Applied Biodynamics — Issue No. 99 (Spring 2021)

Issue No. 99 combines applied farm infrastructure, practical spray protocols, medicinal plant handling, and memorial reflections into a cohesive spring issue focused on stewardship, continuity, and care for both land and people.

Larry Mabe’s “Welcoming a New Root Cellar” documents the redesign and reconstruction of the Josephine Porter Institute’s preparation storage facility. The article specifies structural dimensions, siting within an embankment, roofing failures, and corrective measures taken. A failed flat roof with soil cover led to chronic moisture problems; this was replaced with a properly vented A-frame roof with gutters to manage drainage. Additional design elements include a planned rainwater catchment system for preparation stirring, hemlock storage boxes, clay crocks, and peat moss insulation. Peat is explicitly described as buffering moisture, radiation, and electromagnetic disturbance while helping contain the radiative qualities of the preparations. The article emphasizes storage conditions as integral to preparation quality, not a secondary concern.

“Trees as Cosmic Harmonizers” by Hugh Courtney (reprinted from the Applied Biodynamics file) presents a prescriptive method for using trees as organizing centers through the placement of specific biodynamic preparations. The article outlines a stepwise protocol involving tree selection, dowsing for orientation, intentional realignment, and the burial or placement of preparations 500, 501, 508, and barrel compost at specific cardinal directions. While the framing is cosmological, the procedure itself is explicit, repeatable, and spatially defined.

Courtney’s “The Milk Spray / The Milk and Honey Spray” provides a clearly quantified spray protocol intended for plant stress and pest imbalance. Ratios are specified for milk, water, and optional honey, along with stirring time and spray droplet size. The article frames evaluation through observable changes in insect populations, particularly increases in beneficial insects following application.

Abigail Porter’s “Heal Yourself, Heal Your Garden – Part 2” continues the medicinal plant series with detailed treatment of stinging nettle and German chamomile. The article specifies growth conditions, harvest timing, gender differentiation in nettle, and strict cautions regarding consumption after flowering. Multiple preparations are described with precise weights, volumes, steeping times, fermentation durations, and dilution ratios for teas, foliar sprays, soil drenches, and liquid manures. Chamomile handling includes species identification, blossom preparation, dilution ratios, and use for damping-off prevention. Culinary, medicinal, and agricultural uses are clearly separated and documented.

The remainder of the issue is devoted to remembrance and threshold-crossing. “Remembering Hugh Lovel” documents Lovel’s agricultural research, teaching legacy, and experiential emphasis on observation and farmer intention. “Sally Ann Voris: November 1951 – October 2020” records Voris’s integration of art, agriculture, and community, including an applied account of raw milk fertilizer preparation. “Crossing the Threshold: Jochen Bockemühl” and “Crossing the Threshold: Matthias Thun” situate each figure’s contributions within Goethean science, biodynamic research, and calendar development, without extending claims beyond recorded work.

Articles

  • Welcoming a New Root Cellar (L. Mabe)
  • From the Applied Biodynamics File: Contributions from Hugh  Courtney 
  • Trees as Cosmic Harmonizers (H. Courtney) 
  • The Milk Spray/The Milk and Honey Spray (H. Courtney) Heal Yourself, Heal Your Garden - Part 2, Stinging Nettle and Chamomile (A.Porter) 
  • Remembering Hugh Lovel (C. Entwistle) 
  • Sally Ann Voris: November 12, 1951 - October 2, 2020 (Ingrid  Cowan Hass) 
  • Crossing the Threshold: Jochen Bockhemül 
  • Crossing the Threshold: Matthias Thun

 

Key Topics Covered

  • Root cellar design for biodynamic preparation storage
  • Moisture ventilation and insulation requirements for preparations
  • Rainwater capture for preparation stirring
  • Tree treatment using biodynamic preparations by cardinal direction
  • Milk spray and milk-and-honey spray mixing ratios
  • Stinging nettle harvest timing and preparation methods
  • Chamomile identification and damping-off prevention spray
  • Evaluation of sprays through insect and plant response
  • Memorial documentation of biodynamic educators and researchers

Citation

Applied Biodynamics, Issue No. 99, Josephine Porter Institute for Applied Biodynamics, Spring 2021.

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Questions fréquemment posées

How should biodynamic preparations be stored to preserve their quality?

Preparations should be stored in insulated containers within a cool, moist, well-ventilated root cellar, protected from excess moisture, light, and electromagnetic disturbance.
What is the basic protocol for making and applying a milk spray in the garden?

Milk is mixed with water at a one-to-nine ratio, optionally with a small amount of honey, stirred for twenty minutes, and sprayed as a fine mist to address plant stress and insect imbalance.
How are stinging nettle and chamomile prepared for use in the garden?

Nettle and chamomile are harvested at specific stages, made into teas or fermented extracts with defined weights, steeping times, and dilution ratios, and applied as foliar sprays or soil treatments.
How are results from sprays and preparations evaluated in practice?

Results are evaluated through direct observation of plant health, insect populations, disease pressure, and seasonal response rather than through single applications or abstract claims.

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Applied Biodynamics — Issue No. 024 (Fall 1998)

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