What is Biodynamics?

Biodynamics is ...

What are the Preparations?

Using the preparations with the star calendar is fundamental to biodynamics. With good organic practice they increase soil and plant vitality which helps plants resist pests and diseases. You can learn more about this on the workshops and see their effects at Archenland. There are two spray preparations and six compost preparations ...

Spray preparations
500 - Horn manure: improves the soil
501 - Horn silica: helps fine tune cultivation
These preparations are made in the cow's horn.
You make them into a usable preparation by stirring with water.

Compost Preparations
502 – Yarrow: Achillea millefolium
503 – Chamomile: Chamomilla metrecaria recutita
504 – Nettle: Urtica dioica
505 – Oak bark: Quercus robur
506 – Dandelion: Taraxacum officianale
507 – Valerian: Valeriana officianalis

These preparations are made in various ways.
You put them into your compost heap.

What is the Calendar?

The Calendar is a simple way of finding the best days to sow, plant, cultivate and harvest your plants. it uses the Moon as a focus for the constellations, not simply the phases of the moon. The constellations represent the elements from which all life on this planet is made - earth, water, air and fire. These are represented in the plant by the roots, leaves, flowers and fruits. The system works with the actual astronomical positions of the constellations, planets and the moon so doesn't correspond to astrological data. It's quite complicated to work out which is why we use the calendar, everything's been done for us, laid out in user-friendly, colour-coded tables, so all we have to do is look up what day we're on and do whatever is recommended for that day. Being a calendar for the whole year, you can pan your gardening around it and so have time for other things in life - including just enjoying the garden J. The biodynamic sowing & planting calendar ‘Working with the Stars’ is available from ...

The Biodynamic Agricultural Association (BDAA)
Painswick Inn Project, Stroud, GL5 1QG, UK
Tel/Fax 0845 345 8474
email: office@biodynamic.org.uk
www.biodynamic.org.uk 

What about organics?

Biodynamics is the oldest organic movement, begun by Rudolph Steiner in 1924. It doesn't compete with organics but gives additional 'oomph!'.