Sequential Spraying: Illusion, Remarkable Coincidence, or Reality?

Originally published 2024-09-27. By JPI Biodynamics.

Applied Biodynamics Issue no. 8, Winter 1993

Hugh J. Courtney

Sequential spraying was developed by myself, almost accidentally, in the early summer of 1988 when it appeared that we were about to face a third year of blistering drought. Frustrated by that possibility, I reasoned that surely there had to be something in biodynamic agriculture that could relieve or at least ameliorate the damage to our pastures, hayfields and gardens. After all, had not Steiner in the Agriculture Course (Lecture 5, especially p. 89) suggested that the preparations could help the plant attract to itself from the environment what was needed for its best growth? I thought surely, if one knew precisely what preparations to use, then relief should be available somehow—that is, if one assumes that biodynamics really is valid and truly works. In my case, however, I did not have the wisdom to know the precise preparations to use.

At this point in my work, I was convinced that it would be fairly difficult to cause harm with the preparations, even if one used them in a situation that did not necessarily seem appropriate. The worst thing in such a case would be that their effects could be reduced or made negligible. So, I chose to use all nine of them. The six compost preparations were applied in the form of the Barrel Compost (Thun recipe) along with BD 500, 501, and 508. I reasoned that I should commence in the evening with Barrel Compost, since the generally accepted biodynamic practice is to begin with the compost preparations. I followed the next morning with BD 508 and, since I had been very much impressed with the work of Lilly Kolisko and already had some on hand, I chose to use the fermented version of 508 as detailed in her work, Agriculture of Tomorrow. In the evening of the second day, I applied BD 500. On the morning of the third day, I sprayed the BD 501(c), which is a crystal silica material found in a matrix of rectorite, a clay-like substance. I had been experimenting with this form of 501 and had been very pleased with the results, so it was an obvious choice for me.

Since I was treating hayfields, and was very interested in the water element anyway, I chose to apply the sequence in a leaf period, which turned out to be just before the full moon on June 26, 27, and 28 in 1988. Sometime within the following night, we received a nice, lengthy soaking rain that totaled around .9 inch.

My first reaction was one of total awe at the result. I next had a sense of thankfulness that my trust, belief, or faith in the preparations was confirmed. Then the logical mind took over and began to label the results simply as coincidence that would not necessarily be duplicated were one to try the sequence again.

Later on that summer, the drought tendency gave signs of returning. I repeated the sequence on hayfields during a leaf period in July, and experienced a similar result. The sense of awe, that a person could change a weather pattern, was followed this time by an awareness that this technique required a very responsible attitude and was not an activity to be engaged in thoughtlessly.

Later that fall, after a rainless month of October (and the threat of forest fires), the sequence was applied once again. This time I enlisted the services of John Carlson, who had come to help me with the preparations for a time. The spraying was done on hayfields. Again it was applied principally during a leaf period, and again it was followed by rain of the most beneficial kind. Because of my poor record keeping, I can not give exact dates or actual precipitation results, but I at least had a witness this time.

In March 1989, John Carlson and I were in Kimberton, Pennsylvania, in conjunction with the visit of Maria Thun to this country. We decided that the newly acquired BD headquarters property could benefit from a treatment of the preparations. With the consent of Rod Shouldice (BDA’s executive director at that time), we proceeded to treat the property with the sequential spraying technique. Since we were there for only a short time, it seemed a good idea to apply all the preparations. We did not record exact times and dates of application but we have calculated that it took place on March 10 to 12 (during fruit, flower, and root periods successively). It was completed less than a week after an eclipse of the Sun, two weeks prior to Easter and 10 days prior to Full Moon, or 8 days prior to the Spring Equinox.

We were aware that the previous growing season in Kimberton had been a dry one, at least from the complaints expressed by the CSA vegetable gardeners. However, the 1989 growing season in Kimberton was among the wettest in recent memory, and Kerry Sullivan told me not to use the sequence in the Kimberton area when I visited. 

