Applied Biodynamics — Issue 095 (Spring/Summer 2019)

Issue 095 brings together practical biodynamic methods and affirmative field reports for farms responding to changing weather. Its strongest recorded outcomes include a 50–100% increase in greenhouse-grown salad-green yield after a BD 507 seed bath, western Colorado reports that BD 507 frost sprays saved 50–100% of fruit crops that otherwise would have been lost, improved soil water holding and moisture retention, and greater plant resilience on farms using biodynamic preparations.

Read the complete original Spring/Summer 2019 issue (PDF).

In “Rose Hill’s Transition from Conventional to Biodynamic Orchards,” Mike Biltonen turns the first intensive transition year on a nearly 100-acre Hudson Valley fruit farm into a constructive five-part method: understand the regional pest complex; evaluate the whole orchard ecosystem; document tree, rootstock, root, fruit, and soil health; review the former fertilizer and pest-management program; and assess the farm’s overall vitality. The article presents careful observation and repeated measurement as the foundation for a successful long-term biodynamic transition.

The Rose Hill framework is measurable. Use basic and comprehensive soil tests on a repeating schedule to track pH, organic matter, cation-exchange capacity, cation balance, macro- and micronutrients, soil structure, biology, and pathogen pressure. Map host plants and inoculum sources; record variety and rootstock susceptibility; inventory pollinators, birds, beneficial insects, water flow, hedgerows, ponds, and wild areas; and photograph fixed trees and blocks. This gives BD 500, compost, biodiversity plantings, sequential sprays, and nutrition work a reliable baseline.

“Biodynamic Tools for Weather Extremes” records the moisture sequence used in JPI’s current knowledge base. To attract moisture during a leaf/water constellation: Day 1 evening Barrel Compound; Day 2 morning BD 501 and evening BD 500; Day 3 morning BD 508. To deter moisture during a fruit/fire constellation: Day 1 evening Barrel Compound; Day 2 morning BD 508 and evening BD 500; Day 3 morning BD 501. The issue also records an optional nourishment pair of one pint milk in 3.5 gallons water in the afternoon followed by one ounce honey in 3.5 gallons water the next morning, each stirred and applied in the normal biodynamic way.

The source uses “Barrel Compost” and “BC.” Barrel Compost and Barrel Compound refer to the same preparation; JPI uses “Barrel Compound” for its US product because regulations govern what may legally be sold as “compost.”

The issue preserves archived 2019 fresh and fermented BD 508 methods. For present-day use, follow JPI’s current instructions: for fresh foliar tea, boil one 1.5-ounce unit in 1 quart of water for 1 hour, cool and strain, add 2 gallons of water, stir for 20 minutes, and mist up to 1 acre; for fermented soil tea, boil the unit in 1 gallon for 1 hour, ferment for 10–14 days, strain, dilute one part tea to nine parts water, and use one-half gallon of tea plus 4½ gallons of water for up to 1½ acres.

Tree care is organized as a two-stage annual rhythm: apply Tree Paste after leaf fall to protect bark through winter and help moderate premature warming, then apply it again with late-winter pruning to cover wounds and help delay early bud activity. During the growing season, full-strength concentrate—optionally combined with fermented BD 508—can be brushed onto cleaned borer or bark damage. A sprayable dilution can cover trunks, scaffold limbs, and canopy, while Tree Paste remains useful after hail, rodent, or deer injury.

The issue’s BD 507 reports give two strong, concrete outcomes. At 7,000 feet in Taos, Morning Star Farms reported that a d10 BD 507 seed bath increased greenhouse-grown salad-green yield by 50–100%. In western Colorado, apple, peach, cherry, and plum growers reported that evening-before and severe-frost morning-after valerian sprays saved 50–100% of fruit crops that otherwise would have been lost to unseasonably warm winter temperatures and late spring frosts.

The farm survey adds supportive soil and resilience observations. One respondent reported more soil water-holding capacity, less erosion, and more moisture during dry periods, reducing plant stress. Another reported greater plant resilience to pests and disease and improved water holding than on nearby farms not using biodynamic preparations; that farm stayed green and retained moisture in hot, dry months. At Skyline Organic Farms, mulberries extended the market harvest, attracted birds away from other fruit crops, produced with modest irrigation, and supplied green summer fodder after pruning.

“Permadynamics: JPI’s Marriage of Permaculture and Biodynamics” applies the same whole-farm thinking to JPI’s Floyd farm through preparation production, research, education, water catchment, swales, keyline work, composting, green building, edge habitat, diverse tree and meadow communities, animals, birds, insects, and a protected wild area. The issue closes by honoring Pierre Masson, reviewing Janisse Ray’s The Seed Underground, and presenting L. A. Rotheraine’s reflection “Humans and Seeds.”

Articles

• Rose Hill’s Transition from Conventional to Biodynamic Orchards: A Work in Progress — Mike Biltonen
• Biodynamic Tools for Weather Extremes — Abigail Porter
• A Biodynamic Farm’s Response to Climate Change — Stefan Hagopian
• Climate Change on Biodynamic Farms: Survey Responses
• Permadynamics: JPI’s Marriage of Permaculture and Biodynamics — Pat Frazier
• Honoring Pierre Masson
• The Seed Underground — book review by Mary Maruca
• Humans and Seeds — L. A. Rotheraine

Key Topics Covered

• Five-part baseline for perennial-orchard transition
• Tree, rootstock, pest, inoculum, soil, and biodiversity mapping
• Soil organic matter, CEC, cation balance, and biological testing
• Wet-weather and drought sequential-spray orders
• Fresh and fermented BD 508 recipes
• Two-stage annual Tree Paste care
• BD 507 frost response and d10 seed-bath observations
• Milk-and-honey nourishment sprays
• Farm diversity as production, habitat, fodder, and market resilience
• Regional preparation schedules and climate records
• Permaculture water and habitat design joined with biodynamic rhythms
• Seed sovereignty and preparation-maker legacy

Related JPI Resources

• Download Issue 095 PDF
• Sequential Spray Kit for Weather Extremes · instructions
• BD 508 Horsetail · guide · instructions
• BD 507 Valerian · guide
• Biodynamic Tree Paste · protocol · instructions
• BD 500 Horn Manure · guide · instructions
• BD 501 Horn Silica · guide · instructions
• Barrel Compound · guide · instructions
• Pfeiffer Field & Garden Spray · guide · instructions
• BD 502–507 Compost Preparation Set · instructions
• Three Kings Preparation · ritual guide · instructions
• Rudolf Steiner’s Agriculture Course
• Preparation guides and instructions

Citation

Applied Biodynamics, Issue 095, Josephine Porter Institute for Applied Biodynamics, Spring/Summer 2019.