Biodynamic agriculture has developed for the healing of the earth, farm land and agricultural landscapes. It recognises and reinforces the basic principles at work in nature. Bios means ‘life’ and dynamics refers to ‘energy’. Hence biodynamic agriculture suggests working with the energies which create and maintain life. The following excerpts are based on Mr. Caldas’ lectures presented during a Colloquium on Biodynamic Cultivation that took place in Kalimpong in December 1996, and on his teachings imparted during visits over the past three years to ITTM. Part One of the Colloquium was published in AyurVijnana Vol. 5, autumn 1998. Part Two deals with the practical aspects of biodynamic cultivation.

 To enhance the natural properties of medicinal plants we must observe nature and consciously help it evolve. Agriculture should normally bring about the fruitful combination of nature and culture. Biodynamic cultivation harnesses the life-giving forces of nature in the development of healthy and productive landscapes. Biodynamic principles were developed as a farming practice and as a scientific method by Rudolf Steiner at the beginning of this century. They are based on intimate wisdom gained by long observation of natural phenomena and their forces, as well as from spiritual research. Biodynamics seeks to harmonise plants and animals with their archetypes and farms with their landscapes and wider terrestrial and cosmic environments.

 Drawing partly from traditional agricultural experience and wisdom, biodynamics, encompassing a wider potential than the organic method, respects cosmic rhythms and influences and weaves them into daily practical activity in order to call forth the subtle properties that are the essences of plants and animals. Thus, it is very suitable for the cultivation of medicinal plants, which depend on the fine properties of healing active principles, usually drawn naturally from the places where the plants grow. Our challenge, as mentioned in our last article (AyurVijnana Vol. 5, autumn 1998), is to help the plant tune to its archetype both in and outside of its natural habitat.

 The natural habitats of many Tibetan medicinal plants, for example, are the unique soils and clear starry nights of the stunning heights of the Himalayas and Tibetan plateau. Bringing these plants into cultivation poses a great challenge. Many formulations available through medical practitioners or sold through pharmacies possess only a fraction of their potential medicinal properties due to the methods used in commercial cultivation. On the other hand, the existing trade of plants collected from their wild original habitat poses the dangerous threat of extinction and permanent damage to those fragile mountain ecosystems. It has been with these challenges in mind that ECOTROPIC has started cooperating with ITTM’s projects.

 Together, our aim is to develop a cultivation system for medicinal plants which will on the one hand ease the need for wild collections and on the other hand preserve as much as possible of the medicinal and healing value of cultivated plants.

 In the last article we dealt with the primary aspects of biodynamics. Now we would like to focus our attention on some of the important principles related to the management of soil fertility.

Soil Fertility of Plant Nutrition

 The conventional approach to the fertilisation of soils has reduced that activity to a very simplistic and mechanical formula: plant ashes = ‘x’ amount of nitrogen; phosphorus potash = chemical fertiliser to be applied to the plant. The soil is considered a support substrate, and the nutrition of the plant plus water is provided directly to its roots. This has been at the basis of agricultural practices and productivity since the end of the last century. Yields have been raised tremendously, but mostly at the expense of the natural capital accumulated in the soil. Now, worldwide productivity faces an accentuated decline, which is not deterred by doubling the doses of chemical fertilisers given to the soil. This is a symptom of the reductionist approach that has permeated all aspects of life in this century. It has led to large scale destruction of landscapes and a decrease in the vitality and nourishing value of the food we eat. A clear indicator of this situation is the worldwide, multimillion dollar sales of complementary vitamins and minerals, now, at the turn of this century.

The Soil is alive

 In the biodynamic approach, we certainly use soil and plant analysis of nutrients as a reference for our practices, but that is the extent of its significance. We must understand the soil as part of the wider organism of the landscape and of the earth, possessing intrinsic life, rhythms and needs. The soil is not just a mineral substance but it is alive, it breathes, it has to be fed with adequate food and it can also become ill or malnourished. Certainly it can also die, when not given proper care. Obviously, then, ill soil cannot and will not produce healthy plants, able to maintain healthy human beings. It will produce weak plants that need a lot of ‘remedies’ to survive until they reach the consumer’s plate. The same will happen with medicinal plants improperly cultivated, a fact which puts their use into question.

 The question arises, how can we best feed the soil so that it will give us food and goods full of vitality as well as the life forces that are necessary for our physical, cultural and spiritual development?

 By enriching the soil with life, life will be given to plants, and plants will then grow to their full potential. This  will in turn benefit human beings and animals. Given the state of the earth, contaminated during the 20th century with chemical fertilisers and pesticides, this approach might be viewed as an appropriate remedy - a healing method of cultivation.

