Winter Preparations

spray times, burial considerations, and preparation for the night of the year

Biodynamic Digest #16

Liturgy of the Year by Max Leyf

THIRTY-FIRST WEEK OF THE YEAR

31. Das Licht aus Geistestiefen,
Nach außen strebt es sonnenhaft.
Es wird zur Lebenswillenskraft
Und leuchtet in der Sinne Dumpfheit,
Um Kräfte zu entbinden,
Die Schaffensmächte aus Seelentrieben
Im Menschenwerke reifen lassen.

∇∆

EFFULGENCE from the depths of mind
outward streams in sun-like fullness
transforming light to life and life to will
and fire kindling in the senses’ dullness
to rouse the soul to action till
her will shall overperch her soulness
and go forth as spirit working deeds in humankind

As Below, so Above-

Life in the soil is changing. Our soul’s life is changing too, as winter approaches, we inwardly start to experience the summer of the soul! The two most important times to apply Biodynamic preparations are spring and autumn. With fall in the air and the approach of the cold winds of winter, we can benefit our gardens and fields, vines and orchards with an application of BD preparations. Annual plant life germinates out of the Earth in the warmth of spring, and returns to the Earth in the cool of autumn. Physical life incarnates on Earth. Spiritual life flows through the universe. Biodynamic preparations contain spiritual life in a material substance. Through Biodynamics, Rudolf Steiner provided the “spiritual-scientific foundations for renewal of agriculture.”

“Everything that lives on Earth and assumes a physical form, must be able to be led back into the universe in order to undergo a kind of cleansing and purification.”¹

On the road!

Stewart and Lloyd are busy on the Biodynamic trail, making preps, teaching others, and carrying on the good work. Amongst this week’s many adventures, we squeezed in enough time to produce another round of the BD Digest for your reading and listening pleasure. All of the Biodynamic preparations have been successfully made and are in the ground for winter in Colorado, so we’re off to California to make more before winter’s cool. This week, we made a whole lot more Biodynamic preparations, including Horn manure, Barrel compound, Chamomile, Oak bark, and Dandelion preparations. We carefully located new burial sites for producing the BD preparations, and successfully made large quantities for future use on the vineyards and orchards, and olive groves, gardens, and pastures. Each site was specially chosen, and pictures and some descriptions of the preps and sites are included towards the end of this article. First, let’s explore this fascinating series of auspicious planetary trines that is happening this month.

November Astronomical phenomena continue with a spectacular series of beneficial Trines occurring!

November’s interesting planetary astronomy continues with a series of planetary trines in the second half of the month.

Six special trines are highlighted in the second half of November in the Thun Biodynamic planting calendar, and three are designated as especially important. Three of the six Trines are with 120-degree aspects of the Light/Air constellations, and three all occur with 120-degree aspects in the Water/Leaf constellations.

Three planetary trines in the second half of November are highlighted as “specially good” in the Maria Thun Biodynamic almanac.

TUNE UP

It is time for the annual autumnal tune-up. Just as your car runs better after a “tune up” by a professional mechanic, we Biodynamics practitioners can tune up the soil and our gardens for a more productive, healthier garden. It’s a mistake to imagine that we can “bypass” simple good gardening and farming practices and take a quantum leap to abstract manifestation: biodynamics enhances already established good practices, but can do little to help a garden lacking an attentive gardener. The real work is always human. If someone brings in a completely totaled engine to an auto shop and wants to “soup up” the engine, the mechanic would reasonably look at such a person as a lunatic. This is what using the biodynamic calendar without first establishing sound agricultural practices is like.

Biodynamic “fine tuning” is excellent, and will make the garden run better than ever – but only if it is running well to begin with, because of the beautiful participation of the farmer or gardener! Or, for another example, biodynamic herbs are like “seasoning” a dish when cooking: the right herbs can make a decent meal into a truly delicious experience, but no amount of adding herbs will redeem a completely burnt recipe! Obviously, this isn’t to downplay the significance of biodynamics, but the primary biodynamic activity is between your own two hands: doing the work – and then, after that, fine-tuning timing wherever possible.

The tune will include the “TUNES” from the planetary and zodiacal spheres.