That same year in Woolwine, we had less than 1.25 inches from May 7 to May 31. So from June 1 to 3, we repeated the sequence. Then on the morning of June 4, we added the milk and honey spray as a kind of finishing touch to the sequence, even though we had received a nice .2 inches of rain during the night of June 3 to 4. The rainfall amounts subsequently were as follows: June 4–trace; June 5–.5 inch; June 6–1.25 inch; June 7– .9 inch; June 8–1.3 inch; June 9–1.55 inch; June 10–trace. This period was followed by a couple of dry days. Then, for the remainder of the month, we alternated between modest precipitation for 2 to 3 days, interspersed with one or two dry days. The most remarkable result was that almost all of the rain occurred during the night, and was of the gentle, steady type, rather than a cloudburst, leaving the day sunny and bright, with gardens and fields still able to be worked.

This sequence at the beginning of June was applied during fruit and root periods, with the bulk of it, including the milk and honey part, taking place during the root (earth element) period. It may also be noted that it took place just prior to and during the new moon. For the rest of the growing year, we experienced considerable precipitation, and were more concerned about reversing the rain impulse. (An interesting aspect in the following years during lengthy dry spells has been that the plants in our gardens showed only minimal stress from lack of moisture even though gardens elsewhere in the area were totally burned out. This has been without consistent sequential spraying.)

During the next couple years, when speaking to a farmer or gardener driven to despair by a drought situation, I felt that my experience with the sequential spraying was something to be shared, albeit with both discretion and caution as to claims of 100 percent assured success. At a certain point, to be clear about the directions for completing the sequence, I wrote down the instructions (see below) After some further personal experience using the technique, I began to recommend that BD 501 and 508 be interchanged in the sequence, because my perception was that 508 was the principal “trigger” for precipitation. I felt that it was important to use all the preparations, and if someone experienced rain before finishing the sequence, they might be inclined to skip the remaining steps. Although I have a personal preference for BD 501(c), the desired results have been readily obtained with regular versions of BD 501.1

As time went on and more people reported positive results, I became less hesitant to recommend the technique. In the beginning, I would focus on the particular crop that the grower was working on, but in general, if pasture or hayfields were in the picture, I would suggest that a leaf (water) period could be used when applying the sequence. In the first 100 times that the technique was used, the success rate in stimulating rain was greater than 90 percent. Even in the few cases of failure, one could readily identify the factors that may have been involved. In at least one instance, old, improperly stored preparations were used during a fruit (fire/warmth) period resulting in a “technical” rain. By “technical” I mean that shortly after completion of the sequence, a few scattered drops of rain fell, but not enough to call the technique a success.

When Dan Thomas, in South Dakota, used the sequence on grain fields during a fruit (fire/warmth) period, the resultant .1 inch of rain did little to relieve the dry conditions. One can label this a technical success, and a subsequent failure. At a later time, when Dan tried the sequence during a leaf (water) period, whatever success achieved was completely overshadowed by another phenomenon. On the particular field where the sequence was applied, a totally different weed population subsequently sprang up. To the precise edge of the field where the leaf (water) period sequence had been applied, the entire field became infested with broadleaf weeds, mostly in the mustard family.

