Featured archival image for Applied Biodynamics — Issue 100 (Summer 2021)
Applied Biodynamics archive

Applied Biodynamics — Issue 100 (Summer 2021)

Issue 100 marks a century of Applied Biodynamics with practical guidance on preparation storage, vineyard-scale spraying, BD 508 and BD 507, and JPI’s living community.

Published by The Josephine Porter Institute Download PDF

Applied Biodynamics, Issue 100 (Summer 2021) celebrates a major JPI milestone while remaining firmly practical. Mary Maruca traces the newsletter from its four-page Fall 1992 beginning to a publication that has connected preparation makers, farmers, gardeners, and researchers across the country for one hundred issues.

Download Issue 100 PDF

Larry Mabe gives a detailed storage protocol for preserving preparation vitality. BD 500, BD 502, BD 503, BD 504, BD 506, and Barrel Compound are kept moist but not wet, cool, shaded, separated, and protected within breathable containers and peat-lined wooden storage. BD 501 is kept dry in glass with sunlight; BD 507 is kept in amber glass in a cool, dark place; BD 508 is kept dry in an opaque container. The article turns storage into a repeatable checklist that can be inspected through the year.

Clay Wesson shows how biodynamic preparation work can scale across a large Pacific Northwest vineyard. His method combines Stella Natura and Maria Thun calendar planning with close attention to weather, soil moisture, equipment, and the farm’s real conditions. A dedicated ATV spray tank serves larger acreage, while stirring machines and flow forms become useful above twenty acres. Team roles, timing, cleanup, operator attention, and written records keep the work both efficient and connected to the whole farm organism.

Abigail Porter’s third preparation-plant profile brings Equisetum arvense and Valeriana officinalis into one practical frame. Horsetail’s silica and water relationship supports BD 508 use for balancing fungal pressure, moisture, and intense light conditions. Valerian blossoms become BD 507 through juice extraction and fermentation; the finished preparation is used in compost and as a warmth-bearing mist around plants when frost threatens. Both practices lend themselves to repeatable observation by recording source material, preparation method, dilution, stirring, weather, application timing, and results.

The issue also welcomes Emily Sepulveda as JPI’s managing director and remembers Gene Gollogly’s work as a connector, publisher, and supporter of the biodynamic community. Together, the articles show a living tradition carried forward through exact practice, shared experience, and service to the Earth.

Articles in This Issue

  • From the Editor — Mary Maruca
  • News From the Farm: Storing Biodynamic Preparations — Larry Mabe
  • Committing to Biodynamics — Clay Wesson
  • Spray Schedule of the Merry Prepstirs
  • Heal Yourself, Heal Your Garden (Part 3): Equisetum and Valerian — Abigail Porter
  • Welcome to JPI’s New Managing Director
  • Remembering Gene Gollogly

Key Topics Covered

  • Applied Biodynamics reaches its 100th issue
  • Moisture, light, temperature, and container requirements for preparation storage
  • Peat-lined wooden storage-box construction
  • Vineyard-scale stirring and field-spray application
  • Calendar planning balanced with weather and soil-moisture observation
  • BD 508 horsetail use for fungal, moisture, and light balance
  • BD 507 valerian making, compost use, and frost protection
  • Leadership transition and biodynamic community continuity

Repeatable Practice in This Issue

  • Keep one preparation-storage log covering container, moisture, temperature, light, peat insulation, mold, pests, and inspection dates.
  • Record preparation, rate, acreage, stirring method, equipment, team roles, weather, soil moisture, route, and results for every spray application.
  • Use the same BD 508 or BD 507 protocol in defined comparison areas and repeat observations across weather windows and seasons.
  • Review the records before each new season so storage, equipment, timing, and labor improve through experience.

Related JPI Resources

Citation

Applied Biodynamics, Issue 100, Josephine Porter Institute, Summer 2021.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How should the different biodynamic preparations be stored?

Keep BD 500, BD 502, BD 503, BD 504, BD 506, and Barrel Compound moist but not wet in breathable, separate containers in a cool, shaded place near 55°F; surround them with at least three inches of dry peat for insulation. Keep BD 501 dry in a glass jar with sunlight, BD 507 in a tightly closed amber bottle in a cool dark place after fermentation, and BD 508 dry in an opaque container. Never refrigerate or freeze the preparations. Check moisture, mold, pests, container condition, and storage temperature on a regular schedule.
What makes vineyard-scale preparation application repeatable?

Match the equipment to the acreage, assign clear team roles, and record the preparation, dose, stirring method, application time, crop stage, weather, soil moisture, route, and results. The issue describes a dedicated ATV tank for ten or more acres and stirring machines or flow forms above about twenty acres, while keeping attentive operator presence central to the work. Repeating the same records across spray dates makes seasonal comparison practical.
How can BD 508 horsetail be evaluated in the field?

Use a defined fresh or fermented horsetail-tea protocol and apply it to matched areas while leaving a comparison area under the same management. Record horsetail source, preparation method, dilution, date, weather, soil moisture, disease pressure, and crop response. The issue presents BD 508 as a silica- and water-balancing preparation for fungal conditions, dry periods, sequential spraying, and situations where intense light calls for a gentler silica gesture.
How does Issue 100 describe making and using BD 507 valerian?

Harvest valerian blossoms, grind them, press out the juice, and ferment it in a cool dark place with a loose lid until fermentation is complete; then strain and bottle it. For compost, stir a small amount of the fermented juice into two gallons of water for 10–15 minutes, place part in a hole in the pile, and spray the remainder over the surface. For frost protection, mist valerian water over and around plants on the evening before a light frost and repeat in the morning when needed. Record temperature, crop stage, timing, dilution, and outcome so the method can be refined from season to season.

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