“Our earthly existence would not be possible if the Earth simply wandered through the universe as a solid body separate from the rest of the cosmos.”²

A simple application of Biodynamic Horn Manure, BD 500, and Barrel Compound (BC), can be applied to good effect during any of these three trines. Applications of Biodynamic preparations can work wonders on building soil health, while increasing Earthworm activity and microbiology and these effects tend to be enhanced by such times. In the case of myself or Stewart, we are frequently applying biodynamic preparations, which is more important than their timing. For example, it’s particularly good to meditate at dawn, yes, but it’s far better to meditate any time with regularity every day! With regular applications of biodynamic preparations under one trine, then another, and then the next, we cycle through a pronounced enhancement of all the elements in the expression of plants. But it is more important that you apply biodynamic preparations than the exact timing. If you are in the habit of regular applications of biodynamic preparations, then it is probably time to take timing more seriously if and only if it means you don’t reduce your regularly scheduled programs.

What to do this time of year for the annual tune-up?

1. Apply compost!

The best time to apply compost is in the autumn.

If you can’t apply compost for one reason or another, you can always apply Biodynamic Barrel Compound (BC). BC is the simplest and most easy-to-use of the BD preparations.

BC meets the Demeter Farm Standard standards for application of BD compost preps, and is so easy to use, and so very beneficial for the garden, that we cannot recommend enough the importance of application at this time of year.

2. Apply Mulch!

One of the most dramatic improvements I have ever seen in soil health is with an over-winter application of BD preps along with mulch. Ehrenfried Pfeiffer reminds us in his lectures that any light sandy soil requires either mulch or some form of shade to prevent excessive evaporation. While mulch is not ideal for cold, heavy clay soils or areas with excessive humidity, it is essential for many areas. In Stewart’s subtropical area, he doesn’t apply mulch in the autumn because they get so much rain and snow, but by spring and summer, mulch is much more important so the soil doesn’t completely dry out. Mulch for you will depend on soil and climate, but regardless of your particular situation, some of your plants will likely benefit from some form of mulch.

Mulch helps keep soil moisture intact by preventing exposure to the elements. In dry areas, this is especially important. Windy and dry days take the moisture out of the soil if it is not protected. In wet areas, mulch helps maintain soil texture by preventing the soil from being flattened by rain or forming a hard crust, slowing water intake, and preventing runoff by creating miniature dams that hold moisture from escaping, reducing runoff ruts and ditches where we don’t want them.

Mulch over a biodynamic pit burial site will help keep excessive weeds away. Weeds take advantage of open soil to fill in any bare spots. Nature always wants to recover. One can think of the extreme green that grows after a forest fire. Or a field that has been plowed, where weeds quickly emerge, covering the soil in new life. When we dig a pit, it is like a temporary “wound” on the surface of Mother Earth; and while we can’t blame her for wanting to “fix” it by growing vegetation and eating up all our preparations, we can’t permit this!

Soil Compaction

One of the things regular use of Biodynamic preparations is good for is helping with soil compaction. Soil compaction, from foot traffic or vehicles, can suffocate the soil. Good air penetration is key to quickening the biological process. In fact, when asked what the number one problem in the world was, Alan Chadwick cryptically declared, “Compaction!” But this is everything: we cultivate by creating a differential that wants to return. Steiner describes air below soil as “more alive” and the same with warmth. This is much simpler than some have made it: when we cultivate, we lift up earth (which wants to go back down!) and we bring air down into the earth (which wants to go back up!). Water is “alive” above the ground inasmuch as it still wishes to return down to its level. Earth mounded up becomes more “alive” because it wishes to go back down. But consider warmth: it always rises from a candle flame. When we add the fire of life to soil, it wishes to go back up to find its “level” up in the atmosphere. Think of a birthday balloon: it wants to rise to the ceiling. When you pull it down low, it is more “alive” and full of force than when it settles and stops moving in the corner of the ceiling. In all gardening we are bringing warmth and air downward and earth and water upwards. This alchemical inversion stimulates an enormous amount of life. But if the soil ever becomes compacted, there is no more life: the earth has settled out, the air has returned to the atmosphere. It is our moral duty to prevent compaction on the surface of Mother Earth wherever we can.

When the soil is too wet, we must add warmth. When it is too heavy, we must lighten it. This is the alchemical work of every gardener and farmer: forever balancing the elements.

balancing the elements - image by Stewart Lundy

In some areas, the natural environment is so fragile that even a footstep can result in a thousand years of damage. The Cryptobiotic soils of the semi-arid regions of the desert southwest, “A single footstep is able to impact the soil’s functionality for 20-plus years in wetter climates and up to 1,000 years in more arid areas – like those found in western Colorado.” The fragility of the soil is of utmost concern. Some soils recover quicker and more easily than others. Can we renew nature’s process for speeding up the estimated 1000-year recovery process?

