Field Notes
Letter from the President
In this Michaelmas 2026 letter, JPI president Teresa O’Shaughnessy shares the move of packing and shipping to Perennial Roots Farm and introduces the people carrying the work forward. The update renews JPI’s commitment to accessible preparations while honoring a season of rest for its Floyd...
From the Field Notes archive
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Buoyant Beings of Light
Winter’s returning light offers time to tend stored preparations, plan the garden, and renew the imagination. This Biodynamic Digest joins practical care with reflections on solitude, seasonal crystallization, and the use of horn silica during the quiet, inward life of the year.
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Holy Seasons, Holy Nights
Enter the Holy Nights as a season of reflection, renewal, and conscious preparation for the year ahead. This Christmastide digest connects the twelve months and zodiacal constellations with winter contemplation, practical biodynamic work, and the creative possibilities held within soil and soul.
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The Biodynamic Agricultural Organism and the Other Me
Jose Aviña reflects on the farm organism through the human act of meeting, sharing food, and learning from one another. Written alongside a January 2026 workshop invitation, the essay places mutual recognition and reverence for the Earth at the heart of agricultural renewal.
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Astral Light, Shine Forth
The third Advent reflection turns toward the astral world of movement, perception, and the stars. This Biodynamic Digest explores natural forms as expressions of inner life and considers how preparations, imagination, and astronomical awareness can deepen the farmer’s relationship with the cosmos.
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Working in the Realm of the Living
The second week of Advent turns toward the light of plants and the living imagination of the farmer. Drawing on Steiner and Pfeiffer, this digest explores attentive cultivation, inner development, and winter reflection as preparations for a more responsive relationship with the garden.
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Looking Toward the Future of Biodynamics
Stewart Lundy looks toward biodynamics’ future through JPI’s daily work of preparation making, education, and service. This December 2025 appeal invites readers to help widen access to biodynamic practice through donations, subscriptions, volunteering, and the shared commitment to caring for the Earth.
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Reality Rhymes with Itself
The first week of Advent invites attention to the mineral world and the light carried inward through winter. This Biodynamic Digest connects seasonal reflection, composted minerals, horn silica, and the gift of gold with the continuing renewal of soil and soul.
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Grasping the Nettle
Stinging nettle offers a rich lesson in biodynamic ingenuity, from a living cover beneath citrus trees to the careful making of BD 504. This digest explores whole-plant preparation, protection during burial, and the regional adaptations that help nettle’s gifts reach the soil.
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Ritual, Rhythm, Reverence
In this Thanksgiving 2025 letter, JPI president Teresa O’Shaughnessy reflects on a year of workshops, greater accessibility, and shared preparation making. Ritual, rhythm, and reverence become expressions of a community bringing light and warmth to the work of caring for the Earth.
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Biodynamics and Moon-soaked Fire: Larvae, Seeds, and Paracelsus
A lesson from a barley fodder system opens Stewart Lundy’s exploration of seeds, moisture, and the alchemy of pest peppers. Drawing on Steiner and Paracelsus, the essay connects careful observation of farm conditions with gratitude, responsibility, and the inner work of cultivation.
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Taste and See!
Flavor, fragrance, and the atmosphere of a thriving farm come together in this celebration of biodynamic nourishment. Through shared meals, farm visits, and seasonal abundance, the authors explore how tending soil, plants, and animals can feed both the body and the soul.
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Winter Preparations
Prepare the garden for winter with compost, thoughtful mulching, and regular biodynamic sprays. This field report follows preparation making from Colorado to California, combining autumn soil care with practical ways to protect, mark, and recover preparations through the Earth’s inward season.
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