Applied Biodynamics — Issue 022 (Winter 1997–1998)

Issue 022 connects the interpretation of BD 502 yarrow with concrete preparation-making, tree-recovery and beekeeping observations, and a call for records that allow other practitioners to compare results.

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The editorial announces that Applied Biodynamics will move from four issues per year to three so JPI can concentrate labor and funds on preparation production, training, research support, and more substantial issues. The issue also introduces scheduled telephone consultation hours and fees, documenting the institute’s transition toward a more formal advisory service.

Hugh J. Courtney introduces Manfred Klett, then head of the Agriculture Section at the Goetheanum. In “The Yarrow Preparation,” Klett approaches BD 502 yarrow through plant form, habitat, sulfur and potassium processes, the stag bladder, and the seasonal sequence of summer hanging and winter burial. Klett offers a spiritual-scientific account that makers can connect with careful preparation records, including the plant source and harvest stage, sheath source, filling weight, hanging and burial dates, site conditions, recovery yield, and the finished preparation’s color, aroma, texture, and storage behavior.

Robert Grimes’ “Looking Back on the J.P.I. Prep Seminar” records a four-day seminar with fourteen participants. The report describes mesentery sewn into pockets and packed with moistened dandelion blossoms for BD 506; cleaned intestine tied, packed, and sealed for BD 503; oak bark grinding and skull preparation for BD 505; and approximately 2,000 manure-filled horns prepared for BD 500. The article is valuable as a record of materials, handwork, sequence, and group organization.

In “Some Effects of the BD Preps,” Stephen Storch reports moving a severely root-damaged English spreading yew, later applying BD 500, BD 501, equisetum, and biodynamic compost, and observing extensive new roots when the tree was dug again. When he dug around the tree in March 1997, Storch found a dense network of hair roots reaching about fifteen feet from the original ball and a root mat about one foot thick near the cut. His report gives growers a concrete field observation to document alongside treatment dates, root spread, shoot growth, and survival.

Evrett Lunquist’s “Horsetail Tea and Bees” compares his experience feeding one package of bees sugar syrup made with horsetail tea with another beekeeper’s package from the same source. Lunquist reports that the colony filled three brood boxes with honey and pollen during the season. This favorable observation invites beekeepers to document tea preparation, feeding dates, brood, stores, and colony development so experiences can be compared across apiaries.

Woody Wodraska reviews Beth Wieting’s Gardening Basics, a concise introductory guide covering planning, companion and succession planting, soil and fertility, bed preparation, seed sowing, and a planting calendar.

Articles

• Manfred Klett (H. J. Courtney) 
• The Yarrow Preparation (M. Klett) 
• Some Effects of the BD Preps (S. Storch) 
• Horsetail Tea and Bees (E. Lunquist) 
• Looking Back on the J.P.I. Prep Seminar (Oct. 29–Nov. 1, 1997) (R. Grimes) 
• Book Review: Gardening Basics (W. Wodraska) 

Key Topics Covered

BD 502 yarrow, plant observation, the stag bladder, summer hanging, winter burial, and spiritual-scientific interpretation.

Hands-on making of BD 500, BD 503, BD 505, and BD 506 at JPI’s 1997 preparation seminar.

Documentation of root recovery after transplant damage and preparation use.

Lunquist’s horsetail-tea feeding and the colony’s strong honey-and-pollen stores.

Publication scheduling, advisory work, and introductory biodynamic gardening.

Repeatable Practice

1. Label each preparation batch with material source, weight, maker, dates, burial location, photographs, recovery yield, and finished-quality notes.
2. For tree recovery, photograph and measure root damage before planting, map treatments, and compare several treated and standard-practice trees on fixed dates.
3. For a bee trial, use several colonies from comparable stock, assign treatments before the season, keep management consistent, and record health and production outcomes.
4. Preserve dated observations and treatment details so future growers can compare the reported yew and bee outcomes with their own records.

Explore Related Resources

BD 502 Yarrow · BD 503 Chamomile · BD 505 Oak Bark · BD 506 Dandelion · BD 500 Horn Manure

Making and Using Biodynamic Preparations

Citation

Source: Applied Biodynamics, Issue No. 22, Josephine Porter Institute for Applied Bio-Dynamics, Winter 1997–1998.