Applied Biodynamics — Issue 049 (Summer 2005)

Issue 049 is a method-demonstration issue, designed to show—through a commercially successful case—that biodynamics is not a marginal or aesthetic adjunct to agriculture, but a technically robust, economically viable production system when applied with discipline.

The lead article, “Biodynamic Flower Production: Demystifying the Method,” by Paul Sansone, functions as a condensed professional manual derived from nearly three decades of commercial practice at Here & Now Garden in Oregon. Sansone situates biodynamic flower production within a clear economic context: intensive cut-flower systems offer among the highest dollar returns per acre, but only if quality standards are met with near-zero tolerance for defects. The article explicitly addresses skepticism from conventional producers and frames biodynamics as capable of meeting premium market demands.

Sansone details a fully integrated production system beginning with soil preparation and composting. Compost is produced in large windrows using dairy manure, soil, plant residues, and high-carbon materials such as straw or spoiled hay, layered to achieve a target carbon-to-nitrogen ratio of approximately 30:1. Mineral additives—including greensand, rock phosphate, oyster shell, and kelp—are incorporated at quantified rates (approximately fifty pounds of each per twenty-five tons of compost). The compost is treated with BD compost preparations 502–507 and matured for six months to one year to achieve biological stability. Sansone emphasizes mass balance: the weight of exported flowers must be matched by an equivalent return of composted organic matter to avoid long-term soil depletion.

The article proceeds through bed design, tillage, spacing, weed control, irrigation, and disease management, each section grounded in measurable practices. Raised beds approximately ten inches high and three feet wide are formed using mechanical equipment, increasing root zone aeration and productivity. Matrix planting densities are specified for perennial and annual flowers, demonstrating yield gains per acre. Weed suppression relies on woven polypropylene barriers combined with organic mulches, dramatically reducing hand-weeding labor without herbicides. Drip irrigation is favored to limit foliar moisture, while overhead systems are reserved for foliar feeding and preparation application.

Disease and pest control are addressed as systemic outcomes of soil health, not isolated treatments. BD 500 is applied in early spring to stimulate root growth; BD 501 is used to enhance leaf vitality and resistance; BD 508 (horsetail) is applied in fermented tea form at quantified rates for fungal suppression, including Botrytis. Sansone reports successful use of compost teas and strict field sanitation, with limited and explicitly constrained recourse to copper or pyrethrum only when economic thresholds are exceeded. Beneficial insect populations are documented as stabilizing factors in mature biodynamic systems.

In “The Case for Biodynamics,” Sansone shifts from operational detail to methodological justification. He critiques reductionist organic systems that merely substitute approved inputs for synthetic chemicals, arguing that such systems remain materially driven and unstable. Biodynamics is presented as fundamentally different because it treats the farm as a self-supporting organism, integrating soil, plants, animals, and human stewardship. Hydroponic and input-dependent systems are explicitly rejected as incompatible with biodynamic principles because they bypass soil life and humus formation. The article underscores observation, record-keeping, and adaptive response as core competencies of the biodynamic practitioner.

“Seven Essential Elements of the Biodynamic Method” distills this worldview into an operational checklist. Sansone defines non-negotiable practices: compost-centered fertility; regular use of BD 500 and BD 501; soil-building as the primary goal; polyculture over monoculture; design of the farm as an individual organism; the farmer as conscious steward; and disciplined use of the biodynamic calendar as a planning and observational tool. Each element is framed as an action requirement rather than a belief statement.

The issue concludes with “Greetings from Woolwine, Virginia,” by Laura Riccardi, a seasonal field report from the Josephine Porter Institute. Riccardi documents intensive preparation-making activities, including the processing of thousands of horns for BD 500, valerian preparation, yarrow stuffing, compost preparation renewal, and nettle burial. The report emphasizes the labor intensity and sensory engagement of preparation work, situating biodynamics as lived agricultural practice rather than abstract methodology. The article also notes increasing public interest in biodynamics and the institutional pressure this creates, reinforcing the need for both human dedication and organizational resilience.

Collectively, Issue 049 demonstrates biodynamics as a complete production system—economically accountable, biologically grounded, and operationally explicit.

Articles

• Biodynamic Flower Production: Demystifying the Method (P.  Sansone)  
• The Case for Biodynamics (P. Sansone)  
• Seven Essential Elements of the Biodynamic (BD) Method (P.  Sansone)  
• Greetings from Woolwine, Virginia (L. Riccardi) 

Key Topics Covered

• Commercial biodynamic cut-flower production at field scale
• Quantified compost recipes and mineral additive rates
• Mass-balance principle linking exported crops to compost return
• Raised bed dimensions and matrix planting densities
• Mechanical adaptation of French Intensive horticulture
• Weed suppression using woven barriers and organic mulch
• Drip and overhead irrigation strategies for disease control
• Use of BD 500 501 and 508 in fungal and vitality management
• Systemic disease prevention through soil biology and sanitation
• Critique of input-substitution organic systems
• Definition of the farm as a self-supporting organism
• Seven operationally defined elements of the biodynamic method
• Seasonal preparation-making work at the Josephine Porter Institute
• Labor and institutional demands of large-scale preparation production

Citation

Applied Biodynamics, Issue 049, Josephine Porter Institute for Applied Biodynamics, Summer 2005.