Chat Session of December 20, 2005
Bio-dynamic Farming, with Bree Garrett, BS
Courtney Grammer: Welcome to the CCNH Chat Room. We are glad you've joined us. CCNH offers holistic nutrition and natural health education; we do not diagnose or dispense nutritional/health advice. We invite you to peruse our Resource links in the Students and Alumni Services area to get a jumpstart on researching any personal health issues.
Bree Garrett: Hi Everyone!
Bree Garrett: Today's chat is on Bio-dynamic farming. A lot of the information I will use is from http://www.biodynamics.com and http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/biodynamic.html.
Kimberly Didia: Hello!
Val Ripperger: Helloooooooo
Debra Tridico: Hi Bree
Sheila Nilson: Hi Bree!
Bree Garrett: Based on a series of lectures given by Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner in 1924, Bio-dynamics is a method of agriculture which seeks to actively work with the health-giving forces of nature. It is the oldest non-chemical agricultural movement.
Bree Garrett: The Agriculture Course lectures were taught by Steiner in response to observations from farmers that soils were becoming depleted following the introduction of chemical fertilizers at the turn of the century. In addition to degraded soil conditions, farmers noticed a deterioration in the health and quality of crops and livestock.
Bree Garrett: Bio-dynamics is a science of life-forces, a recognition of the basic principles at work in nature, and an approach to agriculture which takes these principles into account to bring about balance and healing. In a very real way, then, Bio-dynamics is an ongoing path of knowledge rather than an assemblage of methods and techniques.
Bree Garrett: it is set apart from other organic agriculture systems by its association with the spiritual science of anthroposophy founded by Steiner, and in its emphasis on farming practices intended to achieve balance between the physical and higher, non-physical realms; to acknowledge the influence of cosmic and terrestrial forces; and to enrich the farm, its products, and its inhabitants with life energy
Debra Tridico: Is Bio-dynamic farming similar to organic farming?
Bree Garrett: The concept of dynamic practice? Those practices associated with non-physical forces in nature like vitality, life force, ki, subtle energy and related concepts is a commonality that also underlies many systems of alternative and complementary medicine
Bree Garrett: "Biological" practices include a series of well known organic farming techniques that improve soil health. "Dynamic" practices are intended to influence biological as well as metaphysical aspects of the farm (such as increasing vital life force), or to adapt the farm to natural rhythms (such as planting seeds during certain lunar phases).
Sharon Snively: We raise things organically in our greenhouse, but BD practices deal much more with healing the earth and using the life cycle of moon, stars, plant. Is that right?
Bree Garrett: The Stella Natura calendar offers an introduction on how the light of the sun, moon, planets and stars reaches the plants in regular rhythms. Each contributes to the life, growth and form of the plant.
Bree Garrett: The more vital our food, the more it stimulates our own activity. Thus, Bio-dynamic farmers and gardeners aim for quality, and not only quantity.
Bree Garrett: In his Agriculture course, Rudolf Steiner posed the ideal of the self-contained farm - that there should be just the right number of animals to provide manure for fertility, and these animals should, in turn, be fed from the farm.
Bree Garrett: A farm is said to have its own individuality.
Bree Garrett: one of Bio-dynamics fundamental efforts is to build up stable humus in our soil through composting.
Bree Garrett: It has to do with the preservation and recycling of the life-forces with which we are working. Vegetable waste, manure, leaves, food scraps, all contain precious vitality which can be held and put to use for building up the soil if they are handled wisely. Thus, composting is a key activity in Bio-dynamic work.
Bree Garrett: I guess you could say it is an advanced form of organic gardening
Sharon Snively: The SOEF's introduced in Holistic Nutrition make more sense to me with the explanation of Bio-dynamic farming
Debra Tridico: Sharon , what is SOEF?
