# Applied Biodynamics — Issue 086 (Fall/Winter 2014–2015) **By JPI Admin** · 2025-12-31 **Applied Biodynamics No. 86** brings Ehrenfried Pfeiffer’s life and applied soil work into one substantial reference issue. It connects the development of compound biodynamic products with a 100-ton-per-day municipal compost system, then translates the wider preparation regimen into practical spray sequencing and a winter [Biodynamic Tree Paste](https://go.jpibd.org/product-tree-paste) protocol. In **“Ehrenfried Pfeiffer: Enlivening the Soil for Health,”** Abigail Porter explains how Pfeiffer developed [Pfeiffer Compost Starter](https://go.jpibd.org/product-pfeiffer-compost) in the 1940s and adapted the work into [Pfeiffer Field and Garden Spray](https://go.jpibd.org/product-pfeiffer-spray). Both compound preparations contain the biodynamic compost preparations, BD 500, cultivated beneficial soil bacteria, enzymes, fungi, and plant-growth substances; the microorganism ratios differ according to compost or field use. Rhythmic potentization during production removes the need for field stirring. Dehydration suspends microbial activity, giving the finished product a shelf life of a year or more when stored cool, dark, dry, and away from electrical fields. Hunter Francis’s **“Ehrenfried Pfeiffer: A Brief Biography”** follows the scientist from Goetheanum and Loverendale work through Kimberton, Spring Valley, and American farm research. Pfeiffer developed round-filter chromatography and sensitive crystallization as image-forming methods for reading living quality in soil, food, plant, wine, and biological samples. His laboratory, farm consulting, compost work, and skilled translation of biodynamic principles into scientific and commercial settings made large-scale adoption possible. **“The City with Golden Garbage,”** A. W. Martinez’s 1952 _Collier’s_ account, provides an extraordinary process record. Oakland collected about 400 tons of refuse daily; the Comco pilot processed 100–125 tons per day. Workers removed paper, glass, wood, and metal, pulverized the organic fraction, and showered it with water carrying about one tablespoon of Pfeiffer’s bacterial blend per ton. Within two to four days the microbes multiplied approximately 300 million times and heated the piles above 150°F. Decomposition completed in less than a week, producing stable, odorless plant food ready for agricultural use in under three weeks. The reported comparisons were equally concrete: vegetables grown with the compost weighed 25% more than those under conventional fertilizer and contained one to three times more vitamin A; treated soil showed one to four times more nitrogen; and grain protein was consistently higher. The pilot projected 60,000 tons of compost in its next year, while a related field spray used two ounces in five gallons per acre to break down cover crops or stubble fast enough to save roughly a month before the next crop. The system demonstrated that municipal organics could be returned to soil as valuable humus at both civic and farm scale. **“Steiner on the Use of Human Manure”** records the transformation sequence Steiner gave for cycling human-derived material through plant and animal life before it returned to human food. Porter relates this to Pfeiffer’s specialized microbial composting and emphasizes complete biological transformation and verification—especially where modern pharmaceutical residues are present—as the standard for responsible agricultural use. The issue’s **“Frequently Asked Questions: Applying the Preparations”** offers a clear sequence. Establish the compost-preparation foundation first with treated compost, [Barrel Compound](https://go.jpibd.org/product-bc), [Prepared 500](https://go.jpibd.org/product-bd-500p), or Pfeiffer Field and Garden Spray. Apply [BD 500](https://go.jpibd.org/product-bd-500) next in late afternoon or evening to moist, warming soil. Apply [BD 501](https://go.jpibd.org/product-bd-501) only after 500, when annuals have two or three true-leaf sets, stand three to six inches tall, and have established roots; stir and mist at sunrise. Use [BD 508](https://go.jpibd.org/product-bd-508) through the season to strengthen silica processes and balance watery conditions. Apply each preparation individually once or twice before combining. Thereafter, Barrel Compound may enter the last twenty minutes of a BD 500 stir for an evening spray, while the two silica preparations may be combined for sunrise use. The archived annual baseline places 500 in spring and fall, 501 in late spring and midsummer, 