Applied Biodynamics — Issue 015 (Spring 1996)

Issue 015 opens with Sara Tufts's "Pokeberry and Pine Seed Sprays," a first-person record of garden experiments with slugs. In 1994 she left one flower area untreated and sprayed another daylily area with pokeberry ferment plus BD 501. She reports that the untreated flowers still hosted slugs while the treated flowers were slug-free. In 1995 she also tried fermented Norway spruce seed extract and described the result as favorable. These are her observations of the treatments as used, including the BD 501 combination.

In "Slugs and Snails and Pokeberry Jails," Hugh Courtney follows Tufts's experience with reports from other growers. He records Paul Sansone's estimate of 90 percent or greater reduction in slug damage on plants including achillea and hostas, with a smaller response on young delphiniums. Charlotte Kangas reported that the spray kept slugs out of her garden and requested another supply. Courtney discusses deterrence as a possible explanation; the practical observations themselves concern slug presence and plant damage.

Tufts explicitly describes pokeberry as poisonous and confines her pokeberry spray to ornamentals, while presenting pine-seed extract for vegetable gardens. These 1996 recipes are historical accounts; current labels and local requirements should guide any present-day use.

Courtney's "Seed Baths Update" describes a rhythmic seed-bath method: soak a portion of a preparation, such as BD 503 for legumes, then gently rock a partly filled sealed jar horizontally in a figure-eight or lemniscate motion for at least 2½ minutes. He provides dilution and timing details and calls for use within two hours or renewed rocking. The account documents a repeatable biodynamic practice for growers recording their own seed responses.

Guest editor Kathryn Dagostino describes an early biodynamic soil-care experience on her developing farm. After adding organic matter and spraying Barrel Compost—JPI's present-day U.S. product name is Barrel Compound—and BD 500, she says soil that had required a tractor front-end loader to break became dark brown, soft, and easy to plant. Her account attributes the change to the combined garden work she observed.

Hugh Courtney also explains the issue's late publication and JPI's focus on preparation production and construction. His utility-building update says the block shell was nearly 60 percent complete, with interior work still ahead.

"Mildred Cowger: A Life of Service" honors an Oregon gardener and early biodynamic organizer. One friend recounts that after Cowger introduced her to BD 500 and better compost making, problems in her worn garden began to improve. Another remembers Cowger's exceptional garden produce and seed sharing; the memorial also describes the Oregon group's growth from her decades of teaching and preparation work. These first-person accounts show the practical and community legacy she sustained.

Articles and features

• Pokeberry and Pine Seed Sprays — Sara Tufts
• Notes on This Issue — Hugh J. Courtney
• A “Hello!” from the Guest Editor — Kathryn Dagostino
• Slugs and Snails and Pokeberry Jails — Hugh J. Courtney
• Seed Baths Update — Hugh J. Courtney
• Progress on the New JPI Utility Building — Hugh J. Courtney
• Mildred Cowger: A Life of Service — Beth Wieting, Heike Eubanks, and Wally Via

Key themes

• Tufts's untreated-flower comparison and grower slug-damage observations
• Dagostino's soil observation after organic matter, Barrel Compound, and BD 500
• A repeatable rhythmic seed-bath method
• Historical pokeberry safety boundaries
• JPI preparation production and utility-building progress
• Mildred Cowger's gardening, seed sharing, and biodynamic community legacy

Download Issue 015 PDF

Citation

Source: Applied Biodynamics, Issue 015, Josephine Porter Institute, Spring 1996. Surviving archive scan: printed pages 1–4 and 7–9 plus the back cover; printed pages 5–6 are absent.