Applied Biodynamics — Issue No. 024 (Fall 1998)
Issue 024 documents BD 504 preparation methods, a blinded valerian frost experiment, hawkweed and chlorosis reports, and hands-on JPI preparation practice.
Published by The Josephine Porter Institute Download PDF ↗
Share
Issue 024 brings together a blinded basil comparison, multi-year hawkweed results, a pear-apple recovery report, and detailed methods for making and evaluating BD 504.
Hugh J. Courtney’s “Time Marches On—Progress at JPI” records the institute’s developing infrastructure, production work, staffing, and shift toward on-site education. The operational details show that preparation production depends on buildings, equipment, trained labor, material supply, and repeatable handling—not simply on a finished recipe.
“Valerian and Frost Protection” summarizes Kachina Via’s school experiment with five groups of sixteen basil plants sprayed with fermented nettle tea, kelp tea, fermented BD 507 valerian, plain water, or nothing. After eighteen simulated cold exposures over about two months, two experienced farmers independently rated coded plants. One week after the final exposure, the BD 507 group had the lowest visible-damage score at 1.5 out of 10, compared with 3.0 for unsprayed plants and 4.5 for water-sprayed plants, with lower scores indicating less damage. Via’s repeated-exposure design and blinded ratings give growers a concrete method and measured positive result to build on.
Malcolm Ian Gardner’s “Observations and Experiments” includes two detailed practitioner reports. Tim Love reported that unmowed areas receiving four hawkweed-pepper sprays were nearly clear after the first year, four-spray areas were clear by the second year, and hawkweed was virtually gone from his two-acre pasture by year four. Scott Crandall combined hand-stirred BD 500 with highly aerated water for four pear-apple trees; he reported albino leaves beginning to yellow the next morning, reaching lime green by evening, and becoming deep emerald after three further treatments.
Courtney’s “The Michaelmas Preparation: BD #504—Stinging Nettle” reads Rudolf Steiner’s wording as directing BD 504 to remain underground through winter and the following summer. The article gives practical pit, screening, peat, and clay-drain-tile methods with dimensions, packing, sealing, burial, and recovery guidance. Courtney describes dark color, fine biological activity, and strong smearing as favorable finished qualities, and suggests a barley seed-bath comparison and compost use for observing performance.
Patrick Moser’s “JPI Summer Prep Seminar” documents practical work with BD 502, BD 504, and BD 501, including plant harvest, animal-sheath sourcing, stuffing density, screening, silica grades, and burial timing. The report reinforces preparation making as a learned craft whose variables should be recorded from batch to batch.
Articles
- Time Marches On—Progress at JPI (H. J. Courtney)
- Valerian and Frost Protection (K. Via)
- Observations and Experiments (M. I. Gardner)
- The Michaelmas Preparation: BD #504—Stinging Nettle (H. J. Courtney)
- JPI Summer Prep Seminar (June 26–28, 1998) (P. Moser)
Key Topics Covered
JPI infrastructure, preparation production, staffing, and hands-on education.
Via’s blinded basil ratings after eighteen simulated cold exposures, with BD 507 producing the lowest delayed visible-damage score.
Love’s multi-year hawkweed decline after repeated peppering and Crandall’s rapid pear-apple color recovery after a BD 500 program.
BD 504 plant identification, through-summer burial, clay-tile containment, recovery, and favorable finished qualities.
Seminar methods for BD 502, BD 504, and BD 501.
Repeatable Practice
- Reproduce Via’s five groups of sixteen basil plants, eighteen cold exposures, coded plants, and immediate and one-week damage ratings.
- For hawkweed peppering, record seed collection, ash making, succession steps, spray frequency, mowing, weather, treated area, and annual plant cover.
- For BD 504, record nettle harvest date, tile dimensions, peat and screen layers, packing, clay sealing, burial and recovery dates, recovery yield, color, activity, and smearing.
- For the pear-apple method, record water aeration, BD 500 stirring and dilution, soil and trunk application, leaf color, leaf size, and the timing of each observed change.
Explore Related Resources
BD 504 Stinging Nettle · BD 507 Valerian · BD 500 Horn Manure · BD 501 Horn Silica
Making and Using Biodynamic Preparations
Citation
Source: Applied Biodynamics, Issue No. 24, Josephine Porter Institute for Applied Bio-Dynamics, Fall 1998.