508 in spring and fall and during wet periods, and Barrel Compound at green-manure incorporation and again with autumn residue. Full one-acre units of Barrel Compound, BD 500, or Prepared 500 remain whole even on smaller plots; Pfeiffer Field and Garden Spray may be divided in proportion to area. In **“Winter Application of Biodynamic Tree Paste,”** Porter specifies one annual treatment after autumn leaf drop or in late winter before sap flow and bud break, above freezing. A classic mix uses equal parts sticky clay, cow manure, and fine sand; Pfeiffer’s variation adds one stirred unit of BD 500 and 0.5–1.5% BD 508 tea. Brush away moss, lichen, and loose bark, then paint smaller trees completely and cover trunks and lower branches of larger trees. For tall trees or orchards, dilute and strain the paste for whole-tree spraying. JPI’s current [Tree Paste instructions](https://go.jpibd.org/instructions-tree-paste) and [Tree Paste protocol](https://go.jpibd.org/guide-tree-paste) carry this work forward. The president’s letter records JPI’s new 200-square-foot naturally ventilated root cellar, 4,000-square-foot barn and Pfeiffer laboratory, more than fifty workshop students, and over seventy combined years of preparation experience among teachers and staff. Memorials for Ruth Zinniker and KK Haspel preserve two important teaching lineages, and the _Dancing with Thoreau_ review extends the issue’s health theme into direct relationship with nature. The magazine’s move from quarterly to two longer issues per year began in 2015. ## Articles - Letter from the JPI President and JPI Update — Pat Frazier - Ehrenfried Pfeiffer: Enlivening the Soil for Health — Abigail Porter - Ehrenfried Pfeiffer: A Brief Biography — Hunter Francis - The City with Golden Garbage — A. W. Martinez, reprinted from _Collier’s_, May 31, 1952 - Steiner on the Use of Human Manure — Abigail Porter - Frequently Asked Questions: Applying the Preparations - Winter Application of Biodynamic Tree Paste — Abigail Porter - In Memory of Ruth Zinniker and KK Haspel — Abigail Porter - JPI Recommends: _Dancing with Thoreau_ — Abigail Porter ## Key Topics Covered - Pfeiffer Compost Starter and Field and Garden Spray formulation - Rhythmic potentization, dehydration, and one-year storage - Round-filter chromatography and sensitive crystallization - One-hundred-ton-per-day Oakland municipal compost pilot - Microbial temperature, timing, and stabilization sequence - Vegetable weight, vitamin A, soil nitrogen, and grain protein results - Complete transformation of human-derived compost materials - Preparation foundation, sequence, and time-of-day application - Individual and combined earth and silica sprays - Seasonal BD 500, BD 501, BD 508, and Barrel Compound rhythm - Winter Tree Paste recipes and orchard application - JPI storage, laboratory, education, and publication transition ## Related JPI resources - [Biodynamic Tree Paste](https://go.jpibd.org/product-tree-paste), [protocol](https://go.jpibd.org/guide-tree-paste), and [instructions](https://go.jpibd.org/instructions-tree-paste) - [Pfeiffer Compost Starter](https://go.jpibd.org/product-pfeiffer-compost), [guide](https://go.jpibd.org/guide-pfeiffer-compost), and [instructions](https://go.jpibd.org/instructions-pfeiffer-compost) - [Pfeiffer Field & Garden Spray](https://go.jpibd.org/product-pfeiffer-spray), [guide](https://go.jpibd.org/guide-pfeiffer-spray), and [instructions](https://go.jpibd.org/instructions-pfeiffer-spray) - [Barrel Compound](https://go.jpibd.org/product-bc), [guide](https://go.jpibd.org/guide-bc), and [instructions](https://go.jpibd.org/instructions-bc) - [BD 500 Horn Manure](https://go.jpibd.org/product-bd-500), [Prepared 500](https://go.jpibd.org/product-bd-500p), [guide](https://go.jpibd.org/guide-bd-500), and [instructions](https://go.jpibd.org/instructions-bd-500) - [BD 501 Horn Silica](https://go.jpibd.org/product-bd-501), [guide](https://go.jpibd.org/guide-bd-501), and [instructions](https://go.jpibd.org/instructions-bd-501) - [BD 508 Horsetail](https://go.jpibd.org/product-bd-508), [guide](https://go.jpibd.org/guide-bd-508), and [instructions](https://go.jpibd.org/instructions-bd-508) ## Citation _Applied Biodynamics_, Issue 086, Josephine Porter Institute for Applied Biodynamics, Fall/Winter 2014–2015. [**Download Issue 086 PDF**](https://go.jpibd.org/ab-086) **Tags:** Applied Biodynamics Archive, Compost --- > Source: [The Josephine Porter Institute](https://www.jpibiodynamics.org/blogs/applied-biodynamics/applied-biodynamics-issue-086-fall-winter-2014-2015)