Applied Biodynamics — Issue 066 (Fall 2009)

Applied Biodynamics Issue 066 (Fall 2009) combines Philippe Armenier’s vineyard methods and plant-tea recipes with preparation making in Japan, JPI’s 2009 Biodynamic Compound Preparation formula, and a remembrance of Harvey Lisle.

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Attention as biodynamic practice

Christy Korrow begins with Simone Weil’s thought that absolute attention is prayer. In biodynamics, the hour of stirring and the daily presence of the practitioner on the land develop exactly this quality. Practical instruction opens into phenomenological research: reading the book of nature, recognizing the gesture of a healthy plant or landscape, and perceiving what will restore balance.

Philippe Armenier’s vineyard work exemplifies that attentive method. He combines defined preparations and measurable field comparisons with a highly developed ability to read soil, vine, leaf, fruit, and season.

From one-third of a vineyard to complete conversion

Armenier began working biodynamically in Châteauneuf-du-Pape in 1989 after reading Rudolf Steiner’s Agriculture Course and studying with François Bouchet. He first converted one-third of his family’s 52 acres. Armenier reported that during the following hot season, conventionally managed vines drooped under heat and reflected light from the limestone rocks while the biodynamic vines remained green and lifted.

He also reported that blind tastings distinguished the treatments, with more elegant tannins in the biodynamic wine. Within months the whole vineyard entered biodynamic management. By 2009, Armenier reported converting more than 2,000 acres through his consulting work, with about half Demeter certified. These are practitioner observations; the issue does not describe randomized replication or controls sufficient to establish causation.

A repeatable vineyard comparison

The issue shows how to build a strong on-farm comparison:

• Maintain adjacent biodynamic and organic blocks under the same climate and vineyard team.
• Record preparation, stir, date, astronomical timing, weather, rate, and target.
• Photograph the same canopy positions and score leaf angle, color, heat response, fruit set, and ripening.
• Test soil pH, organic matter, cation-exchange capacity, and microbial profiles at consistent points.
• Use blind fruit and wine tastings with the same score sheet for tannin length, acidity, vividness, and expression.
• Repeat across seasons so soil, vine, and wine development can be followed together.

Armenier’s first goal is beautiful soil: the plant reflects the soil, and terroir becomes perceptible in fruit and wine.

Stirring and timing

Armenier favors hand or mechanical stirring that creates a full vortex, chaos, reversal, and vertical movement. The preparation is applied within a program developed for each vineyard and aligned with the planting calendar. Monthly visits allow timing and materials to respond to the actual condition of soil and vines.

Plant teas: methods and rates

Armenier works with the plants used in the biodynamic preparations as fresh or dried herbal teas—not with the finished compost preparations themselves. His methods vary according to material and purpose:

• Infusion: boil water, then pour it over the plant material.
• Decoction: boil the plant material in water and simmer for one hour; useful where extraction is harder, such as oak bark and eggshell.
• Cold tea: steep for three days; it can be used at stronger ratios on smaller acreage.
• Long tea: steep for ten to fourteen days, primarily for soil rather than canopy use.
• Fermented horsetail: prepare by the Kolisko method for the silica and moisture process.

The usual dilution is 1 part tea to 9 parts water. A 1:1 dilution may be used for cold teas, and small areas can receive stronger tea. The field rate is generally 3–5 gallons per acre, sprayed early in the morning while the plants are fresh, breathing, and the air is cool. Canopy sprays are kept lighter; longer-fermented teas are directed toward soil.

Reading the preparation plants

The following are Armenier’s practitioner and spiritual-scientific interpretations, not statements of current scientific consensus:

• Stinging nettle: supports the iron process, trace-element availability, and sap flow.
• Yarrow: works with sulfur and potassium, supports fruit taste, and helps a plant lift from an overly earthbound gesture.
• Chamomile: strengthens the calcium process and helps the vine receive and manage heat.
• Oak bark and eggshell: deepen the calcium process; Armenier combines them with chamomile when that gesture is needed.
• Dandelion: supports the silica process and can extend the activity of BD 501 during a cold season.
• Valerian: works with phosphorus, Saturn, warmth, and the restoration of order.