Sharon Snively: Subtle Organizing Energy Fields
Debra Tridico: Could someone elaborate on that
Sharon Snively: sorry, Bree didn't mean to change the subject,
Bree Garrett: no, that's fine, this is a chat... go ahead....
Sharon Snively: The SOEF is the energy field of any given seed, plant etc, so it makes since now that the way it is grown would effect the SOEF
Bree Garrett: Bio-dynamic Farming seems to be very spiritual from what I understand
Sharon Snively: I definitely have to learn more about it!
Bree Garrett: the way it was first explained to me is that if you care properly for the soil, it will know it and produce better crops
Bree Garrett: Kind of an "all connected" idea...
Bree Garrett: A friend of mine works for a wine company and said that alot of Australian wine producers use Bio-dynamic Farming methods for their grapes.
Bree Garrett: supposed to be some of the best grapes in the world...
Sharon Snively: So if we heal the soil, the energy of the plants grown will naturally be better for us, it only makes sense!
Sheila Nilson: This "connected" idea - is that what anthroposophy is about?
Bree Garrett: yes, exactly
Bree Garrett: anyone familiar with this??
Martha Nichols-Ketchum: nope, can you define it?
Bree Garrett: Martha, you may want to go back to the beginning...
Martha Nichols-Ketchum: sorry, guess I missed that
Bree Garrett: I'm very interested in it and want to learn more...
Debra Tridico: I'm not familiar with it, either
Sharon Snively: So are the basics of BD farming all about composting?
Bree Garrett: most Bio-dynamic farms are located in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand but there are some here in the U.S.
Bree Garrett: composting is one of the basic principles of BD
Sandra Ikenaga: We also see the results of not taking care of the soil and getting nutritional diseases and cancer. They had a special on a guy in Alaska with a special compost that grew huge vegetables
Bree Garrett: They use unusual methods...
Bree Garrett: The BD 500 preparation (horn-manure) is made from cow manure (fermented in a cow horn that is buried in the soil for six months through autumn and winter) and is used as a soil spray to stimulate root growth and humus formation.
Bree Garrett: but they also use "herb teas"....
Bree Garrett: there is BD preparation 508 which is prepared from the silica-rich horsetail plant (Equisetum arvense) and used as a foliar spray to suppress fungal diseases in plants.
Bree Garrett: A distinguishing feature of Bio-dynamic farming is the use of nine Bio-dynamic preparations described by Steiner for the purpose of enhancing soil quality and stimulating plant life. They consist of mineral, plant, or animal manure extracts, usually fermented and applied in small proportions to compost, manures, the soil, or directly onto plants, after dilution and stirring procedures called dynamizations.
Bree Garrett: http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/Bio-dynamic.html
Bree Garrett: The BD 501 preparation (horn-silica) is made from powdered quartz (packed inside a cow horn and buried in the soil for six months through spring and summer) and applied as a foliar spray to stimulate and regulate growth
Sharon Snively: Do you know what the point of packing in horns and burying is?
Bree Garrett: other herbs include Chamomile blossoms, Dandelion flowers, Valerian flowers, Yarrow blossoms, Stinging nettle
Bree Garrett: I am not familiar with that, Sharon
Bree Garrett: the herbs are used in very diluted amounts similar to a homeopathic remedy
Sharon Snively: did they choose those specific flowers according to the energy as in Bach remedies?
Bree Garrett: The purpose of herbal teas and liquid manures are manyfold; here again, they perform dual roles by supporting biological as well as dynamic processes on the farm; i.e., source of soluble plant nutrients; stimulation of plant growth; disease-suppression; carrier of cosmic and earthly forces. To reflect their multi-purpose use, they are sometimes referred to as immune-building plant extracts, plant tonics, biotic substances, and biostimulants.
Bree Garrett: Horsetail tea is extracted from the common horsetail (Equisetum arvense), a plant especially rich in silica. Horsetail is best seen as a prophylactic (disease-preventing, not disease-curing) spray with a mild fungus-suppressing effect
Bree Garrett: Chamomile is high in calcium, potash, and sulfur; it is good for leafy crops and flowers and promotes health of vegetables in general.