The Nature of Humus, the Humus of Nature

  How can we simulate the soils found in the natural habitats of medicinal plants? What is the best food for the soil? We can answer this question by looking at how nature produces it, how it is ‘cooked’ in the forests and on the land. Plant and animal residues, moisture, and air are broken up by fungi, bacteria and small animals over a long period of time to produce the best food: humus - a full and balanced meal for the soil. Humus can be produced by composting. ‘Compost’ means exactly what the word indicates, a ‘compound’, a ‘composite’ of substances, a ‘composition’ of elements. It is very rich and has all the nutrients a plant wants: nitrogen, phosphorus, potash, calcium and sulphur, as well as over twenty trace elements. It consists of aminoacids, growth promoters, natural antibiotics, humic acids, and millions of beneficial bacteria, fungi, earthworm eggs, and so forth. Humus is the reserve food of millions of soil organisms. A soil with the appropriate amount and quality of humus enables plants to grow to their best potential. In short, humus is a concentrate of life forces, the basis for life, the sustenance of vegetation and thus for life on this planet, including human beings.

  The strategy in the biodynamic system is not just to produce humus, but humus of the best quality, permeated with healing life forces. There is a difference between biodynamic and organic and other types of compost. It is like the difference between fermented milk and yoghurt or fine cheese. In addition, we must think in terms of the long term needs of the soil, not just the immediate needs of the cultivated plant. We work to build up the reserves of humus in the soil and live off the ‘interest,’ as we might do from our savings account. This means that the humus will be releasing nutrients to the plants as they are needed, in the right proportion, on demand, instead of the forced feeding done in chemical agriculture, where short term thinking exploits the natural reserves without giving them back.

Biodynamic Compost

As a complex substance, the production of good humus depends on the composition of materials that go into its production. We must consider the ingredients that go into our compost heap and the environment that is needed to break them down. For a proper process to develop, we must have the right carbon to nitrogen ratio. The coarser or more woody a plant is, the more carbon it will contain in relation to nitrogen, while the fresher and softer a plant is, the less carbon it will contain and the more nitrogen. This ratio is important because the bacteria and fungi that will decompose the compost need sufficient nitrogen and water content in order to work. Therefore, we must balance plants that have a higher content of fibre with plants, such as legumes, that are rich in protein or nitrogen. Or, we can also add nitrogen-richer materials, such as the residues of animals.

 In biodynamic compost, cow manure has a special place. Cow-dung is a very balanced substance, containing the fibre that the cow has eaten, plus many nutrients, in an almost soluble form. The most important factor is the millions of micro-organisms from the digestive system of the cow that bring life to the compost and continue the decomposition and breakdown of cellulose. When placed into a pile of plant material with proper moisture, the fibrous substances are digested the same way as in the intestine of a cow.

 In the process of cooking food, it is heat that breaks down the ingredients so that they are easily assimilated. A compost that is properly built up should generate heat within the first few days. Fungi and afterwards bacteria will start to break the carbon bonds and thus release its stored energy for their activities. As this multiplies, a chain reaction takes place, and the light and energy that the plant has absorbed are released. A cold compost means that something is wrong, in the same way that a cooking fire stops if not enough air is allowed to penetrate to the stove. Thus heat is an important indicator that the process is developing in the right direction, that the compost has started ‘to cook,’ that this new digestive organ is alive. So, we must get the right balance of air, water, plant and animal materials and even wood ashes and minerals from the earth element. As with cooking, we must develop the right sense for the ingredients, the amount of water, the length of the process, the amount of heat required, and especially the amount of salt and spices. There is no other way to become a good cook than by doing it practically. Recipe books alone can never turn a person into a good cook. Only practice - tasting, smelling, and learning with mistakes - can accomplish this transformation.

 Compost-making is an art which improves with time, and in the process, results in improved ‘cooked’ food for the soil. The more experienced the farmer and gardener, the better the food that is produced for the soil, and the better response we will get in terms of healthy nutritious plants and animals. Moreover, we will be able to cook special foods for different types of soils and plant requirements. Thus, we may recreate the best conditions for growth, also for our medicinal plants.

 A good way of making a heap is to create a basis of woody material which can allow some air to be stored, followed by a layer of 30 cm of chopped green material, weeds, etc., sprinkled with wood ashes and rock phosphate, and made wet by a ‘sauce’ of cow- dung slurry. That mixture is then covered with a thin layer of cow-dung from the stable, mixed already in cow urine and waste fodder. That process starts again with a layer of ‘chopped green vegetables, salt, spices and sauce’, and so on, until the heap is about 1.30 mtrs. high and covered either with soil or mulch. Do not tread on the heap. If it becomes compact, make some holes in the heap with a stick so air can come in. The same compost can be prepared in boxes.

 For the ingredients to cook, moisture must be available as well as heat. To measure the heat, leave a stick inserted and take it out to check the development. When the temperature in the heap decreases, earthworms invade it from the soil, and finish the job done by the micro-organisms. They really love the compost heap! During their chewing, they mix the earth with plant material, which in turn produces calcium in their digestive system. The activity of earthworms in the soil is  thus increased, further enhancing the healing of the soil and aerating it. The indicator of a good compost is that after 3 or 4 months, one cannot identify what has been put in. It has become a uniform, dark brown substance that has a sweet smell. A compost that is suitable for your area is developed by using the materials which are found locally.