JPI’s 2009 Biodynamic Compound Preparation formula

In “Anecdotes and Antidotes,” Hugh Courtney records JPI’s working formula: 50 liters (12.5 gallons) of cow manure, 500 grams of basalt powder, 100 grams of eggshell ground so visible particles remain, and one complete set of BD 502–507. For vineyard use, JPI did not add dried stinging nettle plant because its strong leafy-growth gesture was not the fruiting direction sought. Valerian was held until the midpoint, when the buried material had reached a colloidal state.

This historical method can be studied alongside JPI’s current Biodynamic Compound Preparation instructions.

Biodynamic farming and preparation making in Japan

Ben and Konomi Campbell carried their JPI preparation-making experience to Hokkaido, where they joined Takeshi and Michiyo Han’ura, Denis Pilliaud, Yoshiko Kano, farmers, educators, and supporters in forming the Biodynamic Agriculture Association of Japan. Workshops combined introductions to the preparations, cosmic rhythms, the Agriculture Course, cows, CSA structure, and Demeter standards.

At oubdfarm, the Campbells established pasture, Jersey cattle, chickens, greenhouses, a CSA plot, and preparation-making sites. Local conditions shaped their craft: they gathered dandelion and other herbs, planted valerian, used abundant stinging nettle, sourced permitted animal sheaths, built Barrel Compound pits, and carried ground quartz with them when local silica was difficult to find. Their goal was to make extra preparations for growers in Japan and across Asia.

The association model is practical: identify experienced teachers, gather serious farmers, elect an administrator, secure registration support, communicate with growers, offer seasonal workshops, study Demeter standards, and develop local sources for every preparation material.

Harvey Lisle’s spiritual-scientific legacy

The issue honors Harvey Lisle (1915–2009), soil chemist, beekeeper, biodynamic fruit grower, naturalist, dowser, teacher, and researcher. His work connected soil chemistry with rock powders, quartz grinding, beehive placement, vortex formation, food vitality, sprouted grains, enzymes, and spiritually enlivened composting. Nearly seventy years of observation and education made him an important bridge between physical measurement and spiritual science.

Key Topics Covered

Philippe Armenier’s reported vineyard observations

Side-by-side vineyard blocks and blind fruit or wine tasting

Soil tests, canopy observations, yield, and ripening records

Infusion, decoction, cold-tea, and long-tea methods

Dilution, field rate, crop stage, and early-morning application

JPI’s 2009 Biodynamic Compound Preparation formula

Local preparation sourcing and association building in Japan

Harvey Lisle’s soil, quartz, bee, and stirring work

Repeatable Practice

1. Define adjacent treatment and comparison blocks before the season; match variety, soil, irrigation, and management as closely as possible and randomize placements when feasible.
2. Record every preparation or tea ingredient, batch, dilution, rate, stir, timing, crop stage, weather condition, equipment setting, and co-intervention.
3. Use fixed soil tests, canopy photographs, disease scores, yield and fruit measures, plus blinded tasting with the same score sheet and identified sample order.
4. Repeat across seasons and sites, retain null or adverse results, and keep practitioner or spiritual-scientific interpretations distinct from measured outcomes.

Explore Related Resources

• Rudolf Steiner’s Agriculture Course
• BD 500 Horn Manure, guide, and instructions
• BD 501 Horn Silica, guide, and instructions
• BD 502–507 Compost Preparation Set and instructions
• Biodynamic Compound Preparation, guide, and instructions
• BD 508 Horsetail, guide, and instructions
• Stella Natura Planting Calendar and calendar guide

Articles

• Growing the Biodynamic Wine Industry in California: An Interview with Philippe Armenier (H. Francis) 
• Biodynamic Farming and Preparation Making in Japan (B. Campbell) 
• Harvey Lisle, Spiritual Scientist, 1915–2009 (C. Korrow) 
• Anecdotes and Antidotes — Biodynamics at Work (H. Courtney) 
• Faye’s Freeform Kale and Radish (compliments of A. Morgan of Midheaven Farm) 

Citation

Source: Applied Biodynamics, Issue No. 66, Josephine Porter Institute for Applied Bio-Dynamics, Fall 2009.