Applied Biodynamics — Issue 099 (Spring 2021)

Applied Biodynamics, Issue 99 (Spring 2021) brings together JPI’s renewed preparation storage, Hugh Courtney’s tree and milk-spray contributions, affirmative garden uses for nettle and chamomile, and the practical legacies of biodynamic farmers, teachers, and researchers.

Read or download the complete Issue 099 PDF

Positive Work Reported in This Issue

Larry Mabe’s “Welcoming a New Root Cellar” documents a major preparation-storage improvement. JPI’s 400-square-foot concrete cellar, set into an embankment, received a properly vented A-frame roof and gutters in November 2020. The renewed structure provides a secure home for the preparations. Hemlock storage boxes with peat insulation around clay crocks were under production, and a 1,000-gallon rain-catchment system was planned for garden work and preparation stirring.

Hugh Courtney’s milk and milk-and-honey spray contribution records a clear positive insect observation. Using one part milk to nine parts water, with optional honey at 1:100 of the total volume, Courtney reported a tremendous increase in beneficial insects, often in numbers sufficient to eliminate what had previously been regarded as a detrimental-insect problem. The mixture is stirred for twenty minutes and applied as a medium-fine mist.

Abigail Porter’s “Heal Yourself, Heal Your Garden, Part 2” presents stinging nettle as a vigorous garden ally. The article says its presence supports plant growth in the surrounding area, while fresh nettle tea and fermented nettle liquid manure nourish plants. A twenty-four-hour extract is described for protecting plants from larvae and caterpillar pressure, especially in cabbage-family crops; fermented liquid manure is presented as a strong fertilizer for soil, watering, and transplant starts.

The same article presents German chamomile as a preparation plant that supports the health of soil and neighboring plants. It describes chamomile as useful for repelling pests, supporting flavor and aroma, helping plants resist disease, strengthening plants under insect pressure, prolonging cut-flower life, and reviving wilted flowers. For vulnerable seedlings, a weak blossom tea misted on leaves and soil several times a week is described as helpful against damping off.

“Trees as Cosmic Harmonizers” gives Courtney’s cardinal-direction placement around a selected tree: BD 500 or 500(X) to the north, BD 501 or 501(5X) to the west, BD 508 to the east, and Barrel Compost to the south, with the BD 501 container fixed to the tree about two feet above the ground. The source uses the traditional name Barrel Compost for the same preparation JPI calls Barrel Compound in the United States.

The closing memorials honor Hugh Lovel, Sally Ann Voris, Jochen Bockemühl, and Matthias Thun. Together they connect biodynamic agriculture with farmer observation, Goethean study, community education, calendar research, landscape vitality, and the long practice of carrying tested work into the next generation.

Articles in This Issue

• “Welcoming a New Root Cellar” — Larry Mabe
• “From the Applied Biodynamics File: Contributions from Hugh Courtney”
• “Trees as Cosmic Harmonizers” — Hugh Courtney
• “The Milk Spray / The Milk and Honey Spray” — Hugh Courtney
• “Heal Yourself, Heal Your Garden, Part 2: Stinging Nettle and Chamomile” — Abigail Porter
• “Remembering Hugh Lovel” — Coree Entwistle
• “Sally Ann Voris: November 14, 1951–October 2, 2020” — Ingrid Cowan Hass
• “Crossing the Threshold: Jochen Bockemühl”
• “Crossing the Threshold: Matthias Thun”

Key Topics Covered

• Renewed root-cellar drainage, ventilation, and preparation storage
• Hemlock boxes, peat insulation, clay storage crocks, and rainwater capture
• Cardinal-direction placement for the Tree Harmonizer method
• BD 500, BD 501, BD 508, and Barrel Compound around trees
• Milk and milk-and-honey sprays with a positive beneficial-insect report
• Nettle foliar tea, twenty-four-hour extract, and fermented liquid manure
• Nettle support for plant nutrition and cabbage-family crops
• German chamomile support for soil, seedlings, plant resilience, and flowers
• Biodynamic legacies in farming, research, education, and calendars

Related JPI Resources

• Biodynamic calendars · calendar guide
• BD 500 Horn Manure · instructions
• BD 501 Horn Silica · instructions
• BD 508 Horsetail · instructions
• Barrel Compound · instructions
• BD 504 Stinging Nettle · guide
• BD 503 Chamomile · guide
• Making and Using Biodynamic Preparations

Citation

Applied Biodynamics, Issue 99, Josephine Porter Institute for Applied Biodynamics, Spring 2021.