Applied Biodynamics — Issue No. 024 (Fall 1998)

Issue No. 024 is a methodologically dense, practice-driven issue centered on preparation quality, experimental observation, and institutional capacity building. Unlike reflective or seasonal framing issues, this issue is dominated by explicit techniques, comparative trials, and procedural corrections intended to improve repeatability and effectiveness in biodynamic work.

The issue opens with editorial notices and acknowledgments, including a call for reports on sequential spraying, indicating an active effort to aggregate practitioner data for comparative analysis. Contributions of preparation materials (dandelion, chamomile, yarrow, equisetum) are carefully listed, reinforcing the distributed, material-based network supporting JPI’s preparation work.

Hugh Courtney’s “Time Marches On—Progress at JPI” documents institutional infrastructure development with operational specificity. The article reports the near completion of a new JPI building, explicitly listing construction milestones (doors installed, heating system 75% complete, deck 80% complete) and noting the absence of debt financing. Operational consequences are described directly: expanded capacity for preparation making, production of Pfeiffer Biodynamic Compost Starter and Field Spray Concentrate, and increased demand pressure on staff. Staffing changes and visiting collaborators are recorded with dates and roles, situating preparation production as a labor-intensive, skill-dependent process. The article also states a strategic shift away from external conferences toward on-site education to improve preparation-making fidelity.

The article “Valerian and Frost Protection” presents one of the most controlled experimental reports in early Applied Biodynamics. The study summarizes high-school research conducted by Kachina Via comparing frost resistance in basil plants sprayed with fermented nettle tea, kelp tea, fermented valerian extract (BD 507), plain water, and no spray. Due to climatic constraints, the experiment was conducted under controlled greenhouse conditions using refrigerators and coolers to simulate 18 cold exposures over approximately two months. Evaluation methodology is explicitly described: independent blind ratings by experienced farmers using a 1–10 damage scale, with assessments conducted immediately after exposure and again one week later. Results show that water spray provides short-term protection, while valerian uniquely increases long-term hardiness. Nettle and kelp sprays are shown to reduce frost tolerance by stimulating growth. The article explicitly rejects common grower assumptions and identifies future experimental refinements, including post-frost valerian application.

Malcolm Ian Gardner’s “Observations and Experiments” compiles practitioner case studies emphasizing repeatable outcomes rather than anecdote. The hawkweed peppering report documents a four-year weed suppression trajectory following seed-ash preparation made at full moon timing, burned, sieved, dynamically stirred, homeopathically potentized, and applied multiple evenings. Detailed quantities, timing, dilution ratios, application height, mowing conditions, and repetition frequency are all specified. Differential outcomes between mowed and unmowed areas are explicitly reported, as is long-term persistence without reapplication. The second case study documents chlorosis reversal using horn manure (BD 500) applied through a highly oxygenated water system combined with traditional stirring. Application volume, soil depth penetration, timing, repetition, and observed leaf color change timelines are reported in detail, emphasizing observation over explanation.

Hugh Courtney’s extended article “The Michaelmas Preparation: BD #504—Stinging Nettle” constitutes the methodological core of the issue. The article begins with botanical identification of Urtica dioica and a comparison between chemical analysis and Steiner’s process-based descriptions, explicitly cautioning against equating substance analysis with preparation function. Courtney then issues a direct corrective to common preparation-making practice, arguing that BD 504 must spend both winter and the following summer in the ground, not merely a calendar year. Multiple preparation-making techniques are described in step-by-step detail, including burial in pits with peat layers, window-screen “pillowcases,” and clay drain tiles packed with nettle, peat plugs, screening, and clay seals. Materials lists, dimensions, burial depths, moisture handling, recovery challenges, and earthworm interference are all addressed explicitly. Criteria for evaluating preparation quality are described phenomenologically, including color, smell, texture, smearing behavior, and biological activity, followed by suggested comparative tests such as barley seed baths versus controls.

The issue concludes with “JPI Summer Prep Seminar (June 26–28, 1998)” by Patrick Moser, which documents hands-on preparation making for BD 502, BD 504, and BD 501. The article records harvesting constraints, animal sheath sourcing, inflation techniques, stuffing density standards, copper screening use, multi-mesh silica trials, and extended burial recommendations. Observations from group discussion link BD 504’s iron process to regulation of sulfur forces in compost, explicitly referencing Steiner’s medical lectures. The seminar report reinforces preparation making as a learned craft requiring repetition, physical labor, and disciplined observation.

Articles

• The Michaelmas Preparation: BD #504—Stinging Nettle (H.  Courtney)  
• JPI Research Project 5 (Sequential Spraying for Drought Relief)  Record Sheet  
• JPI Summer Prep Seminar (P. Moser)  
• Observations and Experiments: Weed Pepper Success, Chlorosis  Cured with Horn Manure, Valerian and Frost Protection  (M. Gardner)  

Key Topics Covered

• Institutional expansion for preparation production
  Controlled frost protection experiments using valerian
  Evaluation timing effects on plant hardiness assessment
  Seed ash peppering protocol for perennial weed suppression
  Homeopathic potentization and repeated field application
  Horn manure application for chlorosis correction
  Stinging nettle botanical identification and process analysis
  Correct burial duration for BD 504 preparation
  Multiple containment methods for nettle preparation recovery
  Phenomenological criteria for preparation quality evaluation

Citation

Applied Biodynamics, Issue No. 024, Josephine Porter Institute for Applied Bio-Dynamics, Fall 1998.