Applied Biodynamics — Issue 068 (Spring 2010)
Issue 068 (Spring 2010) presents Hugh J. Courtney’s case for BD 508 horsetail, with fresh and fermented recipes, sequential-spray reports, compost use, and testing guidance.
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Applied Biodynamics Issue 068 (Spring 2010) presents Hugh J. Courtney’s spiritual-scientific and practical case for BD 508 horsetail through fresh and fermented recipes, spray sequences, compost use, and field reports.
Courtney reads Lecture Six as a carefully structured progression from fertility and lunar forces to pests, weeds, disease, and finally Equisetum. In Courtney’s spiritual-scientific framework, BD 508 is understood to balance excessive Moon–water influence and bring silica’s cosmic organizing activity into the farm individuality. Courtney therefore presents it as more than a response to fungus, proposing roles in moisture balance, the farm’s sense organization, preparation sequences, compost processes, and pest peppering; these proposed roles are not presented as scientific consensus.
Fresh BD 508 for Foliage
The standard foliar instructions call for one portion of dry BD 508 in one quart of water. Cook it slowly in a covered vessel for 20 minutes, strain, dilute with two gallons of water, and stir biodynamically for 15 minutes. Apply with clean equipment as a fine mist in warm, damp, wet, or sunless conditions when the air is calm and the spray will remain on the foliage. A two-week rhythm is standard, with closer intervals when active fungal pressure calls for it.
Fermented BD 508 for Soil
The Kolisko-derived fermented method uses one unit of shredded horsetail—about eight ounces by volume or 1½ ounces by weight—in one gallon of water. Bring it to a boil, simmer for one hour, cool in a loosely covered crock, and ferment in a cool place for 10–14 days. The characteristic sulfurous odor marks maturity. Strain into glass and store in a cool, dark place; the issue reports that it remains effective for six months or longer.
For application, combine one-half gallon of fermented tea with 4½ gallons of water, stir for 20 minutes, and treat as much as 1½ acres. The full unit can cover up to three acres. Courtney recommends fermented BD 508 as a soil spray following BD 500 Horn Manure in spring and supports a late-fall soil application. The mature tea’s capillary-dynamolysis image, sulfurous character, storage life, and acreage make fermentation a powerful extension of the preparation.
Moisture, Compost, and Peppering
Courtney connects BD 508 with the Sequential Spray Technique: Barrel Compound followed by BD 500, BD 501, and BD 508 within a short period. He recounts drought applications in 1988 and a coordinated early-1990s application by six people at seven Virginia and North Carolina sites, with the strongest reported moisture response associated with a Leaf/Water period. The issue does not describe randomized controls or independent replication for these observations.
For compost piles over ten cubic yards, the issue adds fermented BD 508 as a seventh preparation: it is placed in holes at the ends and middle of the sides and sprinkled on the pile’s exterior. Courtney reports more even moisture distribution without cold wet spots or overheated “fire-fanged” areas. He also reports increased beneficial-fungi counts when Equisetum became a standard compost-tea ingredient, but the issue does not provide enough methodological detail to treat either report as controlled proof.
BD 508 also prepares the field for weed, insect, and animal peppering. Courtney’s practice is to establish the full biodynamic preparation activity first—especially Equisetum—then apply the specific pepper. JPI’s Pest Pepper Video provides a useful companion for that work, while the BD 502–507 Compost Preparation Set supports the compost-placement pattern shown in the issue.
Key Topics Covered
BD 508 within Courtney’s reading of Steiner’s Lecture Six
Fresh horsetail tea for foliar application
Fermented horsetail tea for soil application
Measured quantities, cooking, dilution, stirring, storage, and acreage
Sequential spraying and reported moisture observations
BD 508 as an additional compost treatment
Reported moisture distribution and fungal counts in compost systems
Preparation programs preceding weed, insect, and animal peppering
Repeatable Practice
- Define the question—foliar disease pressure, soil moisture, or compost management—and establish untreated or standard-practice comparisons before application.
- Record herb source and weight, water volume, vessel, cooking or fermentation time, readiness indicators, dilution, stir, weather, timing, equipment, acreage, and co-interventions.
- Use fixed disease scores, soil-moisture readings, compost temperature and moisture points, laboratory methods, crop measurements, and photographs on a preset schedule.
- Repeat across sites and seasons, include null and adverse results, and keep Courtney’s spiritual-scientific interpretations separate from independently measured outcomes.
Explore Related Resources
- BD 508 Horsetail, guide, and instructions
- Rudolf Steiner’s Agriculture Course
- BD 500 Horn Manure, guide, and instructions
- Sequential Spray Kit and instructions
- BD 501 Horn Silica, guide, and instructions
- Biodynamic Pest Pepper Video
- BD 502–507 Compost Preparation Set and instructions
Articles
- Revealing the Hidden Forces of Equisetum arvense (H. J. Courtney)
- Spray BD 508 — For Use on Foliage: Standard Instructions (originating with E. E. Pfeiffer)
- BD 508 Fermented Recipe (adapted from L. Kolisko)
Citation
Source: Applied Biodynamics, Issue No. 68, Josephine Porter Institute for Applied Bio-Dynamics, Spring 2010.
