# Applied Biodynamics — Issue 051 (Winter 2005–2006) **By JPI Admin** · 2025-12-31 _Applied Biodynamics_ Issue 051 (Winter 2005–2006) documents the Selke Biodynamic Cherry Tomato across about twenty generations, L. A. Rotheraine’s precise BD 507 valerian seed-saving method, preparation-led cold-climate garden observations, and hands-on training for vineyard managers and winemakers. [**Download Issue 051 PDF**](https://go.jpibd.org/ab-051) ## The Selke Biodynamic Cherry Tomato Rotheraine found the original volunteer tomato in an old compost pile in 1988. He moved it to his high-school classroom, saved seed, and grew three indoor generations with his students before continuing outdoors. By 2005 the Selke Biodynamic Cherry Tomato had reached about twenty generations. The indoor plants grew roughly eight feet high and seventeen feet long and produced 250–300 tomatoes despite the ceiling. Outdoor plants regularly exceeded twelve feet, and exceptional plants reached yields measured in the thousands. The strain was named for Margrit Selke, longtime maker of [Pfeiffer Biodynamic Compost Starter](https://go.jpibd.org/product-pfeiffer-compost) and [Pfeiffer Field & Garden Spray](https://go.jpibd.org/product-pfeiffer-spray), whose guidance and materials supported Rotheraine’s early work. ## Making biodynamics visible in a short season At the Elm Street Biodynamic Garden in Bradford, Pennsylvania, tomatoes were started and transplanted weeks before customary local dates. Thick recycled plastic covers and blankets protected the plants through snow and severe cold. In the 2005 season, seed was sown February 22, transplanting began around March 19, thirty plants were in by March 27, and about seventy-five tomatoes were planted by mid-May. Rotheraine used Pfeiffer Field Spray as both a soil and foliar application—up to twenty times on tomatoes, around twelve times on other fruiting crops, and four to six times on root crops during a growing season—while five compost piles continued to receive [BD 502–507](https://go.jpibd.org/product-bd-502-507-set). [BD 507 valerian](https://go.jpibd.org/product-bd-507) was central to his cold-weather work. The issue also records the variety’s success with new growers. In a roughly ninety-day growing season near Hurley, Wisconsin and Ironwood, Michigan, a Selke plant yielded a little over 300 tomatoes. The growers planned to add Field Spray the following year, turning the variety into a living introduction to biodynamic practice. ## Learning preparation balance through close observation Rotheraine’s long record shows the preparations as active partners that call for attention and balance. During one cold, damp summer he used [BD 501 horn silica](https://go.jpibd.org/product-bd-501) repeatedly; four sprays in one morning scorched part of a tomato plant and some cucumbers. The plants survived, and the experience clarified the importance of matching light-formative activity to weather, plant stage, and the complete preparation program. In another season, cold weather left a Selke plant yellowing before a newspaper photograph. Following Hugh Courtney’s suggestion, Rotheraine stirred [BD 504 stinging nettle](https://go.jpibd.org/product-bd-504) and [BD 505 oak bark](https://go.jpibd.org/product-bd-505) separately, applied them together to the tomato hill for three to five consecutive days, and observed fresh green foliage throughout the plant within ten days to two weeks. These accounts encourage growers to record each preparation, dose, stir, date, time, weather, plant stage, and response. With a fixed field map and photographs from the same position, the garden becomes a clear learning record. ## Saving tomato seeds with BD 507 valerian Rotheraine’s method, practiced since the early 1990s, is one of the issue’s most repeatable contributions: 1. Place 80–85 percent tomato seed and pulp with about 15 percent non-chlorinated water in a glass container. 2. Add one unit of BD 507 for each half-gallon of water and stir biodynamically for ten minutes. 3. Leave the container uncovered in a dark, dry, warm place for one to three days; cover only in very cold conditions. 4. Each morning and evening, stir gently four or five times in each direction. 5. When surface mold forms, pour off the mold and floating seed. Viable seed settles to the bottom. 6. Refill with water and decant three or four times until the water is clear. 