Biodynamic agriculture, a balance through knowledge of the land, plants, animals and man working together in an agricultural organism.
How did biodynamic agriculture emerge?
When the fertile land begins to be depleted and lack of nutrients for the plants, due to the increase in production, farmers begin to think about how to solve it, in addition to looking for a way to deal with pests and weeds. The answer is offered by Rudolf Steiner in 1924 with a documented course in: Biological-Dynamic Agriculture.
An example of his theory is the Dottenfelderho estate in Germany. In it we have:
- Direct sale of products.
- Extensive cultivation areas.
- A bakery.
- A cheese factory.
- Stables for calves, horses, pigs and chickens.
- Fruit trees, orchards, even biodynamic experimentation areas.
It is not very different from agricultural-livestock areas in northern Spain where families subsist on the production, consumption and sale of products.
Bases of biodynamic agriculture
The fundamental thing is the knowledge, both of agriculture and of the land and of the laws that govern the growth of plants:
- What type of crop is best developed, depending on the type of terrain. and weather.
- Planting time and care under the control of the phases of the moon that affects the water content of organisms.
- Appropriate dates according to weather conditions for tillage and harvest, considering the hours of cold and heat.
- Interconnection between the vegetable and the animal.
- Keep the land fertile by natural means.
- Rotate crops so as not to wear down the land.
- Make compost with manure from the farm.
- Control of "weeds", pests and diseases with natural means.
Also the composition of chemical elements such as:
- Oxygen.
- Nitrogen.
- Humus or calcium (limestone, potassium and sodium).
- Silica (quartz).
In addition, according to Steiner "Harmony in the influence of the stars is necessary for the plant to be able to correctly develop its nutritional power and reproductive power".
Biodynamic agriculture tries to create, in each particular situation, a sublime agro-ecological system that receives the name of agricultural body .
Este cuerpo agrícola va tomando una potencia y vigor propios, ya que se va convirtiendo en una singularidad agrícola completa.
Not only does it work with the forces of the earth, such as Oxygen, Nitrogen, Humus, Calcium or Silica. If not, the nascent powers of the universe are also taken into account, that is, the influences of the solar and lunar compasses, of the constellations of the zodiac and of the planets.
Biodynamic preparations to form black earth
These biodynamic preparations are assigned numbers 500 and 501.
500: Dung in horn.
It acts on the life of the soil, in the root zone, stimulating development. It is spread before sowing and planting.
- We fill cow horns with manure without straw.
- They are buried in autumn and until spring in meadow soil at about 50 cms.
- The content is stored in a dry place.
- The horns can be used multiple times.
501: Silica in horn.
It stimulates the activity of the leaves and is applied by spraying.
- We grind the quartz very fine.
- It is mixed with rainwater and the cow horn is filled.
- The horns are buried in summer and left until autumn.
- It is stored in glass jars.
- The horns of this preparation should not be reused.
Biodynamic preparations for organic compost
Es un compost o fertilizante compuesto de residuos orgánicos.
These biodynamic preparations are assigned numbers from 502 to 508 and are stored in glass in a dark and dry place.
502: Yarrow
- Fresh yarrow flowers in male deer bladder.
- The bladder is hung before June 24 in the sun, is buried in early autumn and recovers in spring.
503: Chamomile
- Dried chamomile flowers in the shade are kept until fall.
- They are moistened with chamomile infusion and inserted into pieces of cow's small intestine.
- It is buried from autumn to spring.
504: Nettle
- Nettle branches buried from June, peat covered and for a year.
505: Oak Bark
- Crushed oak bark is inserted into the skull of an animal.
- It is buried in mud from fall to spring.
506: Dandelion
- Dried dandelion flowers moistened with infusion.
- They enter the cow's peritoneum from fall to spring.
507: Valerian
- The juice of fresh valerian flowers is fermented and the juice is put in bottles for 6 weeks in uncovered jars.
- Once fermented, they are covered and stored.
508: Ponytail
- The stems are boiled. The infusion is distributed on the ground in autumn, spring and summer. Prevents fungus.
Conclusions of organic compost
Biodynamic agriculture is the basis for the control of pests and diseases of an agricultural body that comes from a complete, energetic and equitable work in the totality of the body.
During the course of achieving equilibrium, the ashes of a plant or animal organism that has been captured or collected from the agricultural body and then incinerated can be used.
For example, to control field mice ( Apodemus is a genus of rodents myomorphs of the <a href = "https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Familia_(biologa)"
Experience and experiments support the result of compost and the advantages of biodynamic agriculture.
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