Applied Biodynamics — Issue No. 107 (Spring 2023)
Issue 107 records JPI’s side-by-side Barrel Compound burial experiment, Finca Sagrada’s positive pollinator and soil-life response, and Suelo Vivo’s microscope-guided aerobic compost method.
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Issue 107 centers on living soil as a biodynamic, biological, and social achievement. It joins JPI’s spring preparation work with two Ecuadorian farm projects, microscopy-guided compost making, and an account of freedom, love, and goodness as practical foundations for responsible action.
Ben Nommay’s “News From the Farm—A Spring Update” records an exact start-of-season program at JPI: divide valerian, move yarrow beyond cattle access, establish nettle from rhizomes along the riverbank, and compare two adjacent Barrel Compound pits—one fully buried and one half-buried. The side-by-side experiment was established to show whether burial position changes maturation. Barrel Compound is the same preparation also called Barrel Compost; JPI uses the Compound name in the United States because regulations govern what may legally be sold as “compost.” The planned cattle silvopasture adds biodynamic manure, preparation organs, diverse forage, wildlife habitat, and food crops including chestnut, pawpaw, and persimmon.
Mary Maruca’s “Pilgrimage to Finca Sagrada” visits Walter Moora’s biodynamic and organic farm in Vilcabamba, Ecuador. Preparations are sprayed several times each year, while four to six month-long volunteers and two farm partners share the work. The farm reports that replacing rigid rows with interwoven plant relationships increased pollinator presence and brought healthy microbes into the soil. A ten-days-on, four-days-off work rhythm, three shared meals each day, a task board, and the House of Original Thought bind cultivation to community stewardship.
Leisha Naja’s “Love Is in the Earth: Raising Healthy Microbes” describes Suelo Vivo’s method for rebuilding the soil food web. The microscope is the primary evaluation tool. Separate compost piles use different ingredients to strengthen fungal life in a bacteria-rich subtropical environment and to feed protozoa that consume bacteria and release plant-available nutrients. Each pile is monitored for temperature change, moisture, aroma, appearance, and aerobic condition. Soil samples from individual gardens are then matched with the compost showing the most useful microbial community, turning close observation into a repeatable living-soil practice.
Max Leyf Treinen’s “Freedom, Love, and Goodness: A Further Look at Steiner’s Philosophy of Freedom (Part 1)” presents biodynamics as a way of knowing and living. Freedom is not merely the absence of constraint: it is the capacity to understand one’s motive, recognize what the situation asks, and act from insight. This complements the issue’s field method—observe precisely, choose consciously, evaluate openly, and refine the next action.
The issue also remembers Maria C. Linder, whose work helped bring the Pfeiffer Compost Starter and Pfeiffer Field & Garden Spray to JPI. A seasonal note gives a precise BD 506 collection cue: pick dandelion blossoms in the morning on the first day they open, while the center petals are still tight.
Articles
- News From the Farm—A Spring Update — Ben Nommay
- Pilgrimage to Finca Sagrada — Mary Maruca
- Love Is in the Earth: Raising Healthy Microbes — Leisha Naja
- Freedom, Love, and Goodness: A Further Look at Steiner’s Philosophy of Freedom (Part 1) — Max Leyf Treinen
- Remembering Maria C. Linder
Key Topics Covered
- Spring division, relocation, and propagation of preparation herbs
- Adjacent Barrel Compound pits compared at two burial positions
- Cattle silvopasture for manure, preparation organs, forage, habitat, and food
- Finca Sagrada’s multiple biodynamic spray cycles each year
- Interwoven planting patterns and increased pollinator presence
- Volunteer and partner work rhythms for community stewardship
- Microscope assessment of compost and site soils
- Aerobic compost monitoring by temperature, moisture, aroma, and appearance
- Compost inputs selected to support fungi and protozoa
- Matching microbial compost communities to individual gardens
- Freedom as conscious action arising from knowledge and love
- Morning, first-opening collection standard for BD 506 dandelion blossoms
Repeatable Practice
- Build fully buried and half-buried Barrel Compound pits side by side with the same dimensions, material, fill date, and soil.
- Give each pit a stable label and record temperature, moisture, aroma, appearance, texture, and maturity on the same dates.
- For compost, record every ingredient and turn, then examine samples from fixed pile locations and depths under the same microscope procedure.
- Count and classify bacteria, fungal structures, protozoa, and other visible organisms; pair the result with temperature and moisture records.
- Apply selected compost to a marked comparison area and repeat soil microscopy, crop-stage photographs, plant vigor, and yield observations.
Explore the Preparations
- Barrel Compound, Barrel Compound guide, and application instructions
- BD 507 Valerian and guide
- BD 502 Yarrow and guide
- BD 504 Stinging Nettle and guide
- BD 506 Dandelion and guide
- Pfeiffer Compost Starter, overview, and application instructions
- Pfeiffer Field & Garden Spray, overview, and application instructions
- BD 502–507 Compost Preparation Set and compost-preparation instructions
- Making and Using Biodynamic Preparations
- Rudolf Steiner’s Agriculture Course
Citation
Applied Biodynamics, Issue No. 107, Josephine Porter Institute for Applied Biodynamics, Spring 2023.
