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Applied Biodynamics — Issue No. 104 (Summer 2022)

Issue 104 presents JPI’s positive research program, practical summer protocols, Perennial Roots Farm’s 50-acre biodynamic development, and enduring community leadership.

Published by The Josephine Porter Institute Download PDF
Featured archival image for Applied Biodynamics — Issue No. 104 (Summer 2022)

Applied Biodynamics, Issue 104 (Summer 2022) opens with JPI’s return to live workshops and a season of energetic growth on the farm. Mike Biltonen reports on the orcharding and ashing-and-peppering workshops, improvements to the preparation storage and Pfeiffer rooms, and the next stage of JPI’s research program. Planned rhizobox comparisons are designed to make root development visible over time, while chromatography and sensitive crystallization add complementary ways to document how plants and soils respond to biodynamic treatments. Issue 104 also presents JPI’s research role positively: establish criteria for comparing preparation efficacy, combine qualitative observations with repeatable measurements and statistics, and communicate the life-giving effects of biodynamics clearly to growers.

Download Issue 104 PDF

Stewart Lundy’s summer garden notes offer a compact set of repeatable practices for maintaining balance through heat, humidity, excess rain, and slow ripening. The article covers afternoon shade, fermented weed water, sprouted-barley “moon water,” Barrel Compound—the same preparation also called Barrel Compost, with the Compound name used in the United States for regulatory reasons—for brassicas, BD 501 or 501g when cool and cloudy weather delays ripening, and weekly Equisetum arvense (BD 508) tea when wet conditions favor fungal pressure.

Mary Maruca’s interview with Stewart Lundy traces Perennial Roots Farm from an initial Pfeiffer Field and Garden Spray comparison plot to a fifty-acre whole-farm organism. Lundy reports that the first treated plot remained a few years ahead of the rest of the farm as the biodynamic program expanded. The conversation shows rotational grazing, ruminants, manure cycles, hedgerows, earthworms, soil-profile observation, and chromatography working together as an integrated practice. It also records practical pokeweed decoction and species-specific pest-pepper protocols that lend themselves to matched plots, consistent preparation, and careful field records.

The issue closes by honoring people who have carried this work forward. Teresa O’Shaughnessy recognizes Bill McCranie’s service as he steps down from the JPI board, and Mike Biltonen remembers orchardist, author, and biodynamic teacher Michael Phillips, whose books and Holistic Orchard Network continue to guide growers.

Articles in This Issue

  • From the Editor — Mary Maruca
  • News From the Farm—It’s Summer and Life is Happening! — Mike Biltonen
  • Summer Practice for a Biodynamic Garden — Stewart Lundy
  • Perennial Roots Farm: An Interview with Stewart Lundy — Mary Maruca
  • Moving On—Bill McCranie Steps Down from JPI Board — Teresa O’Shaughnessy
  • In Memoriam: Michael Phillips — Mike Biltonen

Key Topics Covered

  • Resumption of JPI’s live workshops and farm-based teaching
  • Preparation-storage, water-system, and Pfeiffer-room improvements
  • Rhizobox comparisons for observing root development over time
  • Chromatography and sensitive crystallization for documenting plant and soil response
  • Summer fertility support using fermented weeds, sprouted barley, and Barrel Compound
  • BD 501 for ripening support and BD 508 for wet-season balance
  • Matched comparison plots as a practical path from small trials to whole-farm application
  • Livestock integration, rotational grazing, and the farm organism
  • Pokeweed decoction and species-specific pest-pepper protocols
  • Mentorship, board service, and continuity of biodynamic community knowledge

Repeatable Practice in This Issue

  • For rhizobox work, keep seed, soil, water, and light conditions consistent; photograph roots at regular intervals and record biomass, soil condition, and crop quality.
  • Apply one primary summer practice at a time to matched beds and record weather, timing, ripening, leaf balance, fungal pressure, root development, and harvest quality.
  • Begin biodynamic field work with a defined comparison plot, then expand as soil profiles, roots, crop vitality, and seasonal records reveal the farm’s response.
  • For pokeweed decoction and pest peppering, standardize preparation and application, keep peppers species-specific, and record plant recovery, pest counts, crop damage, vigor, and yield.

Related JPI Resources

Citation

Applied Biodynamics, Issue 104, Josephine Porter Institute, Summer 2022.

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How does Issue 104 describe JPI’s biodynamic research program?

JPI planned rhizobox experiments to compare biodynamic treatments, including preparations, composts, and seeds, by making root growth and plant development visible over time. Chromatography and sensitive crystallization add complementary qualitative observations, while regular images, consistent measurements, repeated comparisons, and statistics strengthen the record. Issue 104 presents this as a positive path for demonstrating the life-giving effects of biodynamics and sharing useful results with growers.
What are JPI’s fresh and fermented BD 508 Horsetail tea recipes?

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 10–14 days, strain, dilute 1 part tea to 9 parts water, and use ½ gallon of tea plus 4½ gallons of water for up to 1½ acres. Current instructions: https://www.jpibiodynamics.org/pages/bd-508-horsetail-instructions
What did the first comparison plot contribute to Perennial Roots Farm?

Perennial Roots began by applying Pfeiffer Field and Garden Spray to a small plot while retaining the rest of the field as a reference. As the program expanded, Lundy reported that the first treated plot remained a few years ahead of the rest of the farm. This positive comparison helped guide the development of a 50-acre farm organism integrating rotational grazing, cows, sheep, goats, pigs, chickens, geese, manure cycles, hedgerows, earthworms, soil-profile observation, and chromatography.
What positive plant-care methods does Issue 104 record for pokeweed and targeted pests?

For stressed plants, Issue 104 describes simmering chopped pokeweed in a covered pot for 45 minutes, straining and cooling the decoction, and watering affected plants; the article reports that recovery usually begins quickly. For a longer-lasting preparation, it describes a 3.5% salt fermentation kept submerged. The farm also uses species-specific putrefaction and pepper methods for targeted weeds and pests, with each material kept separate so the observation remains specific and repeatable.

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