# Applied Biodynamics — Issue 041 (Summer 2003) **By JPI Admin** · 2025-12-31 _Applied Biodynamics_ Issue 041 (Summer 2003) preserves Heinz Grotzke’s compost, herb-growing, and marketing experience; a 23-ingredient historical animal herb blend; and Hugh J. Courtney’s method for turning planting-calendar claims into recordable, testable hypotheses. [**Download Issue 041 PDF**](https://go.jpibd.org/ab-041) ## Heinz Grotzke: compost, adaptation, and integrity Grotzke traces his path from postwar horticultural training in Germany to biodynamic herb production, Golden Acres Farm in Pennsylvania, and Meadowbrook Herb Garden in Rhode Island. At Golden Acres he worked with Ehrenfried Pfeiffer, managed vegetables, fruit, seed, and compost, and recalls making about 1,000 tons of compost a year. Coffee grounds, chicken manure, and crushed granite required frequent aeration, moisture correction, and close observation; one pile reached about 150°F within three or four days and was later analyzed and described by Pfeiffer as “Grotzke Compost.” His most transferable lesson is that compost rates and management must change with material, soil, rainfall, aeration, and scale. The preparations do not replace turning, moisture control, or judgment. Grotzke’s claims that manure compost raised herb essential oils, that his compost developed unexpectedly high phosphate, or that elemental transmutation occurred are practitioner interpretations in this interview, not demonstrated findings. They can be tested with replicated compost and crop comparisons, complete input and output analyses, and consistent harvest and laboratory methods. The interview also records an early commercial integrity failure. Golden Acres could not meet demand, and a manager began buying outside produce and selling it as biodynamic. Grotzke objected and left in 1961. The lesson remains current: identity-preserved sourcing, lot records, certification status, and honest labels are part of agricultural quality, not separate from it. ## The animal herb blend The issue gives percentages for 23 dried plants, dominated by nettle, raspberry leaf, blackberry leaf, and heather, with smaller amounts of culinary and medicinal herbs. It specifies roughly ¼-inch particles, dark storage, about one year of shelf life, and historical daily amounts of one teaspoon for a small animal or one tablespoon for a large animal. This archival formula is not a veterinary recommendation and the issue supplies no controlled safety or efficacy data. A blend that includes willow, goat’s rue, southernwood, and other biologically active plants should not be generalized across cattle, horses, goats, sheep, pigs, poultry, and dogs on spoon measures alone. Confirm botanical identity, contamination limits, species-specific safety, pregnancy and medication considerations, and a weight-based ration with a veterinarian or qualified animal nutritionist before use. ## Planting calendars as testable hypotheses Courtney color-codes descending and ascending moon periods, [planetary oppositions, conjunctions, and trines](https://go.jpibd.org/guide-cosmos) on a [Stella Natura calendar](https://go.jpibd.org/calendar-stella). The system is an efficient way to predefine timing categories, but color coding and record keeping do not establish that celestial configurations affect plants. The essay also argues that all nine preparations—especially BD 501 and BD 508—are needed to reproduce Maria Thun’s results; unless those inputs are held constant, this makes calendar timing and preparation effects impossible to separate. A clean trial uses seed from one lot, randomized replicate plots or trays, identical soil and care, several dates selected in advance from the claimed favorable and unfavorable categories, and blinded scoring. Hold preparation use constant in every timing group, or use a factorial design that tests timing and preparations independently. Measure germination, emergence, growth, flowering, yield, quality, and disease; repeat across seasons and locations. ## Key Topics Covered Heinz Grotzke’s biodynamic training, herb production, compost management, climate adaptation, and work with Ehrenfried Pfeiffer. Feedstock, aeration, moisture, temperature, scale, and the need to distinguish practitioner interpretations from measured compost outcomes. A 23-ingredient historical animal herb blend, its stated storage and use, and modern veterinary and species-specific safety limits. Identity-preserved sourcing, lot records, certification status, and honest biodynamic labeling. Planting-calendar categories, preparation-use confounding, randomized factorial trials, blinded scoring, and multi-season replication. ## Repeatable Practice 1. Build replicated compost piles from matched feedstock and record inputs, temperature, moisture, aeration, turning, mass loss, maturity, nutrients, and crop response. 2. Treat the animal herb blend as archival: verify every botanical, contaminant limit, interaction, pregnancy risk, and weight-based ration with a veterinarian or qualified animal nutritionist before any trial. 3. Keep supplier, field, harvest, handling, and certification records linked to each lot so product identity can be audited. 4. Test calendar timing with one seed lot, randomized replicate plots or trays, identical care, predeclared dates, constant preparation use or a factorial design, blinded scoring, and repeated seasons. ## Explore Related Resources - [Pfeiffer Compost Starter](https://go.jpibd.org/product-pfeiffer-compost) and the [Pfeiffer Compost Starter overview](https://go.jpibd.org/guide-pfeiffer-compost) - [Pfeiffer Field & Garden Spray](https://go.jpibd.org/product-pfeiffer-spray) - [BD 500 Horn Manure](https://go.jpibd.org/product-bd-500) and the [BD 500 instructions](https://go.jpibd.org/instructions-bd-500) - [BD 501 Horn Silica](https://go.jpibd.org/product-bd-501) and the [BD 501 instructions](https://go.jpibd.org/instructions-bd-501) - [BD 508 Horsetail](https://go.jpibd.org/product-bd-508) and the [BD 508 overview](https://go.jpibd.org/guide-bd-508) - [BD 502–507 Compost Preparation Set](https://go.jpibd.org/product-bd-502-507-set) - [_Agriculture: Spiritual-Scientific Foundations for the Renewal of Agriculture_](https://go.jpibd.org/book-agriculture-course) ## Articles - An Interview with Heinz Grotzke (N. Franceschelli)  - Recipe for Animal Herb Blend Mixture (also known as Bio-Dynamic Cow Tonic)  - Highlighting Celestial Forces in the Biodynamic Planting Calendar (H. J. Courtney)  - _Stella Natura_ August 2003 Calendar Insert  ## Citation Source: _Applied Biodynamics_, Issue No. 41, Josephine Porter Institute for Applied Bio-Dynamics, Summer 2003. **Tags:** Applied Biodynamics Archive, Compost, Crop and Garden Practice, Research Methods --- > Source: [The Josephine Porter Institute](https://www.jpibiodynamics.org/blogs/applied-biodynamics/applied-biodynamics-issue-041-summer-2003)