7. Spread the clean seed on a screen and dry rapidly—typically two to four hours in sun, or indoors with a fan if needed—until hard. The issue reports a direct comparison between about ten plants from twelve-year-old seed and about ten from one-year-old seed. The two groups showed the same visible vigor and production quality. This result makes the valerian method especially valuable for continued grower-led work on seed vitality and long-term stewardship. ## A practical replication for seed vitality To extend Rotheraine’s comparison, divide fruit from the same parent population into valerian-fermented and standard-fermented batches. Store equal seed lots under the same conditions and test them at one, five, ten, and twelve years. Record germination percentage, days to emergence, seedling vigor, transplant survival, first flowering, fruit count, marketable yield, flavor, and seed health. Repeating the comparison across growers would show how consistently the method carries vitality through time. ## Vineyard managers and winemakers at JPI For the second year, vineyard consultant Philippe Armenier brought growers and winemakers from California, Oregon, and Washington to JPI. The three-day program combined lectures, research presentations, and direct preparation work. Participants examined the [BD 500 horn manure](https://go.jpibd.org/instructions-bd-500) pits, [Barrel Compound](https://go.jpibd.org/instructions-bc) pits, compost, cattle, and the wider farm organism. The seminar shows professional viticulture taking preparation making seriously as foundational knowledge. Participants did not simply receive a product list; they met the substances, processes, people, and farm relationships behind the work. ## Key Topics Covered About twenty generations of the Selke Biodynamic Cherry Tomato and reported plant size and yield in classroom and short-season gardens. Pfeiffer Compost Starter and Field Spray as entry points into biodynamic practice and the role of Margrit Selke’s guidance. Weather-responsive uses of BD 501, BD 504, BD 505, and BD 507 as practitioner observations rather than controlled proof. A complete valerian tomato-seed fermentation, washing, settling, and rapid sun-drying protocol. Visible performance of twelve-year and one-year seed as an observation requiring randomized multi-year viability and yield testing. Hands-on biodynamic preparation training for professional vineyard managers, winemakers, and compost makers. ## Repeatable Practice 1. Randomize coded seed lots by age and treatment across replicated trays or plots while holding cultivar, medium, water, temperature, planting depth, and care constant. 2. For the valerian method, record fruit maturity, pulp-to-water ratio, water quality, BD 507 batch and dose, stirring, fermentation temperature and duration, mold formation, washing, drying time, moisture, and storage. 3. Measure germination rate and speed, emergence, vigor, disease, plant size, flowering, fruit number, fruit mass, yield, quality, and seed longevity over multiple seasons. 4. Keep preparation effects separate by testing single inputs or factorial combinations, and report weather protection, ordinary management, null results, and adverse results alongside favorable observations. ## Explore Related Resources - [Pfeiffer Biodynamic Compost Starter](https://go.jpibd.org/product-pfeiffer-compost) and [overview](https://go.jpibd.org/guide-pfeiffer-compost) - [Pfeiffer Field & Garden Spray](https://go.jpibd.org/product-pfeiffer-spray) and [guide](https://go.jpibd.org/guide-pfeiffer-spray) - [BD 507 Valerian](https://go.jpibd.org/product-bd-507) and [guide](https://go.jpibd.org/guide-bd-507) - [BD 501 Horn Silica](https://go.jpibd.org/product-bd-501) and [instructions](https://go.jpibd.org/instructions-bd-501) - [BD 504 Stinging Nettle](https://go.jpibd.org/product-bd-504) and [guide](https://go.jpibd.org/guide-bd-504) - [BD 505 Oak Bark](https://go.jpibd.org/product-bd-505) and [guide](https://go.jpibd.org/guide-bd-505) - [BD 500 Horn Manure](https://go.jpibd.org/product-bd-500) and [instructions](https://go.jpibd.org/instructions-bd-500) - [Barrel Compound](https://go.jpibd.org/product-bc) and [instructions](https://go.jpibd.org/instructions-bc) ## Articles - Biodynamics Brings the Gift of Learning to the Garden (P. Smith, Q&A with L. A. Rotheraine)  - Saving Tomato Seeds Using Valerian (L. A. Rotheraine method)  - Valerian Influence or Hardy Cherry Tomato?  - Vineyard Managers and Winemakers Convene at JPI  - Selke Seed Offer, Garden Notes, Preparation Education, and Publication Notices  ## Citation Source: _Applied Biodynamics_, Issue No. 51, Josephine Porter Institute for Applied Bio-Dynamics, Winter 2005–2006. **Tags:** Applied Biodynamics Archive, BD 502-507, Crop and Garden Practice, Orchards and Perennials, Seeds and Propagation, Weather and Climate --- > Source: [The Josephine Porter Institute](https://www.jpibiodynamics.org/blogs/applied-biodynamics/applied-biodynamics-issue-051-winter-2005-2006)