Applied Biodynamics — Issue 044 (Spring 2004)

Applied Biodynamics Issue 044 (Spring 2004) presents positive field accounts from a large biodynamic rice program in the Philippines, including milk-and-honey spray results, fresh BD 508 applications, crop recovery, strong reported yields, locally adapted seed stewardship, and whole-farm practice. It also records preparation-making community work and two spiritual-scientific spray sequences centered on shared intention.

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Biodynamic rice work with more than 3,300 farm families

Maria Helenita Betsy Ruizo-Gamela describes the Don Bosco Diocesan Youth Center program in Cotabato, Philippines. The work reached more than 3,300 small-farm families across 2,978 hectares, including 1,196 rice farms, and supported growers with Pfeiffer Field & Garden Spray, the compost preparations, Barrel Compound, BD 500, BD 501, and BD 508.

The report calls fresh BD 508 tea a major breakthrough in rice production. Farmers used it in fields affected by tungro and its leafhopper vectors, and the account says its usefulness extended to bacterial plant diseases. Milk-and-honey spray became another important practice through five farmer accounts involving rice stem borer, whorl maggot, brown planthopper, and tungro.

Five farmer reports: beneficial insects, new tillers, and recovery

Three days after milk-and-honey was applied during an early rice-stem-borer infestation, farmers observed abundant beneficial life: beetles, ladybirds, crickets, grasshoppers, other bugs, spiders, wasps, and frogs. The report contrasts minimal damage on participating farms with severe damage on adjacent chemically dependent farms.

In another account, a crop affected by whorl maggot received milk-and-honey and showed a large beneficial-insect presence after three days, followed by full recovery. A field described as 98% damaged by brown planthopper received BD 500 followed by milk-and-honey. New tillers appeared after five days; continuing milk-and-honey and BD 508 applications accompanied the crop to full recovery.

Arthur Jimena's farm was reported as 75% affected by tungro. BD 508 was sprayed on five successive days, followed three days later by milk-and-honey in the late afternoon. Fifteen days after the sequence, the rice crop was reported fully recovered. The program adopted milk-and-honey as an official rice-production practice and emphasized its contribution to crop vitality and rejuvenation after stress.

Strong rice-yield reports

The article reports that participating farms averaged 7.11 metric tons of rice per hectare, compared with a Cotabato average of 3.4 and a Philippine average of 2.9. Some farms greatly exceeded those figures while maintaining indigenous, self-pollinated seed varieties.

Jerry Liong converted a seven-hectare farm to biodynamic practice for the first time and harvested 705 bags averaging 65 kilograms, or about 143 pounds, each. The highest nearby conventional result cited in the article was 687 bags. The report presents this first-season outcome as a powerful demonstration of the program's farm-level success.

The milk-and-honey formula

The basic formula is one part milk to nine parts water, with honey at about 1:100 of the total spray volume. The mixture is stirred biodynamically for twenty minutes and applied as a medium-to-fine mist. The article also records that large field batches used lower milk-and-honey concentrations while retaining the same stirring and misting approach.

Fresh BD 508 across crops and farm life

Ruizo-Gamela calls fresh BD 508 the most effective, practical, and cost-efficient horsetail form used by the farmers. The program combined fresh horsetail tea with milk-and-honey in rice work and used BD 508 with milk-and-honey and BD 501 against banana Sigatoka after Pfeiffer Field & Garden Spray and BD 500 had prepared the fields.

The report also records BD 508 use in caring for goats, chickens, and hogs. Farmers integrated these preparations with indigenous-microorganism fermentation, plant and fruit ferments, lactic-acid serum, fish amino acid, crop rotation, and local seed stewardship, forming a broad living-farm approach.

Locally adapted seed and preparation work

The farmers saved self-pollinated seed and actively collected traditional landraces, made selections, ran adaptability trials, and crossed varieties whose qualities suited their sites. They also explored local preparation plants. Stinging nettle adapted well, while yarrow, chamomile, valerian, oak, and horsetail prompted continued regional sourcing and acclimatization work.

Harmonic Concordance at Chrysalis Farm

Steven Adams describes a November 2003 sequential spray walk across Chrysalis Farm using Barrel Compound, BD 500, BD 501, BD 508, and added BD 502. Beginning before dawn, he carried the preparations through fields, pasture, hills, and woods with prayer and an intention of blessing the land and its beings.

Adams records a deepened awareness of the preparations, the sunrise, contrasting planetary qualities, wild turkeys and deer, and an eagle circling over the farm. He presents the walk as a contemplative biodynamic practice that strengthened his experience of farm individuality and the farm's connection with the wider world.

The Venus Transit of 2004

Hugh J. Courtney presents the June 8, 2004 transit of Venus as an opportunity for coordinated biodynamic work. His two historical June 1–11 sequences combine BD 502 yarrow, BD 501 horn silica, BD 500 horn manure, fermented BD 508, and Barrel Compound, with contemplative time on June 7 and 8.

The full schedule emphasizes BD 501 and BD 502 around the transit and places soil-directed and atmospheric preparations into a connected rhythm. For participants who could not complete the longer sequence, Courtney especially highlighted the June 6 and June 9 morning applications. The article offers the schedules as a spiritual-scientific practice for collective intention and service to the Earth.

Preparation making and community building

Elizabeth Schaldach reports on the Third North American Future of the Biodynamic Preparations Conference at Michael Fields Agricultural Institute. Thirty-six participants from ten states shared biographies, regional preparation work, and community-building needs.

Walter Goldstein spoke on living forces, BD 502 yarrow, preparation observation, and a nettle compound preparation. Participants explored plant form, biological vitality, regional material supply, preparation distribution, JPI's relationship with local groups, and ways to strengthen preparation making through shared experience.

Key topics covered

• More than 3,300 participating farm families, 1,196 rice farms, and 2,978 hectares.
• Five positive milk-and-honey case reports involving beneficial insects, new tillers, and crop recovery.
• Fresh BD 508 use in rice, bananas, and animal care.
• Reported yields of 7.11 metric tons per hectare and a 705-bag first-season biodynamic harvest.
• Locally adapted seed stewardship and preparation-plant work.
• Harmonic Concordance and Venus-transit spray sequences as coordinated spiritual practice.
• A 36-participant, ten-state preparation-making conference.

Explore related resources

• Pfeiffer Field & Garden Spray
• Barrel Compound and instructions
• BD 508 Horsetail Preparation and guide
• BD 500 Horn Manure and instructions
• BD 501 Horn Silica and instructions
• BD 502 Yarrow Preparation and guide

Articles

• Report from the Philippines: Effects of the Milk and Honey Spray and Other Major Breakthroughs in Biodynamic Rice Production (M. H. B. Ruizo-Gamela)
• The Venus Transit of 2004—A Biodynamic Opportunity (H. J. Courtney)
• Venus Transit 2004 Suggested Sequential Spray Protocol (H. J. Courtney)
• Harmonic Concordance, November 8, 2003, Chrysalis Farm (S. Adams)
• Future of the Preparations Conference (E. Schaldach)

Citation

Source: Applied Biodynamics, Issue No. 44, Josephine Porter Institute for Applied Bio-Dynamics, Spring 2004.