In an effort to analyze what may have happened, I offered Dan the following speculations: “One of my contentions with the sequential spraying has been that when the land receives the benefit of all the preparations in such a short period of time, it can attract to itself what is needed. What your land may have needed is the benefits of green manure crop with a high sulfur content and the soil structure benefits of a green manure crop with a high sulfur content and the soil structure benefits (i.e., maybe porosity and crumb structure improvements). It may be that you would not have had the same experience if you had continued to spray the sequence during a fruit (fire/warmth) period in accordance with the organ of the plant (wheat) you were growing. It would also be extremely interesting to know what would have manifested if you had used the sequence during a root (earth) or a flower (air/light) period. For now, I would have to recommend that you spray in a fruit (fire/warmth) period for a wheat crop. A further suggestion is that you look closely at your rotational pattern and consider a broadleaf crop (perhaps winter kale) as part of the rotation. It may also be that you should reserve the rain stimulating sequence only for pasture or hayfield areas and apply that during the leaf (water) period. The sequence has to be viewed as a technique to balance forces. The fact that the weeds appeared in the way they did suggests that Nature was attempting to use them to bring the balance the the wheat crop could not manage to do on its own, especially when it was the leaf impulse that was so strongly stimulated. I would say that you can take some consolation in the fact that your soils respond so readily to the biodynamic preparations stimuli.”

Other “failures” of the sequential spraying were equally instructive. In Whitney, Texas, in the summer of 1990, Charlie Townsend experienced two failures in a row with his efforts to use the sequence. However, a closer examination of the celestial events during the time he chose to spray revealed that in the first instance an eclipse was transpiring. In the second instance, the two middle sprays in the sequence were applied when the moon was at a nodal point and when it was occulting (“hiding”) both Jupiter and Venus. Although Charlie subsequently managed a successful sequential spraying, his concern that he might be “robbing” a neighbor of a share of the rain led him to abandon the technique for the time being. Interesting enough, his experience after making this decision is that the rain supply to the land has been entirely adequate.

Out in Carpinteria, California, the first time Steve Moore applied the sequence resulted in absolutely no rain the following 72 hours. Examination of the celestial events taking place revealed that the two middle sprays in the sequence were applied during an ellipse of the Sun. This past summer, in Blairsville, Georgia, Hugh Lovel had his first ever “failure” to achieve rain results after a long string of successes. He feels that a retrograde Mercury may have been a factor. All these “failures” strongly suggest that one must pay very careful attention to the forces involved, be they celestial or earthly in nature.

In an effort to better collect the data involved in the phenomenon of this sequential spraying technique, I enlisted Chris Sterns from Weleda, Inc to design a form. In the Spring 1993 issue of Applied Biodynamics, the article titled “Practical Biodynamic Research” listed several research questions to be tackled, among them one on the sequential spraying technique (see below).

Originally the form Sterns designed was subtitled “Sequential Spraying for Drought Relief.” In 1993, however, the most significant development with regard to the spraying technique involved using it as a possible way to ameliorate the excessive rain experienced in the Midwest. Working in close cooperation, Kimberly Rector in Caledonia, Illinois, and Claire Hall in Wabasha, Minnesota, applied the sequence beginning with Barrel Compost the evening of July 2 and ending with BD 501 the morning of July 4. The entire sequence was accomplished during a fruit (fire/warmth) period with no apparent celestial events occurring that might interfere, other than a retrograde Mercury. Their rather thorough completion of the report form suggests that the spraying is not necessarily confined to drought relief only. I will allow the narrative reports submitted by each of them to support that contention.

Kimberly states, “For several weeks before the spray, we were averaging.5” rain per day–about 7” rain every two weeks. After the sequence we averaged only about .1” a day. During the 12 day period after the sequence, weather forecasters called for big rains from 2-4” on several occasions. We received more moderate amounts. Two or three times we observed big rains just a mile or two away—when the big clouds rolled over our farm, we’d get just a light drizzle—it seemed like a mist. On one occasion, when we received only .2” of rain, a big storm was raging within sight, just 600 feet to the north of us, dropping an inch or two of rain, knocking down many trees. Overall, I feel that the sequence was a success, bringing some localized relief to the floods.”

