Thank you for giving away your freedom to write that =;-)
I now have, in eloquent words, what I have been *feeling* and trying to accomplish for (many) decades, in the midst of spray-happy neighbors and chem lawns (landscapes, not gardens).
In the 70's, when Roundup first came out, it was to touted (in the actual literature) as degrading *totally* - to water. "Very safe." No surprise there.
Many blessings sir - kudos on your ability to write about farming.
We have to remember how herbalists traditionally thought. They didn't arrange plants by genetic relationships but by their external expression. They organized them by forms that rhymed. For example, false dandelion, dandelion, thistles, chicory, etc. all were in the same constellation because of their growth patterns and medicinal uses. The variations on colors indicate a slightly different activity, but nonetheless these are all diuretic and/or liver herbs.
Let me just say: you can try with what you have. I see an image of a rough field full of thistles. If dandelion won't grow, as a rule, we should use *what will grow* and what grows in an analogous way that dandelion does. Imagine a wild field requiring more of the thistle influence. Then perhaps milder chicory starts growing. Then that gives way to dandelion! A progressive "domestication" process on a gentle spectrum. Steiner himself said replacements could easily be found, so I don't think we should overcomplicate finding a substitute: what grows there, exhibits the growth variations similar to dandelion, serves as a liver tonic, and probably has yellow flowers. Try it and see!
To my knowledge, yes. I also forgot to mention another neighbor who was pouring used motor oil on my field and who dug a trench to drain sewage illegally onto my property
Thank you for this wonderful article. So helpful. Question-did the dung beetle help to process the BC and how long did it take from beginning to end to process? So grateful for what you share! Very encouraging to know my little garden is helpful and can process the poisons around us!! That made my day!
In this particular case, the video was taken in April, the pit was started in January. The dung beetles really did a number on it, drinking up all excess moisture (and with it an "astral" element) but allowing its aerobic aging process to accelerate. It can take much longer if conditions aren't ideal. I suggest that most people make Barrel Compound (BC) leading up to your dry season, so the earth will naturally exhale any surplus humidity. If it stays too wet, it doesn't transform. But there are really two kinds of BC. If you use autumn manure with roughage (lignin) you're feeding a more fungal-dominant preparation. If you use spring manure from very green young growth, you're tending to feed a more bacterial-dominant preparation. Not that either is bad, but they might have different uses.
Excellent article, Stewart! I wish that soybean farmer could get a good lesson in botany. I am also outside all day until it's dark if possible (unless I'm working for Spikenard or at the App State Libraries) and then I have a lot of energy to sit still and read and write. Often, it's just reading about individual plant species, but sometimes more productive than that. THANK YOU.
Powerful! And profound!
Thank you for giving away your freedom to write that =;-)
I now have, in eloquent words, what I have been *feeling* and trying to accomplish for (many) decades, in the midst of spray-happy neighbors and chem lawns (landscapes, not gardens).
In the 70's, when Roundup first came out, it was to touted (in the actual literature) as degrading *totally* - to water. "Very safe." No surprise there.
Many blessings sir - kudos on your ability to write about farming.
Elementals too! ❤️
Thank you, Stewart for your profound thinking and writing.
I also have a question for you regarding dandelion. Ken, what is called the false dandelion be used in making tease and preps?
We have to remember how herbalists traditionally thought. They didn't arrange plants by genetic relationships but by their external expression. They organized them by forms that rhymed. For example, false dandelion, dandelion, thistles, chicory, etc. all were in the same constellation because of their growth patterns and medicinal uses. The variations on colors indicate a slightly different activity, but nonetheless these are all diuretic and/or liver herbs.
Let me just say: you can try with what you have. I see an image of a rough field full of thistles. If dandelion won't grow, as a rule, we should use *what will grow* and what grows in an analogous way that dandelion does. Imagine a wild field requiring more of the thistle influence. Then perhaps milder chicory starts growing. Then that gives way to dandelion! A progressive "domestication" process on a gentle spectrum. Steiner himself said replacements could easily be found, so I don't think we should overcomplicate finding a substitute: what grows there, exhibits the growth variations similar to dandelion, serves as a liver tonic, and probably has yellow flowers. Try it and see!
Stewart... about neighbors...are they still killing bees ? Are you still speaking?
To my knowledge, yes. I also forgot to mention another neighbor who was pouring used motor oil on my field and who dug a trench to drain sewage illegally onto my property
Jesus Christ.
Thank you for this wonderful article. So helpful. Question-did the dung beetle help to process the BC and how long did it take from beginning to end to process? So grateful for what you share! Very encouraging to know my little garden is helpful and can process the poisons around us!! That made my day!
In this particular case, the video was taken in April, the pit was started in January. The dung beetles really did a number on it, drinking up all excess moisture (and with it an "astral" element) but allowing its aerobic aging process to accelerate. It can take much longer if conditions aren't ideal. I suggest that most people make Barrel Compound (BC) leading up to your dry season, so the earth will naturally exhale any surplus humidity. If it stays too wet, it doesn't transform. But there are really two kinds of BC. If you use autumn manure with roughage (lignin) you're feeding a more fungal-dominant preparation. If you use spring manure from very green young growth, you're tending to feed a more bacterial-dominant preparation. Not that either is bad, but they might have different uses.
Excellent article, Stewart! I wish that soybean farmer could get a good lesson in botany. I am also outside all day until it's dark if possible (unless I'm working for Spikenard or at the App State Libraries) and then I have a lot of energy to sit still and read and write. Often, it's just reading about individual plant species, but sometimes more productive than that. THANK YOU.
Extinction burst of the patriarchy..
Summer will be beyond imagining..to quote The Dark is Rising.
I'm so utterly sick of the patriarchy.
Down with the archons!