Biodynamic preparations
The implementation of biodynamic preparations is neither complicated in itself nor very demanding, but, to achieve good results, it requires quality preparations, efficient equipment, good organization, as well as careful and meticulous work. Since the elaboration and storage of these substances require particular know-how and precautions, it is often preferable to buy them rather than make them yourself and to order them when needed to avoid degradation before use.
Preparations are substances that have received particular information through the action of certain natural processes during their elaboration. This quality must be preserved by avoiding any disturbance, especially from impurities in the water, bad odors, essential oils, noise, electromagnetic fields, wifi, and mobile phones.
Preparations intended for composting (502 to 507)
If you do not have suitable equipment or premises, it is better to supply as needed and not store preparations for more than a week without protection by peat. Also, care must be taken to remove them from plastic bags as soon as they are received.
For 10 to 15 m³ of material to be composted, 2 g of each solid preparation is introduced into the pile, each preparation in its own hole. 5 ml of valerian is stirred in warm water for 10 minutes before being partly placed in the pile like the solid preparations and also sprayed around its perimeter to serve as a protective envelope.
Preparations to be sprayed
Horn manure (500 - 500P)
Horn manure is made from cow dung. It transmits an impulse of organization and life to the soil.
The rules for receiving and storing these preparations are the same as for compost preparations.
As a general rule, 100 g/ha is stirred for one hour in 30 to 35 liters of warm, good quality water. But there are special cases that require larger quantities.
Horn manure is sprayed in the form of small droplets in spring and autumn as well as at sowing and planting times with the soil in a receptive state, that is to say moist and warm.
Stirring (dynamization) and spraying are done after 3 p.m. solar time, not exceeding two hours between the end of dynamization and the end of spraying.
Horn silica (501)
Horn silica is kept in a glass jar outside, on a window facing northeast, without too much direct sunlight (half shade, half light). It must be kept away from electromagnetic and noise pollution.
For one hectare, 4 g/ha is stirred for one hour in 30 to 35 liters of warm, good quality water. Dynamization ideally starts at dawn followed by spraying within a maximum of 3 hours after the end of stirring, before 8:30 a.m. when days are long and bright, before 9:30 a.m. on shorter days or in cloudy weather.
The 501 is sprayed as a very fine mist on plants in full growth or approaching maturity. For this preparation, one must learn to recognize the needs of the plants and, if possible, give more consideration to the sidereal rhythm of the moon (root, leaf, flower, or fruit days). Spraying of horn silica (501) is never done on plants suffering from drought.
Dynamization and water quality
As described in the Farmers' Course, dynamization must be energetic where, for one hour, well-formed vortices alternate rhythmically with boiling chaos. It can be done either manually (<120 liters) or using a machine. But even with a machine, one should not exceed 250 liters per container for truly dynamic stirring and boiling inversions. To avoid the monotony of a rigid timing cadence as imposed by timer mechanisms, it is preferable to use a dynamizer equipped with a feedback loop that operates direction reversals linked to the vortex height. For both manual and mechanical dynamization, plastic containers should be avoided, with copper, the metal of Venus, commonly used in the food world, being the preferred material.
The quality and temperature of the water for dynamizing biodynamic preparations is important. It must be pure, slightly acidic, and low in minerals. Ideally, rainwater is used. In regions with granite or basalt, spring or stream water may also be suitable if it is pure, slightly acidic, low in minerals, and neither calcareous nor ferruginous. Before dynamization, the water is heated to 35 to 37°C over gas or wood so that it cools slowly during stirring.
Spraying
It is done with copper backpack sprayers or mechanical sprayers equipped with a copper or stainless steel tank and a diaphragm pump with adjustable flow to prevent backflow of the dynamized preparation into the tank. Sprayers must be exclusively reserved for biodynamic preparations and herbal teas (never use for essential oils or terpenes). For spraying, unfavorable days in the planetary calendar should be avoided, particularly lunar and planetary nodes or eclipses.
For further reading...
Consult this Reminder of good practices for the use of preparations published by BioDynamie Services.
- This article was written based on the document Biodynamics: a promising path towards sustainable agriculture of tomorrow written by Ulrich Schreier.
La version initiale de cet article a été rédigée par Ulrich Schreier.
