agriculture at Emerson College in Sussex to learn more.
Pioneered by Rudolf Steiner, biodynamic (BD) agriculture is rooted in anthroposophy, a philosophy which encompasses the spiritual as well as the physical world and embraces a profound understanding of the human being and of evolution. As farmers or growers, BD involves the use of particular spray preparations (such as horn sicila, see below for more info) as an aid in enhancing light into the crop and enhancing the ‘forces’ of compost. Planting and harvesting are done in tune with particular cosmic alignments and the ‘farmer’ (grower, gardener, smallholder but for ease, let’s use the generic term, farmer) is the artist, philosopher and producer with awareness of all these factors. It might sound rather alternative and wacky, but if, as smallholders, you are interested in going Beyond Organic or looking for a niche market, then this might be of interest!
Steiner and Anthroposophy
The German philosopher Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) gave a series of lectures over a number of years on subjects as diverse as education, development of the child, the arts, science, medicine and history as well as agriculture. Steiner delivered a lecture in 1924 on agricultural practice at the estate of Von Keyserlingk in Germany, as a response to the increasing use of chemical nutrient applications of farms. He sought to awaken individuals to their own spiritual experience and investigations and encourage a greater attentiveness to the manifestations of spirit in everyday life.
Steiner’s approach to agriculture was that the world around us is more that just what we see, but also contains life forces and a connection to the spiritual world. Following the lecture, a group of farmers came together and began to work on some of the ideas until both biodynamic practice and anthroposophy were banned by the Nazi government in Germany.
Today there are 173 certified (see Demeter below) farms in the UK making up 10,000 acres (4,000 hectares). Germany has the most BD farms – 1,327 farms on more than 53,000 hectares.
Etheric Forces
One of the central concepts of BD agriculture is that of etheric forces – the forms of plants don’t come about randomly or coincidentally but are the effect of four formative forces. These are life, water, light and warmth and the relative strength of these varies during the cycle of both the day and the year.
Soul Qualities in Animals
This is another concept that sets BD apart from organic or any other form of agriculture and means that animals show, in their motion, emotion and behaviour, their inherent soul qualities that should be respected in farming. The animal kingdom is divided into three depending on the soul qualities of particular animals.
- Nerve sensory beings – most related to the head, fast moving, agile, quick response animals which eat rich feed – for example, birds.
- Rhythmic beings – those with large chests, predatory animals – lions etc
- Digestive beings – big slow animals that eat a lot of low nutrient food, such as cows.
The Farmer as Artist and Other Things
The farmer is the link between the cosmos and the earth, and his role is to get the right thing in the right place at the right time, to think and plan with the aim to create balance and harmony within the farm system. For example, the thought process would go something like this: I have this number of acres for my BD farm, and I need so much land for grazing and so much for the production of concentrate feed. Therefore, I can stock so many cows which produce this much milk, meat and manure, which needs to be spread on so many acres on which I could grow so much vegetables to supplement the meat and milk. This process is no different on any conventional or organic farm, but what sets BD apart is that they aim to be a closed system – one which is self-sufficient, buying in as little as possible. This isn’t always practical – BD farms might buy in buckets of Crystalix at lambing time, but routine purchase of concentrate feed, for example, isn’t part of the system.
BD farmers work with a consciousness of their farm as a being where the soil is one of the organs, livestock another, vegetable crops another and so on. One practical application of this is that the farmer tries to find time to be still on his farm and learn to use his intuition – not easy when we’re all busy rushing from here to there and ending the day exhausted!
Spray Preparations
BD preparations form a unique and integral part of the biodynamic approach to farming – their use helps to increase soil vitality, regulate imbalances, improve plant health and bring the farm into harmony with its surroundings. There are two types of spray preparations and six compost preparations which BD farmers use. The spray preparations are horn manure and horn silica:
- Horn manure is made with cow manure, placed in a cow horn and buried in the corner of a field in September, and dug up again around Easter time. It’s sprayed towards evenings as rough water droplets on the soil prior to sowing and planting. It encourages healthy root growth, assists the plant in finding nutrients and mediates the terrestrial forces of life (such as water). In drought situations, it encourages deep rooting.
- Horn silica is made with ground quartz crystal placed in cow horn and buried in March/April and dug up again in September. It’s sprayed as a fine mist directly onto the growing plant at specific stages in its development. It also benefits the ripening process in all kinds of crops.
