Applied Biodynamics — Issue 007 (Spring 1994)

Issue 007 (Spring 1994) is a practical reference issue: Hugh Courtney compiles seed-soak instructions and a crop table, surveys eleven growers' spring routines, records two source-attributed preparation-treatment field observations, and presents the Evergreen Elm Selke cherry-tomato hill method. A short public handout explains biodynamics, while the editor and board report on JPI's institutional plans.

Issue Overview

“Seed Soaks with the Biodynamic Preparations” — Hugh Courtney. Courtney presents seed baths as a way to help purchased seed enter a biodynamic system and reports higher germination and fruit set as commonly observed benefits. The article synthesizes three named English-language sources into a 1994 crop-by-preparation table and practical soaking steps that growers can document in their own gardens.

General Seed-Soak Method

• BD 500 is stirred for the usual one hour; BD 507 for 10-20 minutes, depending on the source followed.
• For a small quantity of seed, one unit of a compost preparation may be placed in one or two pints of water, stirred vigorously for up to five minutes, left for 20-24 hours, and stirred briefly again before use.
• Most seed is soaked for 10-15 minutes. Hard-coated seed may take longer, but peas and beans can lose their seed coats and germination if left too long.
• Drain or lift out the seed, dry it on absorbent material, and plant within 24-48 hours if possible.

The crop table records many specific pairings and many question marks. Courtney's quick rule maps legumes and brassicas mainly to BD 503, lettuce crops to BD 505, and most fruit crops other than legumes to BD 507. It also lists exceptions, combined preparations, and a Barrel-Compost/water/whole-milk soak for beets. The 1994 table presents working crop pairings and clearly marks exceptions and open entries for further grower observation.

“Spring in the Biodynamic Garden” — Hugh Courtney. Recorded conversations with eleven growers—from New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Georgia, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Texas, Utah, and California—show considerable variation. Growers used BD 500, Barrel Compost, BD 507, and BD 508 at different frequencies and for different site problems. Time, money, rainfall, season length, soil, greenhouse schedules, and fixed harvest days often limited implementation.

The survey preserves useful methods: mowing hairy-vetch cover crop and transplanting tomatoes directly into the residue; applying BD 508 at first visible growth on a wet site; diluted chamomile tea mist for damping-off; sequential spraying on a multi-day schedule; grass paths sized to tractor traffic; compost before cover crops; and valerian sprays when severe frost was expected. Together, these recorded interviews give growers a practical methods inventory to adapt and document in their own conditions.

“Biodynamic Agriculture” — James Marquardt. This public-facing handout gives a brief history from Rudolf Steiner's 1924 agriculture lectures, describes compost and field preparations, and contrasts a nutrient-substance model with the anthroposophical idea of formative forces. The handout gives readers an entry point to the biodynamic concepts used throughout the issue.

“Practical Observations” — Hugh Courtney. Courtney presents two South Garden watering batches as field observations for growers to document further. Both tomato batches received a 20-minute mixture of Barrel Compost and BD 500X; the first also contained BD 507, while the second omitted it. The next morning he found dead flea-beetle carcasses on plants in the BD 507-containing batch and sluggish living beetles on the other batch. Flea beetles had largely disappeared from both groups a few days later.

The second report follows a Selke cherry tomato that had lost leaves after repeated BD 501 and BD 507 use. A mixture of one unit each of BD 504 and BD 505 in six gallons of water was stirred for 20 minutes and applied twice at roughly one quart per plant. Courtney reports new leaf growth and, later, less frost damage in treated plants than nearby untreated plants. Courtney also describes treated and untreated pepper, cucumber, and squash plants after a cold night, and invites growers to report what they observe with this combined BD 504/505 treatment.

“The Selke Biodynamic Cherry Tomato and Evergreen Elm Recipe for Planting Using B.D. Compost Starter” — L. A. Rotheraine. The tomato-hill method begins with an 18-inch-deep, 20-36-inch-wide hole in full sun and builds a mound two to three feet above ground, at least 20 inches high after settling and at least 12 inches wide at the top. Layers alternate organic refuse with soil, or mix roughly 60-70 percent refuse/manure with 30-40 percent finished compost or soil.

One teaspoon of Pfeiffer Biodynamic Compost Starter is moistened to a coffee-ground consistency and left 12-24 hours in a warm, dark, dry place. The activated starter is mixed into four to five gallons of unchlorinated water and stirred through about seven vortex reversals for one to two minutes. Roughly a dozen holes are made at varied depths, the hill receives three to five gallons of tonic, and one-half to three-quarters of the tomato stem is buried. The plant receives about one-quarter gallon at the roots, is mulched, and is kept consistently moist without wetting the leaves or removing suckers. Within the full high-organic-matter, moisture-managed hill system, Rotheraine reports a featured 12-foot plant bearing more than 2,500 tomatoes; that hill used upward of 250 gallons of organic refuse, including more than 100 gallons of dandelions.

Editorial and Institutional Notes

The front-page verse and editor's letter introduce the gnomes, undines, sylphs, and fire spirits of anthroposophical elemental teaching and link them to root, leaf, flower, and fruit processes. JPI's annual-board report lists land-ownership restructuring, an assistant director, nonprofit status, computerized accounting, new Pfeiffer products, an architect, and a future building for preparation production, education, workshops, and research.

Why This Issue Matters

Issue 007 gives growers a 1994 working manual and field archive: step-by-step seed soaks, South Garden treatment observations, methods shared by eleven growers, and the full Evergreen Elm tomato-hill practice. Its recorded times, volumes, dimensions, and crop pairings help readers carry the methods into attentive practice and keep their own field records.

Contents

• Seed Soaks with the Biodynamic Preparations — Hugh Courtney
• Seed Soaks with Biodynamic Preparations crop table
• Spring in the Biodynamic Garden — Hugh Courtney
• Biodynamic Agriculture — James Marquardt
• Practical Observations — Hugh Courtney
• The Selke Biodynamic Cherry Tomato and Evergreen Elm Recipe — L. A. Rotheraine
• Letter from the Editor and Annual JPI Board Meeting

Key Topics Covered

• Seed-soak stirring, standing, soaking, drying, and planting windows
• Crop-to-preparation pairings, exceptions, and unknowns
• Eleven growers' spring methods and operational constraints
• Cover crops, compost, damping-off, frost, and fungal-pressure practices
• BD 507-included and BD 507-omitted tomato-water batch observations
• BD 504/505 leaf-regrowth and frost field observations
• Selke tomato-hill dimensions, material ratios, tonic, and watering
• JPI's 1994 organizational and building plans

Download Issue 007 PDF

Citation

Applied Bio-Dynamics, Issue 007, Spring 1994. Josephine Porter Institute for Applied Bio-Dynamics, Woolwine, Virginia.