Claire says, “After completing the sequence with 501 on the morning of 7/4, we had only .15” for the next 6 ½ days. During this period there were heavy rains, high winds, and large hail in all directions. We watched storms pass by but no real substantial rainfall occurred here until last night and this morning (7/11) when we received .85” with thunder and lightning but no high winds or hail. The days we had without rain were humid, some sun, mostly cloudy, with morning fog and mostly cool. We got a lot of work done and were immensely grateful. We have watched with interest the last few years for accounts of the use of the method of sequential spraying to balance both drought and flooding conditions. This is the first time the method has been used on our farm. Had Kimberly not asked us to do it, it would not have been done here. One of the things that first attracted me to biodynamics was being told by Dewane Morgan that we could have a beneficial effect on our whole area by using the preparations on our farm. The use of all the preparations in concert with the expressed purpose of influencing the weather patterns is so much larger in scope that we have had reservations about our ability to responsibly use these powerful spiritual forces in this way. Being asked by Kimberly for our help in strengthening a regional impulse made the decision easy. I now feel good about having done the sequence spraying, and trying to cooperate with and offer assistance to ease the rains and ongoing devastation from flooding in the Mississippi River Valley. It is an effort I am glad to join. We wondered if an effort to ease drought and heat on the East Coast with use of the sequence sprayings would harmonize with or prove dissonant with an effort to ease the rain in the Midwest. There is much we don’t know.”

Yes, there is so much we don’t know. During the same approproximate time, but in a leaf (water) period, several of us in the western parts of Virginia and North Carolina also offered sequential spraying. While we all achieved the results we have now become accustomed to experiencing, it was not until application of the sequence a second time during the month of July that there was any significant dissolution of the high pressure off the East Coast that seemed to be contributing to the heavy rain situation in the Midwest.

What is the reality behind this phenomenon of sequential spraying? How can one possibly lay claim to influencing the weather in the way that some of the preceding experiences might seem to suggest? If we truly have the power to influence a future event from such a deliberate present action, what is our responsibility? Perhaps from the beginning of humanity’s experience with weather on the Earth, the dream has been to influence a future weather event. When one actually completes a sequential spraying and experiences the hoped for result, one is overwhelmed with a feeling that I call “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” syndrome. My own experience of the history and evolution of this technique has taught me that it should never be entered into lightly or with totally materialistic motivation. In fact, anyone who does so may be in for serious changes in his or her life. My perception is that not only does one change the agricultural atmosphere of the farm/garden individuality, but the spiritual atmosphere changes as well. Since this claim is even less subject to proof, I can only suggest a thoughtful caution before using the sequential spraying techniques.

I conclude by summarizing my present understanding of how one should use this technique and what its use may accomplish. First of all, it should be used with an attitude of thoughtful responsibility. In the beginning of my experience with it, I saw it as strengthening the plants and the soil to permit the attraction of what is needed for best plant growth. I then became aware that celestial and cosmic forces were also a probable factor of significance In the case of drought, the sequence can be seen as supporting watery forces that have somehow become weakened. In the case of excessive rainfall, the sequence may likely be undergirding the drying (fiery/warmth) forces that are too weak.

A further responsibility to be recognized and included for future consideration is that the earth and air forces may also need support. It would be important in the future to give “equal time” to the four elements of fire, earth, air, and water when considering application of a sequential spray. It might be highly appropriate to do a sequential spraying as an integral part of celebrating the festivals of the year, emphasizing a different element during each festival. The effects of the technique also appear to be significantly reinforced when done just prior to either new moon or full moon. 

One also needs to avoid so-called “difficult” or blank periods on the calendar when celestial events of one sort or another cannot support the whole process. In at least a few instances when faced with these celestial situations, an abbreviated sequence has been used by combining Barrel Compost and BD 500 (or x500) in one spray in the evening and BD 501 (or 501-5x) and BD 508 in one spray in the morning. In every case, the hoped for results have been forthcoming. However, whenever the sequence has been used without regard to what is actually happening in the heavens, the opposite effect to what is desired can result. (The major use of this technique should be to balance and harmonize the forces and energies of the agricultural individuality. No biodynamic farm or garden need ever suffer from the extremes of unbalanced weather.)

