# Applied Biodynamics — Issue 003 (Spring 1993) **By JPI Admin** · 2025-12-31 **Issue 003 (Spring 1993)** moves _Applied Bio-Dynamics_ from introductory explanation into field observation and organized practitioner research. It combines seasonal interpretation, a four-year report from JPI’s fields, repeatable garden procedures, a continuation of Hugh Courtney’s preparation lecture, and five proposed research questions with controls and reporting requirements. ## Issue Overview **“The Lenten, Easter, Spring Season” - Candace Coffin.** Coffin relates Lent, Easter, the equinoxes, solstices, and seasonal festivals to Rudolf Steiner’s image of the Earth’s yearly “breathing.” In her account, spring is an outward movement expressed in new plant growth, summer is full exhalation, autumn begins an inward movement, and winter holds life forces within the Earth. She connects that cycle to the winter burial of BD 500 and BD 502-506 and to the farmer’s responsibility to observe seasonal change. **“A Farm Report” - Nick Franceschelli.** Franceschelli reviews work on about 50 acres of JPI meadow and hay land from 1989 through 1992. He reports using [Barrel Compost](https://go.jpibd.org/product-bc), [BD 500](https://go.jpibd.org/product-bd-500), [BD 501](https://go.jpibd.org/product-bd-501), and fermented [BD 508](https://go.jpibd.org/product-bd-508); compares large poultry-manure piles with cattle-manure compost; and records a strong clover response followed by lodging in the poultry-manured field. His operational preferences include early application of Barrel Compost and BD 500, coarse droplets onto moist soil, BD 501 soon afterward, and emptying the sprayer within an hour of stirring. He repeatedly labels the account as observational: the farm was not commercial, the acreage was small, and the work lacked controlled crop trials. **“The Vegetable Gardens at JPI” - Gisela Franceschelli.** The garden column supplies procedures detailed enough for another practitioner to repeat. The potting mix uses equal parts vermiculite, perlite, and peat moss or Pro-Mix. Chamomile tea for moistening the mix uses three tablespoons of dried flowers in two quarts of boiled rainwater, steeped for 20 minutes. Garden beds are cultivated shallowly, cover crops are incorporated, and Barrel Compost is sprayed before planting. For a [BD 505](https://go.jpibd.org/product-bd-505) seed bath, the article calls for stirring in warm rainwater for one hour and soaking seeds for 15-30 minutes; direct-sown seeds are sprayed in the furrow. Planting-day choices are referenced to the [Stella Natura calendar](https://go.jpibd.org/calendar-stella). Franceschelli explicitly says these are observations and records, not scientifically acceptable experiments, and invites corrections and results from readers. **“Biodynamic Preparations” - Hugh Courtney.** This is the second part of the lecture begun in Issue 002, with the final part promised for the June issue. Courtney interprets preparations through geographic, mineral, elemental, plant-organ, and human-organism polarities. He argues from his experience that North American practice has underused the more “cosmic” preparations, especially [BD 501](https://go.jpibd.org/instructions-bd-501) and [BD 508](https://go.jpibd.org/guide-bd-508), and stresses that proper storage is essential. These are Courtney’s interpretive claims, not findings from a controlled comparison. **“Practical Biodynamic Research” - Hugh Courtney.** Courtney argues that preparation rules should not rest on authority without reasons or data. The proposed JPI program asks participants to record exact stirring and spraying times, dates, weather, the plant organ treated, identical plot management, and qualitative observations. JPI offers research forms and, beyond a participant’s normal practice, the required preparations apart from shipping. ## The Five Proposed Research Questions 1. Can BD 500 and Barrel Compost be stirred and sprayed together with the same effect as separate applications? The proposed design uses a stirred-water control, separate-treatment plot, combined-treatment plot, the same crop, and otherwise identical management. 2. Is pre-potentized BD 500X stirred for 20 minutes as effective as regular BD 500 stirred for one hour? The proposed comparison again uses a control and identical crop treatment. 3. Does pre-potentized BD 500X remain effective longer than the four-hour window attributed to regular BD 500? The article admits that a workable method had not yet been determined. 4. Can a potentized BD 501 preparation produce a useful effect with shorter stirring? The proposal compares regular BD 501 with JPI’s potentized version using parameters similar to Question 2. 5. Does sequential spraying relieve drought or encourage precipitation? Courtney reports rainfall after more than 90 percent of over 100 applications, but explicitly says inconsistent procedures and incomplete statistics support only a claim of “coincidence” at that stage. Participants are asked to record application timing and before-and-after weather data. **“Words of Encouragement” - Candace Coffin.** Coffin closes with Rudolf Steiner’s reported reassurance to Herbert Hahn that enthusiasm can substitute for maturity, offering it to practitioners who feel overwhelmed by the knowledge and commitment the work demands. ## Why This Issue Matters Issue 003 is an early attempt to turn practitioner experience into comparable evidence. Its value lies not only in the practices described, but in its explicit separation of observation from controlled research, its call for controls and consistent reporting, and its willingness to identify questions for which no method yet existed. ## Articles - The Lenten, Easter, Spring Season - Candace Coffin - A Farm Report - Nick Franceschelli - The Vegetable Gardens at JPI - Gisela Franceschelli - Biodynamic Preparations - Hugh Courtney - Practical Biodynamic Research - Hugh Courtney - Words of Encouragement - Candace Coffin ## Key Topics Covered - Seasonal festivals and the Earth’s annual breathing cycle - Four years of preparation use on JPI meadow and hay land - Poultry- and cattle-manure compost observations - Sequential spraying during dry and flooded conditions - Potting mix, chamomile tea, BD 505 seed baths, and transplanting - Geographic and cosmic interpretations of the preparations - Preparation storage and underuse of BD 501 and BD 508 - Controls, consistent treatment, timing, weather, and plant-organ reporting - Five practitioner research questions for 1993 and beyond [**Download Issue 003 PDF**](https://go.jpibd.org/ab-003) ## Citation _Applied Bio-Dynamics_, Issue 003, Spring 1993. Josephine Porter Institute for Applied Bio-Dynamics, Woolwine, Virginia. **Tags:** Applied Biodynamics Archive, Crop and Garden Practice, Research Methods --- > Source: [The Josephine Porter Institute](https://www.jpibiodynamics.org/blogs/applied-biodynamics/applied-biodynamics-issue-003-spring-1993)