What is Biodynamics?

New to Biodynamics?

Biodynamics focuses on quality first and quantity second. No amount of junk food makes anyone healthy, but healthy food can contribute to health.

What is health? Health is wholeness.

Biodynamics is about improving the quality of life for human beings, animals, plants, and whole ecosystems by treating the soil and farm as real living organisms.

To help heal our shared world, we must begin treating it like it's really alive. The biggest part of this? You. We can't do this alone.

Every square foot counts.

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    Whether you are gardening in containers, a backyard plot, or a hundred acres of crops, biodynamics can help improve the quality of your ecosystem.
Biodynamics for Beginners

Origins of Biodynamics

Biodynamics began in 1924 when Rudolf Steiner spoke to farmers about sick soils and weak crops. He said a farm is a living being that links earth, plants, animals, people, and the wider cosmos. By using rich compost, special herbal preparations, and timing work by sun and moon cycles, growers can wake soil life and grow strong food. This impulse continues today at the Josephine Porter Institute, which has grown into an international supplier of biodynamic preparations and a source of biodynamic research and education.

At its core, biodynamics invites us to become co-creators with nature. Every handful of compost, every stirred preparation, every mindful act of care helps heal a wounded earth. Whether on a farm or in a backyard garden, this work matters deeply.

Why farmers use our products

Compost full of good microbes builds dark, spongy humus that holds water and nutrients.

Many say carrots turn sweeter and wine gains fuller flavor.

Mixed crops, animals, and moon‑phase sprays help fields remain resilient in the face of drought, pests, or frost.

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Glossary

BD 500

Cow‑horn manure soil spray

BD 501

Cow‑horn silica leaf spray

BD 502–508

Six herbs for compost: yarrow, chamomile, nettle, oak bark, dandelion, valerian

BD 508

Horsetail tea often used to control mildew

Barrel Compound

Blend of manure, eggshell, and clay fermented in a pit

Cosmic rhythms

Sun, moon, and planet cycles used to time farm work

Recommended Resources

Applied Biodynamics no. 45 (2006): “Compost and Soil Fundamentals,” an illustrated guide to building living soil.

Biodynamics for Beginners (Portal Books, 2023), chap. 3: “Building Soil Life,” pp. 67–82.

Biodynamic Association PDF excerpt “‘Making Compost Work for You’” (adapted from AB no. 50, 2008): practical tips for small-scale piles.

Josephine Porter Institute workshop handout, Applied Biodynamics no. 72 (2012): “Compost Basics for Home Gardens,” pp. 12–14.

Pfeiffer Center webinar notes, “Compost and Microbes” (2015): overview of beneficial organisms and preparation synergy. Available on request.

Goetheanum Agriculture Section: introductory materials and FAQs.

JPI's Substack series, posts from 2021–2024.

Maria Thun: introduction chapter on soil and compost in Results from the Biodynamic Sowing Calendar (1962), pp. 10–16.

Lili Kolisko: Chapter 1 of Wheat Germination Trials (1939) on soil-seed experiments, pp. 1–8.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need cows?

No. You can buy small prep packets from JPI while learning.
Is biodynamic the same as organic?

Biodynamic is organic plus the nine preparations and moon‑phase timing.
Will it work in my climate?

Yes. Adjust water in sprays and compost moisture as shown in the checklist.
Do I have to stir for 60 minutes?

Hand stirring builds the needed vortex, but a flow‑form or small motorized stirrer also works. The vast majority of the benefits of the stirring occur in the first twenty minutes, but given how infrequently biodynamic preparations need to be applied each year, it is not a lot of time.