What is built into the two Pfeiffer compound preparations?

Both contain the compost preparations, BD 500, beneficial soil bacteria, enzymes, fungi, and plant-growth substances, with different microbial ratios for compost or field use. They are rhythmically potentized, dehydrated, and store for a year or more when kept cool, dark, and dry.

What preparation order does Issue 086 recommend?

Establish the compost-preparation foundation first, apply BD 500 to soil next, then introduce BD 501 after roots and true leaves are established. Apply each preparation separately once or twice before combining earth sprays for evening use or silica sprays for sunrise use.

What did Oakland’s municipal compost pilot demonstrate?

About one tablespoon of inoculant per ton drove piles above 150°F within two to four days, completed decomposition in under a week, and produced stable, odorless compost in under three weeks while the plant processed 100–125 tons of refuse per day.

When and how is Biodynamic Tree Paste applied?

Apply once after leaf drop or before spring sap flow and bud break, above freezing. Clean away loose bark, moss, and lichen, then paint small trees completely and the trunks and lower branches of larger trees, or dilute and strain for whole-tree orchard spraying.

Applied Biodynamics archive

Applied Biodynamics — Issue 086 (Fall/Winter 2014–2015)

Issue 086 documents Ehrenfried Pfeiffer’s compound preparation work, Oakland’s 100-ton-per-day municipal compost pilot, JPI’s full spray-order FAQ, and a precise winter Tree Paste protocol.

December 30, 2025 Published by The Josephine Porter Institute Download PDF

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 protocol.

In “Ehrenfried Pfeiffer: Enlivening the Soil for Health,” Abigail Porter explains how Pfeiffer developed Pfeiffer Compost Starter in the 1940s and adapted the work into Pfeiffer Field and Garden 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, Prepared 500, or Pfeiffer Field and Garden Spray. Apply BD 500 next in late afternoon or evening to moist, warming soil. Apply 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 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 and Tree Paste protocol 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