At the very least, an experience with this technique can give the user a much stronger sense that the biodynamic preparations work as forces and not as substances. If one uses the sequential spraying technique, this can be experienced as a reality. To one who has never used it, it remains an illusion. As substantial results continue to be evidenced by its use, the sequential spraying technique may prove to be more than a remarkable coincidence.

Notes

1. See the introductory remarks and explanations regarding leaf, root, flower, fruit elements in the Stella Natura, Kimberton Calendar.

2. Weleda,Inc, was founded in Switzerland in 1921 as a pioneering company making anthroposophical and homeopathic medicines and natural body care products. Within a year of Weleda’s founding, branches opened throughout Europe. The American Weleda was incorporated in 1931. 

Milk Spray/Milk and Honey Spray

When certain plants in the garden experience a sudden attack by detrimental insects or when plants seem to be experiencing great stress, which is not overcome by the Barrel Compost (Thun recipe) or other BD preparation spray treatment, a spray of milk, or sometimes a spray of milk and honey, can often bring benefits. While attempts to explain what is actually happening are difficult, the most evident result is a tremendous increase in the population of so-called beneficial insects, often in such numbers as to quickly eliminate as a problem the previous onslaught by the detrimental insects. 

The basic formula used is one part milk to nine parts water, (i.e., 1:10 ratio). The honey is sometimes added in a ratio of 1:100 to the entire volume. Particularly when using the honey, the water should be warmed to aid in dissolving the honey. Each mixture is stirred in the customary biodynamic fashion for 20 minutes and then sprayed in a medium to fine mist, somewhere between the large drops recommended for BD 500 and the fine mist recommended for BD 501. We generally stir and spray either 5- or 10-gallon batches with the following ratios:

Five Gallons

Ten Gallons

Milk

½ gallon

1 gallon

Water

4 ½ gallons

9 gallons

(when used with) Honey

6.4 oz by volume

12.8 oz by volume

Description of a Sequential Spraying Technique Using Biodynamic Preparations to Balance Forces of Plant Growth

The sequential spraying technique involves the application of all nine of the biodynamic preparations in a relatively brief time period so as to maximize the possibility for plants (and soils) to attract to themselves from their environment what is needed for their best growth. It is accomplished in three days or 36 hours. Preparations BD 500, 501, and 508 are applied separately, whereas the BD compost preparations 502 - 507 are applied as a group in the form of the Barrel Compost (Thun recipe).

Day One: Evening hours. Stir Barrel Compost (Thun recipe) for 20 minutes and spray–we usually sprayed only one to three units over an acre of one to three acres more or less.

Day Two: Morning hours (as near to sunrise as possible). Stir BD 508 in the fermented version (as described by Kolisko in Agriculture of Tomorrow, P. 83)2 for 20 minutes and spray over the same area covered the previous evening by the Barrel Compost.

Day Three: Morning hours (as close to sunrise as possible). Stir BD 501(c)(2) for one hour and spray over the same area covered by prior sprays.

The principal consequence from use of this sequential spraying that has been observed, but which may be only coincidental, is an overall improvement in conditions of soil moisture. Ths consequence was observed even when the sequence was varied by applying the BD 501(c) on day two and the BD 508 on day three. Application of the entire sequence during a leaf (water constellation) period dramatically enhances soil moisture. Thun planting calendar has been used to determine constellation forces

Question 4: Does sequential spraying actually provide drought relief or encourage precipitation?

Background: In more than 100 different applications of a sequential technique, significant rainfall occurred in more than 90% of cases. Cosmic and especially moon rhythms seemed to be a significant factor in determining the nature and quality of precipitation. Statistics for this phenomenon have not been accurately recorded for all applications. Procedures and quality of preparations involved may have varied significantly.

Research Parameters: Anyone experiencing a drought situation who wishes to apply the sequential spray is asked to record exact times and dates of each application in the sequence plus appropriate weather data before and after before providing to JPI for tabulation.