Biodynamic Tree Paste Recipe

Rejuvenating Orchards and Vineyards, plus DIY recipe

For paid subscribers, the DIY recipe for biodynamic tree paste is available below the paywall at the bottom. Thank you all for your generous support!

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Tree paste is a way to revitalize trees and orchards. It contains clay, the Pfeiffer field spray, the influence of all the biodynamic compost preparations, and fermented Equisetum arvense which helps combat fungus in orchards and vineyards.

Rudolf Steiner reminds us in the Agriculture Course that the green cambium is really like a kind of root network: “That is how we must regard the roots of these plants that grow out of the tree: they are replaced by the cambium. Although the cambium does not look like roots, it is the living, growing layer, constantly forming new cells, so that the plant-life of the tree grows out of it, just as the life of a herbaceous plant grows up above out of the root below.”¹ The cambium transports nutrients throughout the trunk like a delicate mycelial network. Once a perennial is well-established, accessing the root tips may not be easy. But as we can apply nutrients as a foliar spray to leaves, we can also nourish perennials by applying biodynamic tree paste to their trunks.

The application of tree paste to the trunk is where we can access the rhythmic system of the plant directly when the root tips may be far out of reach. Its use helps suppress fungus, mildew, blight, and stimulates healing in remarkable ways.

Applying Biodynamic Tree Paste

Always start with a smile! Ben Nommay preparing biodynamic tree paste.

An optional first step is using a wire brush to “clean” the trunk lightly by removing only the outermost dead bark, lichen, etc. Imagine sanding a wall before painting it. If you take this step, be careful NOT to go too deep. You do not want to expose any green cambium directly. It is enough that the middle bark is coated with tree paste.

Applying tree paste can be done many ways. Some people add water and use brushes to “paint” it on the trees. Other people use bare hands. In large-scale orchards and vineyards, the paste can be diluted 1:9 in water and sprayed on the trunks and branches with good results. Included in the tree paste is clay, which Steiner says aids in the “cosmic upward stream” as well as the full influence of all the compost preparations.

A happily covered tree

Original Tree Paste Recipe (Pfeiffer) vs. JPI Recipe (Courtney):