Bree Garrett: Comfrey is a rich source of nutrients; it is especially good for fruiting and seed filling crops.
Bree Garrett: Compost teas are gaining wider recognition in Bio-dynamic and organic farming for their disease suppressive benefits as well as for their ability to serve as a growth-promoting microbial inoculate.
Bree Garrett: Lunar and astrological cycles play a key role in the timing of Bio-dynamic practices, such as the making of BD preparations and when to plant and cultivate. Recognition of celestial influences on plant growth are part of the Bio-dynamic awareness that subtle energy forces affect biological systems.
Bree Garrett: The Stella Natura calendar offers an introduction on how the light of the sun, moon, planets and stars reaches the plants in regular rhythms.
Bree Garrett: this goes back to the basics...
Bree Garrett: Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA, is a direct marketing alternative for small-scale growers. In a CSA, the farmer grows food for a group of shareholders (or subscribers) who pledge to buy a portion of the farm's crop that season. This arrangement gives growers up-front cash to finance their operation and higher prices for produce, since the middleman has been eliminated. Besides receiving a weekly box or bag of fresh, high-quality produce, shareholders also know that they're directly supporting a local farm
Sheila Nilson: How might we find a CSA in our areas?
Bree Garrett: A host of Bio-dynamic researchers have looked into the quality of biodynamically grown foods. Though nutritional comparisons between foods raised by organic and conventional production methods is controversial. Certainly mainstream science adheres to the view that no differences exist. Notable contributions from Bio-dynamic researchers include image-forming qualitative methods of analysis (e.g., sensitive crystallization, circular chromatography, capillary dynamolysis, and the drop-picture method) and studies that report on nutritional analysis
Sharon Snively: A former school teacher in Salina, KS, is now running a CSA and has over 50 subscribers.
Bree Garrett: Farms of Tomorrow Revisited: Community Supported Farms, Farm Supported Communities (12) by Trauger Groh and Steven McFadden is a 294-page book that discusses the principles and practices of CSA's with insights to the Bio-dynamic perspective and farm case studies. The ATTRA publication Community Supported Agriculture and is located on the ATTRA web site and it provides a summary of ideas and business practices for CSA farms, accompanied by extensive resource listings.
Sharon Snively: Your local county extension should know if there is a CSA in your area
Sheila Nilson: Thanks much!
Bree Garrett: another resource may be The Bio-dynamic Farming and Gardening Association (BDA), a non-profit organization open to the public, was formed in the U.S. in 1938 in order to foster, guide, and safeguard the Bio-dynamic method of agriculture.
Sharon Snively: Bree, you have given us so much new info I can hardly write fast enough!
Bree Garrett: I started early today and am doing some cutting and pasting!
Sharon Snively: Thank you, it is all good stuff
Bree Garrett: By the way, you know we have our chats archived... so if you miss anything, you can go back and review
Sharon Snively: yes, it is very useful
Bree Garrett: Does anyone have any questions?
Sharon Snively: You have really peaked my interest, so I have some reading and research to do
Debra Tridico: Thank you. It was very interesting
Sandra Ikenaga: How would these foods be labeled if sold, because it is so different from organic?
Bree Garrett: I think it is only sold now within groups like CSA...
Sandra Ikenaga: The sites you mentioned and books will tell how to grow this way if you want?
Bree Garrett: yes, they will help, other references are...
Bree Garrett: Blaser, Peter, and Ehrenfried Pfeiffer. 1984. Bio-dynamic Composting on the Farm; How Much Compost Should We Use? Bio-dynamic Farming and Gardening Association, Inc., Kimberton, PA
Bree Garrett: Corrin, George. 1960. Handbook on Composting and the Bio-dynamic Preparations. Bio-dynamic Agricultural Association, London.
