Applied Biodynamics — Issue 009 (Fall 1994)

Applied Biodynamics Issue 009 (Fall 1994) is organized around fall fieldwork, composting, and the evaluation of horn manure (BD 500). Its largest feature records telephone interviews with biodynamic growers; companion articles explain biodynamics for newcomers, contrast ordinary and biodynamic composting, and discuss how a maker might inspect BD 500 after excavation.

Fall practice reported by growers

For “Fall in the Biodynamic Garden,” Hugh J. Courtney interviewed 11 practitioners by telephone in July and August 1994. Each was asked the same three questions: how the biodynamic preparations were used during fall; how fall composting was handled; and whether anything about the preparations had stood out during the year. Courtney emphasizes that each farm has its own rhythm and conditions. The surviving pages present the responses as shared experience, not as one universal schedule.

The available interviews show wide variation. Growers describe fall applications of BD 500 horn manure, horn silica, Barrel Compost, BD 508 horsetail, and in some cases BD 507 valerian. Some apply sprays to specific crops or before harvest; others connect them to cover crops, orchard residues, frost, drought, excessive moisture, or sequential-spray routines. Several accounts also link preparation work to ordinary farm management: manure handling, tillage, compost maturity, cover cropping, irrigation, crop timing, and the condition of the soil.

The survey pairs practical operational detail with growers’ named field observations. One discussion attributes severe flea-beetle pressure partly to manure management rather than expecting preparations alone to solve it. Another considers whether immature compost contributed to cutworms and dying brassicas. Compost descriptions range from smaller garden piles to operations handling dozens or hundreds of tons, with different ratios of manure, straw, hay, weeds, crop residue, and bedding. Jennifer Erickson reports compost temperatures of 140–145°F; others describe pile covering, turning, the insertion of the BD 502–507 compost preparations, and the use of BD 508 on beds or piles.

The available scan prints the eleven-person roster and interview responses through number 10. Printed pp. 7–8, which carried the continuation, are absent; the sections below draw only from the available compost and BD 500 pages.

What biodynamic compost adds

In “Compost or Biodynamic Compost?” (printed pp. 11–12), Hugh J. Courtney contrasts the physical management of a compost pile with the “building-up” process he attributes to the biodynamic compost preparations, BD 502–507. He presents the six preparations as a way to condition organic material for living soil and recommends thoroughly composting manure before field use. The grower interviews show this work at different scales: Ruth Zinniker combines fresh cow manure with garden and kitchen residues (printed p. 5); Claire Hall reports preparing both garden piles and about 400 tons of manure compost with the compost preparations (printed p. 6); and Jennifer Erickson describes an approximately 10-ton pile reaching 140–145°F and continuing to mature over winter (printed p. 6).

Inspecting BD 500 after excavation

In “Further Thoughts on Making BD #500” (printed pp. 9–10, 13), Courtney emphasizes marking the horn pit, lifting the horns carefully to keep soil out, and checking the finished preparation by odor and color. He favors an earthy smell and deep rich black color, with earthy brown next in preference. Horns retaining greenish raw-manure color and odor are set aside; when a spring excavation was too early, he recommended reburying and reports that some growers saw improved material on reinspection about two weeks later. He also stresses attentive packing when making the preparation. These observations describe Courtney’s 1994 preparation-making practice; for current application directions, see JPI’s BD 500 instructions.