We have witnessed extraordinary results through our work in Biodynamics over the last few decades. Building soil 1000 times faster than the natural process is indeed nothing short of miraculous, in this day and age of industrial input-dependent modern agriculture. It is possible, and we have soil tests to prove it. Soil erosion, loss of fertility and degradation are the normal common results of conventional farming nowadays. Over the course of the last decade we have experimented with using the preps to increase soil health, seeking the possibility to renew and accelerate the biological renewal cycle.

3. Apply Biodynamic preparations

We cannot stress enough the importance of applying preparations this time of year. Accelerating the natural biological process through timely applications of the nine biodynamic preparations is a powerful effect of using them.

Did you know that one of the best times to apply Biodynamic preparations is before snowfall? Excellent results have been achieved by spraying preparations before the first big snow. The preparations have an opportunity to work under the snow. In areas that receive snow, this can be a tremendous opportunity. Similarly, Alex Podolinsky had great experiences applying field sprays just before rain or before flood irrigation.

WHY THIS TIME OF YEAR?

“We have seen now how there is an active interplay between what comes from the spirit and takes on form in the carbon framework, and what works out from the astrality in the nitrogen, which permeates the framework with life and makes it sensitive; and we have also seen how life is active there within the oxygen. In the earthly physical world, all these things work together by virtue of their being permeated by something further, something which establishes a connection between this world and the widths of the universe. Our earthly existence would not be possible if the Earth simply wandered through the universe as a solid body separate from the rest of the cosmos. If the Earth did that, it would be like a person who lived on a farm but who wanted to keep what’s growing in the fields separate from himself or herself. That is not very sensible. There are things growing out there in the fields which will soon be in the stomachs of this worthy company, and which will then find their way back to the fields in one way or another. As human beings, we cannot possibly keep ourselves apart from this, since we are connected with our environment and ultimately belong to it. The things in the surroundings belong to the human being just as my little finger belongs to me. A constant exchange of substance must take place. And the same thing must happen between the Earth, with all its creatures, and the whole universe. Everything that lives on Earth and assumes a physical form, must be able to be led back into the universe in order to undergo a kind of cleansing and purification.”³

Winter cleansing and purification offer a new start, a chance for renewal. What happens in winter is a transformation of what was into what will become. This is the cycle of Death and Rebirth—continuation of the species. Sweet lullabies from the music of the spheres flow from the planets that can be found on biodynamic gardens on Earth.

Protection

What Protective measures are we taking when we bury the BD preparations?

Here we can find a few simple solutions to retrieving preparations more easily.

freshly made chamomile prep in mesh sac for easy burial and retrieval.

carefully unearthing the Chamomile preparation that was enclosed in a terra cotta plant pot

Raphael preparing freshly harvested stinging nettle

Some localities have burrowing creatures of all sorts. This can concern the preparation maker if one wants to retrieve the finished product! In the central valley of California we have resorted to making Nettle preparation in mesh sacks made from hardware cloth.

Ground squirrels, moles, voles, and other mammals like digging and burrowing near where we bury BioDynamic preparations. In some cases, we have gone as far as using a metal mesh cage for the prevention of animal damage.

Stinging Nettle cage for protection

Animals like to dig your preps!

Hardware mesh cage built for protection of buried BD preparation stinging nettle

Dandelion preparation wrapped in cheesecloth ready for burial

Make sure you mark the spot where you bury your preparations well. This week in Northern California, we are busy making the various Biodynamic preparations. We were able to find some nice redwood fence posts that we recycled for marking the edge of the burial site.

recycling redwood posts to mark BD preparation burial site

a well marked and strategically placed site for the Chamomile preparation, with redwood fencepost and rocks

Cattle panels surrounding the Biodynamic preparation burial site, to protect from cows and others

With the excellent planetary opportunities happening in November, it is an excellent time to use the Biodynamic preparations. My friend Alissa Collins from Latitude Regenerative Real Estate shared the the following, and I couldn’t have said it better:

“I’ve been putting the garden to sleep - weeding, making new compost piles, tucking things in - but the marigolds, dahlias, and strawflowers are still going strong. Bless them. I missed the potent trine last week, but oh well - decided to stir preps (500, barrel compost, equisetum tea, and a touch of valerian) today. Heavenly!”

These fall and winter stirs and sprays lay the microbial foundation for a thriving spring garden.

Curious how biodynamics can supercharge your garden or farm? Or why we tend this way? Drop a comment or send a message - happy to talk about it all day long.

Go Biodynamic

for Life!

1. R Steiner Agriculture

2. R Steiner Ag

3. RS pg 53 Creeger/ Gardner