Recherche

Research Projects & Biodynamic Preparations

Research on making and using biodynamic preparations is part of JPI’s mission. Our long-term vision includes collaborating with other researchers and preparation makers to build a shared repository of research on Steiner-inspired preparations and to develop practical methods for evaluating preparation quality and field use.

Current and historical research projects include:

BD 500 Joint Fellowship of Preparation Makers Project

In fall 2009, JPI joined preparation makers from four other U.S. regions to explore which laboratory measurements and sensory observations could help evaluate finished BD 500. The project’s goal was to identify practical quality indicators preparation makers could use at the farm or kitchen table. Participating sites included JPI in Virginia, the Hudson Valley Regional Group in New York, the Viroqua Group in Wisconsin, the BD Regional Group in Oregon, and Grgich Hills Winery in California.

What did Carlo Noro’s water-jar comparison show about compost, BD 500, and Prepared 500?

Alex Podolinsky reports that Italian biodynamic preparation maker Carlo Noro placed equal amounts of compost, BD 500, and Prepared 500 in equal jars containing equal amounts of water. Compost disintegrated and mixed with the water in 0.5–1 hour; BD 500 held together for 2–3 days; Prepared 500 remained a colloidal ball without discoloring the water for over 30 days and had not fully broken down one year later. The comparison makes Prepared 500’s strong colloidal cohesion visible.

Source: Alex Podolinsky, Bio-Dynamic Agriculture Introductory Lectures, Volume 3 (1999), pp. 54–55.

Podolinsky’s colloidal-humus illustration

In Bio-Dynamics: Agriculture of the Future, Podolinsky describes humus as a colloid that encloses water-soluble mineral elements. He illustrates the idea with a ball of humus placed in a glass of water: like Swiss cheese in cold water, he says, it would remain virtually unchanged for months while its mineral elements stay within the colloidal substance. This humus-ball illustration is separate from Carlo Noro’s timed comparison above of compost, BD 500, and Prepared 500.

Source: Alex Podolinsky, Bio-Dynamics: Agriculture of the Future (2000), p. 7.

Why did Pfeiffer favor whole-farm experiments over short strip comparisons?

Pfeiffer wrote, “The ideal experimental basis is, indeed, the practical farm on which the results are checked and controlled over a period of years.” He called fragmentary short parallel-strip comparisons one-sided because biodynamic practice gives weight to every factor required for healthy plant growth. Follow the farm through successive seasons and rotations, recording preparations, compost, soil, roots, weather, crops, yields, and quality together.

Source: Ehrenfried E. Pfeiffer, Soil Fertility, Renewal & Preservation (revised ed., 1947), p. 165.

A field comparison: how soils and composts absorb water

Pfeiffer invites growers to compare measured soil or compost samples at home. Describe the color and structure; spread each sample thinly to air-dry under suitable conditions, weigh it again, and add measured water gradually until its surface turns glossy and it absorbs no more. Record the uptake and compare samples prepared in the same way. He calls this a qualitative observation rather than an exact laboratory figure. It is a separate soil-and-compost comparison from the BD 500 quality project above.

Source: Ehrenfried E. Pfeiffer, Bio-Dynamic Gardening and Farming, Volume 1 (1983), printed pp. 85–86.