From the Journal Entries archive
Latest writing
Biodynamics and Lunar Gardening: Finding Rhythm
Lunar phases and the ascending and descending Moon offer distinct rhythms for the garden. Russell Blackstone shares how he brings them together with the constellations, using transplanting time, seasonal planning, and reflective pauses to cultivate a more conscious relationship with daily farm work.
Read the article
Cosmic Journal Entry #005
Late July 2023’s Cosmic Journal follows summer abundance toward an August supermoon. Evening horn manure, morning horn silica, transplanting, and thoughtful pauses accompany the Moon’s passage through the crop signs, with special attention to wet conditions and horsetail preparation.
Read the article
Old King Farm
Mary Maruca visits the world of Old King Farm through an interview with Dr. Orest Pelechaty. Biodynamic mentorship, Tibetan Buddhist practice, medicinal plants, wildlife habitat, and community learning meet on a 102-acre Vermont landscape devoted to caring for land and people together.
Read the article
Pest and Weed 'Peppers' Revisited
Stewart Lundy revisits biodynamic pest and weed peppers through the living processes already at work in nature. Seed formation, moisture, fire, field mice, and nutrient cycling offer a wider view of how farmers can work consciously toward diversity and balance in the garden.
Read the article
Biodynamic Planting Calendar Primer
Russell Blackstone’s planting-calendar primer introduces root, flower, leaf, and fruit days through the four elements. Practical crop examples, transplanting rhythms, and pauses for reflection show how a biodynamic calendar can guide fieldwork while deepening a gardener’s relationship with the land.
Read the article
The Morning After Summer Solstice 2023
At sunrise after the summer solstice, Russell Blackstone follows his horn-manure offering with horn silica. Warmed water, a meditative stir, birdsong, and the first light over the garden become a personal practice of balancing earthward nourishment with light, warmth, and ripening.
Read the article
Summer Solstice Biodynamic Horn Manure Offering
Russell Blackstone shares a personal summer-solstice offering of horn manure: warming water in sunlight, stirring with gratitude, and walking the garden as evening settles. His account brings practical preparation work into a heartfelt relationship with the soil, the stars, and the life of the land....
Read the article
Cosmic Journal #004
Cosmic Journal #004 welcomes the June 2023 solstice as a turning point in the earth’s seasonal breath. Flowering, leafy, fruiting, and root crops each receive attention, alongside morning horn silica, evening horn manure, and the descending Moon’s transplanting rhythm.
Read the article
Summer 2023 JPI Farm Update
A newborn calf, growing neighborhood partnerships, and freshly made preparations mark JPI’s summer 2023 progress. Ben Nommay shares how cooperative grazing, haymaking, compost, and a hands-on spring workshop are helping the Floyd farm develop toward a more self-sufficient organism.
Read the article
Harvesting Earth and Sky
Natalie McGill’s lyrical reflection honors the receptive, feminine dimension of agriculture. Seasonal observation, the legacy of women in biodynamics, and the shared ritual of making horn manure reveal farming as a living relationship between earth and sky, ancestry and future growth.
Read the article
Even Better Compost
Weeds, fragrant flowers, and medicinal herbs can all become gifts to the compost heap. Stewart Lundy explores how biodynamic preparations, moisture, and careful handling preserve the farm’s vitality, turning everyday weeding into an active contribution to future fertility.
Read the article
Cosmic Journal Entry #003
Early June 2023’s Cosmic Journal follows the full Moon toward the summer solstice, linking flower, leaf, fruit, and root days with practical garden work. Doug Wilson highlights a dawn horn-silica offering, the turn toward an ascending Moon, and moments for the land to rest.
Read the article