Bree Garrett: Koepf, H.H. 1980. Compost - What It Is, How It Is Made, What It Does. Bio-dynamic Farming and Gardening Association, Inc., Kimberton, PA
Bree Garrett: Pfeiffer, Ehrenfried. 1984. Using the Bio-dynamic Compost Preparations & Sprays in Garden, Orchard, & Farm. Bio-dynamic Farming and Gardening Association, Inc., Kimberton, PA
Bree Garrett: Dr. Ehrenfried Pfeiffer (1899-1961), a soil microbiologist and agronomic researcher who worked directly with Steiner, conducted extensive research on the preparation and use of Bio-dynamic compost. For many years Pfeiffer served as a compost consultant to municipal compost facilities, most notably Oakland, CA, as well as countries in the Caribbean, Europe, and the Far East.
Sharon Snively: are these book titles on the Bio-dynamic farming and Gardening Assoc web site?
Bree Garrett: http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/Bio-dynamic.html
Sharon Snively: thank you
Sheila Nilson: Thanks for all the info Bree! I am just starting out with a backyard garden and it needs all the help it can get.
Sharon Snively: Sheila, stay on for a while
Bree Garrett: good luck! Have you ever tried fish emulsion?
Sheila Nilson: Don't even know what it is.
Sheila Nilson: I will, Sharon
Bree Garrett: it's rather stinky, but is a great natural fertilizer
Sheila Nilson: I'll check it out. Thanks!
Arnetta Halcomb: it really is great, Bree. I use it in my greenhouse and in the gardens. the plants just love it.
Bree Garrett: good for lawns and grass that need help too...
Sandra Ikenaga: I'm starting with rocks so I'll need alot of compost!
Arnetta Halcomb: yes. everything is greener, brighter and lusher than without the emulsion
Janeel Henderson: I use a multiple mineral amino acid chelated folier on my garden that replenishes the soil and feeds the plants. It's great
Sharon Snively: Maybe we should all do a research project on Bio-dynamic farming
Bree Garrett: I hope you all enjoyed learning about Bio-dynamic farming!
Sharon Snively: small scale, of course
Arnetta Halcomb: wouldn't that be great
Bree Garrett: I think that's a great idea, Sharon!
Sheila Nilson: From the looks of my back yard my research will be hands on!
Arnetta Halcomb: yes, I certainly did, Bree. Thank you so much for your time.
Bree Garrett: I've requested that we have a speaker talk about this at our conference.
Jackie Refsdal: Thanks for all the great info, Bree. I really enjoyed reading about Bio-dynamics!
Sandra Ikenaga: Yes, I need to study this. Thank you so much for all the information.
Jackie Refsdal: Have a great night everyone!!
Sharon Snively: That will be great, will it be available on tape later?
Arnetta Halcomb: good night, Jackie
Janeel Henderson: Happy holiday to everyone
Bree Garrett: If we found the speaker and he's there... then yes, it would be on tape
Sharon Snively: Great
Bree Garrett: Another book that's in the same area, but not necessarily BD is Jane Goodall's Harvest for Hope
Sheila Nilson: Bree, is there a class at CCNH that covers Bio-dynamic farming?
Sharon Snively: is the Stella Natura calendar you mentioned available somewhere?
Bree Garrett: not yet, but we have discussed it in our curriculum development meetings
Sandra Ikenaga: Is it in the Steiner book?
Bree Garrett: The Kimberton Hills Bio-dynamic Agricultural Calendar, available through BDFGA for $11.95, is the Bio-dynamic calendar edited by Sherry Wildfeur and the most prominently known calendar of this type in the United States. It contains informative articles interspersed with daily and monthly astrological details, and lists suggested times for planting root, leaf, flowering, and fruiting crops.
Sharon Snively: this was really informative Bree, thank you again and Merry Christmas
Bree Garrett: good night everyone!! Happy Holidays!
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