When the horns are dug up at the specified time of year, the preparations are dissolved in water (ideally, slightly warmed in rain water) and vigorously stirred for an hour before being sprayed immediately onto the fields. The aim of the stirring is to create chaos (so you stir one way and then the other to create a vortex) which, when sprayed, encourages various forces beneficial to the crop.
Other preparations are made specifically for use in the compost heap. These are:
- Yarrow preparation – connected to the potassium and sulphur processes of the soil and helps draw in substances, finely distributes in the atmosphere and beyond to replenish the soil grown tired through many years of cultivation.
- Camomile preparation – connected with living calcium processes and helps to stabilize plant nutrients, dampens down excessive fermentation and invigorates plant growth.
- Stinging Nettle preparation – has a relationship to iron. It develops sensitivity in the soil and helps stabilize nitrogen.
- Oak Bark preparation – rich in calcium substance. It helps ward off so-called plant diseases and fungal attacks.
- Dandelion preparation – connected with living silica processes, it activates light influences in the soil and enables the interrelationships of nature to become fully effective.
- Valerian preparation – has a strong affinity t the activity of phosphorous, provides a warmth blanket to the compost heap and earthworms love it!
(From the Biodynamic preparations list from the Biodynamic Agricultural Association)
All these preparations are mixed into each compost heap, so they can stabilize and harmonise the various processes going on within that heap. In common with many BD practices, the preparations appear to have a levelling effect.
In Tune with the Cosmos
Until I attended the Biodynamics for the Backyard course, I had an idea that the only thing which set BD farming apart from organic, or any other system, is that the planting and harvesting is done in tune with the stars and the moon. As you can tell from the previous paragraphs, there’s much more to BD than this!
BD practice tells us that during the day, the season and the year, there are certain cycles, where the different life forces are stronger or weaker and so on. For instance, in the early summer, the light ether is very strong, as is the life ether, but the water ether is withdrawing and the warmth ether is just becoming stronger. By late summer, the life and light might be starting to reduce but the warmth is really strong (imagine a day in June compared to a day in August) – June has bright, long days but not necessarily hot, whereas in August the days are already getting shorter but the temperature is at its hottest). What this means to the BD farmer is that some days are leaf days, while others are root days, fruit or flower days and the farmer decides what to sow, plant or harvest in conjunction with these cycles.
Practical Applications
Its possible to buy cow horns and the BD preparations (see further information below), so you don’t need your own cow horn or quartz for horn manure or horn silica sprays, and you can have a go at the preparations on whatever scale you’re working, or just in your compost heaps. Many organic or chemical free producers might be searching for that something extra to set their produce apart from other organic items, and BD offers something of a niche market and opportunity to those farmers open to the philosophy and applications.
Other practical applications of BD include the preparation and use of homeopathic biodynamic preparations for the control of various pests and diseases. Also teaching on the course at Emerson when I attended was Glen Atkinson from New Zealand who makes these preparations – including some to discourage cats and possums. We debated the possibility of making a BD homeopathic slug spray, but I shall try the cat one first in my own garden and report its success or otherwise.
For anyone interested in sowing, planting and harvesting in tune with the cosmos, each year you can purchase a biodynamic sowing and planting calendar. I’m writing this in June, and the book tells me today is an earth/light day, root until 12.00 and flower from 13.00. today is also the day of the new moon and the book tells me that bees will be gathering pollen. The book describes what is appropriate on particular days as an example:
Development in the leaf realm is in the cabbage family, lettuce, spinach, lambs lettuce, endive, parsley, leafy herbs and fodder plants. Leaf days are suitable for sowing and tending these plants, but not for harvesting and storage. For these (as well as harvesting cabbage for sauerkraut) fruit and flower days are recommended. (Thun & Thun, 2006)
Demeter
Demeter is the international body which certifies BD farms. Its symbol can be found on products as diverse as wheat, wine, carrots and apple juice. Only strictly controlled and contractually bound partners are permitted to use the brand. A comprehensive verification process ensures strict compliance with the International Demeter Production and Processing Standards, as well as applicable organic regulations in the various countries. Every BD farm follows the EU 2092/91 rules and regulations on organic production, but always works to increase the fertility of the soil. BD farming creates whole farm systems, where soils, crops, animals and humans are part of an integrated and coherent, sustainable farm organism.
Further information:
Written by Rebecca Johns, Registrar at Emerson College
Published in Country Smallholding Magazine – September 2007
To download a copy of the article, please follow this link:
Forces at Work - Country Smallholding Magazine, September 2007