Applied Biodynamics — Issue 052 (Spring 2006)

Issue 052 is structured around response under crisis, demonstrating how biodynamic practice is applied when conventional remediation, infrastructure, or institutional systems fail, while clearly delineating what biodynamics can and cannot claim.

In “Answering the Call, Finding a ‘Cure’ with Biodynamics,” Hugh Courtney responds to a series of practitioner questions concerning non-agricultural environmental problems. The article is presented explicitly as applied problem-solving rather than theory. Courtney addresses oil-contaminated soils, treated lumber, sludge remediation, and garden-scale application of biodynamic products.

For long-term motor oil contamination, Courtney states plainly that biodynamic preparations cannot provide a rapid fix. He outlines a hierarchy of response: physical soil removal where possible; composting contaminated soil with BD compost preparations or Pfeiffer BD Compost Starter; long-term application of Biodynamic Compound Preparation and BD 500; and dilution by redistribution only where receiving soils are already biologically active. Landfill disposal is explicitly criticized as displacement rather than resolution.

Practical measurement guidance is provided for the Pfeiffer BD Field Spray, including volume-to-area conversions, pre-moistening requirements, storage limits after activation, and down-scaling for gardens and houseplants. The article repeatedly identifies failure modes: moisture exposure during storage, delayed use after stirring, and expectations unsupported by research. Courtney explicitly acknowledges that potency windows after stirring are based largely on inherited practice rather than published data, and calls for formal research.

In “Katrina in vitro,” Rita Amedee provides a first-hand, chronologically structured account of Hurricane Katrina, levee failure, and ecological collapse in New Orleans. The article carefully separates engineering causes, political decisions, and environmental degradation from biodynamic response. Amedee documents her long-term biodynamic practice on a small urban garden and contrasts the survival of her plantings with surrounding devastation, explicitly refraining from claiming causation.

The article then details post-disaster biodynamic field application. Beginning in October 2005, Amedee sprayed Biodynamic Compound Preparation and BD 500 in heavily damaged urban zones, including canal breach areas, later joined by others. During Holy Week 2006, a coordinated Easter Pilgrimage involving more than forty participants applied BC, BD 500, BD 501, and fermented BD 508 across approximately six acres, and built compost piles in community gardens. The work is framed as first-aid remediation rather than restoration, with emphasis on coordination, repetition, and humility regarding scale.

“Easter Pilgrimage” by Margaret Runyon documents the organizational and logistical structure of this coordinated action. Multiple geographically separated groups stirred and sprayed simultaneously at symbolic and ecologically damaged sites, including urban neighborhoods, river headwaters, and Gulf Coast land. The article emphasizes disciplined execution, shared timing, and moral intent, while avoiding claims of measurable ecological outcome at that stage.

The issue concludes with “Saying Goodbye,” Patricia Smith’s editorial farewell. Smith documents her nine-year involvement with Applied Biodynamics, preparation making, and editorial work, situating the publication as a practical resource shaped by contributors rather than ideology. The piece reinforces continuity of mission and acknowledges the physical limits of human labor, reinforcing an underlying theme of the issue: biodynamics depends on people, bodies, and institutions that must themselves be cared for.

Across all articles, Issue 052 consistently frames biodynamics as supportive, slow, and cumulative, explicitly rejecting instant solutions and acknowledging where knowledge remains incomplete.

Articles

• Answering the Call, Finding a “Cure” with Biodynamics (H.  Courtney)  
• Katrina in vitro (R. Amedee) Easter Pilgrimage (M. Runyon) 
• Saying Goodbye (P. Smith) 

Key Topics Covered

• Environmental remediation limits using biodynamic preparations
• Long-term oil contamination treatment hierarchy
• Quantified garden-scale use of Pfeiffer BD Field Spray
• Storage and potency limits after preparation activation
• Acknowledgment of lack of published research data
• Engineering causes of Katrina flooding and wetland loss
• Urban biodynamic practice prior to disaster
• Post-disaster spraying using BC BD 500 BD 501 and BD 508
• Coordinated Easter pilgrimage spraying methodology
• Scale limits of biodynamic intervention in urban disasters
• Role of repetition and group coordination
• Editorial transition and institutional continuity

Citation

Applied Biodynamics, Issue 052, Josephine Porter Institute for Applied Biodynamics, Spring 2006.