Field Notes
Letter from the President
In this Michaelmas 2026 letter, JPI president Teresa O’Shaughnessy shares the move of packing and shipping to Perennial Roots Farm and introduces the people carrying the work forward. The update renews JPI’s commitment to accessible preparations while honoring a season of rest for its Floyd...
From the Field Notes archive
Latest writing
Gaia Workshop Summary & Photos
Valerian blossoms and lively conversation brought JPI’s workshop at Gaia Herbs Farm to life. This photographic report follows the gathering in Brevard, North Carolina, the shared harvest, and the preparation work that followed, celebrating collaboration and valerian’s important place in biodynamic soil care.
Read the article
Farm Update
An early spring at JPI brought abundant blossoms, preparation harvests, and new possibilities in the garden. Ben Nommay shares observations of dandelion and valerian, experiments with interplanting, and work to renew tunnel soil, with gratitude for the plants and support donated by the community.
Read the article
Cosmic Journal
The approach of biodynamics’ centenary gives this late-May 2024 Cosmic Journal a mood of renewed devotion. Flower gathering, summer planting, compost care, and preparation offerings connect daily farm work with lunar rhythms and the continuing life of Steiner’s agricultural impulse.
Read the article
Killing More Honeybees
From the challenges facing honeybees to the promise of a carefully tended garden, Stewart Lundy reflects on fourteen years at Perennial Roots Farm. His account explores habitat, preparation making, local adaptation, and the freedom found in cultivating a living place that can nourish others.
Read the article
Cosmic Journal
As spring approaches summer, this May 2024 Cosmic Journal brings transplanting, flowering, and preparation gathering into one seasonal picture. Pentecost offers a meditation on flowers and the meeting of upward striving with descending light, woven through practical care of crops and soil.
Read the article
Adapting Biodynamics Worldwide
Living biodynamics takes root differently in every climate and culture. Stewart Lundy explores how careful comparison, local plant knowledge, and creative understanding can carry biodynamic principles into new regions while preserving their continuity and allowing each farm’s individuality to unfold.
Read the article
Healing Bruised Soil
A hoe can do more than remove weeds: it can help soil breathe again. Beginning with rain-crusted sandy loam, Stewart Lundy explores timely, shallow cultivation as a way to restore movement of air and moisture, bringing practical garden care into a biodynamic picture of the...
Read the article
Cosmic Journal
May Day, spring sowing, and Ascension bring warmth and upward movement into this 2024 Cosmic Journal. The calendar considers fruiting crops, root vegetables, soil preparations, and horn silica, while encouraging growers to keep practical work responsive to both celestial rhythms and local conditions.
Read the article
Slugs and Snails And Pokeberry Jails
From the spring 1996 Applied Biodynamics archive, Hugh Courtney revisits early grower experiences with pokeberry juice and a pine-seed preparation for slug and snail damage. The article combines practical reports, historical references, and close observation of pokeweed’s distinctive form and qualities.
Read the article
From Hand to Heart to Head
Biodynamic learning begins in the hands and gradually deepens through feeling into understanding. Stewart Lundy reflects on preparation making, mentorship, and regular practice as an education of the farmer’s inner life, showing how practical work can become a source of insight and generosity.
Read the article
Beyond Biodynamics: Renewing the Doctrine of Signatures
The qualities of thriving wild plants can become a guide to caring for the garden. Stewart Lundy renews the doctrine of signatures through close observation of how plants grow, meeting local challenges with a biodynamic imagination attentive to roots, leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds.
Read the article
Cosmic Journal
Transplanting, nursery care, and the gathering of dandelion blossoms fill this late-April 2024 Cosmic Journal. Lunar rhythms guide a practical sequence of crop care and preparation offerings, while the journal invites growers to notice light, warmth, water, and the changing life of their own gardens....
Read the article