 After finishing the heap, one set of the biodynamic compost preparations is inserted. These are made from specially prepared herbs that will guide fermentation to achieve the best quality humus. These inoculators are made from yarrow (#502), camomile (#503), stinging nettle (#504), oak bark (#505), dandelion (#506) and valerian (#507). They permeate the compost with their qualities and processes related to specific nutrients. The resulting humus will carry these qualities right into the plant and help them in their development and metabolism. We hope to be able to produce these biodynamic inoculators at ITTM in the near future. We are already cultivating most of the herbs for this process.

The Plant between the Sun and the Earth

 There are also two biodynamic preparations used for balancing the plant’s growth between the sun and the earth. One preparation is applied to the soil, helping the plants develop deeper roots and activating the micro-organisms in the soil. The other helps the plants improve light absorption, ripening and ultimately reconnecting to finer cosmic forces, which are important for the plants’ medicinal and nutritive values. Silica (BD501) is applied to the part of the plant you wish to harvest when it is forming. The other (BD500), a humic compound, is applied to the soil. The first is applied very early in the morning, at dawn when the sun is rising, or ‘breathing out,’ which coincides with the rising of the plant’s sap towards the tips. The latter, BD500, is applied when the sun is setting, or ‘breathing in,’ and the plant’s sap and activity is drawing back to its roots. Thus, they are connected to the rhythm of the day. In fact, these two preparations are also made in connection with the rhythm of the year: Silica (BD501) is produced in the summer, and Humus (BD500) in the winter.

 BD500 should be stirred by hand or with a stick in 20 litres of water, creating vortexes, clockwise and counter-clockwise for one hour (see photo).

LogisticsLogisticsLogisticsThis chaos, while reversing the movement, opens the water to the cosmos and creates a negative space receptive to environmental influences. It simulates the movement of water and air within powerful nature phenomena such as cyclones and whirlwinds, permeating the water with the qualities of the preparations. After the process, each drop then will radiate its influence over the soil and plant. Though machines are available, when done in a group of people, the stirring can also be looked at as an exercise for developing will and concentration, even meditation. The Silica preparation (BD501) is stirred in the same fashion but sprayed as a fine mist on the foliage in the early morning. The process to which they are subjected and the way of stirring results in a product possessing a concentration similar to a homeopathic remedy, which is required in very small amounts.  So, 50 grams of BD500 and just 2 grams of BD501 are sufficient for one acre.

 These preparations help adjust the environment, making it more suitable for the plant. If, for instance, one does not have the ecologically optimal situation for the cultivation of a medicinal plant, these preparations are helpful in adjusting a plant’s ecological needs by balancing them with more or less of the required environmental conditions, thus coming closer to its natural habitat. Silica increases the absorption of light, compensating for poor exposure to the sun in the valleys, while more BD500 and humus simulates the valleys and shaded places and enhance leaf production. For medicinal plants that require root development, conditions will vary from those where leaf is the main medicinal component. The same applies to the balance between bitter and sweet substances, oils and other active principles. Of course the appropriate location of plants, regarding shade, exposure and types of soil, has to be determined, in conjunction with the above. Optimising conditions is achieved by the adequate use of biodynamic preparations and also specific compost types. The medicinal plant research project at ITTM will focus on such findings for Tibetan and other indigenous medicinal plants of this Himalayan region.

Pests as Indicators of Imbalances in Plant Development

When the soil is healthy and fertile, so are the plants, and, generally, few if any pests will appear. Modern scientific specialisation has failed to address this relationship between soil management and a particular problem of the soil. Instead of nitrogen fertilisers, which lead to aphids and fungus, or pesticides and fungicides, which only temporarily treat these symptoms, biodynamics recognises the cause and looks at the way the plant is feeding in order to balance its composition. A wide variety of plant extracts are known to discourage pests as well as providing strength to a plant. For instance, a herbal brew of Artemesia repels many pests. Nettles are especially good for aphids, and Equisetum arvensis acts as a natural mild fungicide. When we do not resort to toxic chemicals for the control of pests, natural predator insects, such as ladybird beetles, green lacewings and spiders, appear. They are the indicators that the ecosystem is in balance, and they help us to reduce pest problems. Many common herbs and medicinal plants can be used in this process. Cow urine can also be used, mixed with herbal extracts, to strengthen the plant, repel pests and reduce fungus problems.

Most Weeds are Medicines for Soil and Humans

The weeds around us reveal the health of the soil and at the same time improve its health. Weed-cover becomes more diverse as soil becomes richer and more porous. It is a symbiotic process where co-evolution takes place. Hard, dense soils are colonised naturally by hard grasses possessing powerful fibrous roots that slowly open it up, creating the environment for other weeds to develop. A variety of weeds can be established for the fine-tuning work of replenishing the soil’s nutrients and other aspects important for its fertility. Instead of using herbicides, we can help by simply cutting the weeds and leaving them as mulch to recycle the absorbed elements back into the soil. By covering the bare earth with them, excess weeds will also be balanced, evaporation reduced and erosion prevented.

Conlusion

We have tried to briefly describe some of the practices and principles of the biodynamic method in these two articles. Still, we have barely scratched the surface of this complex agricultural practice and its understanding. In future issues of AyurVijnana we will continue outlining and deepening our knowledge of biodynamic cultivation of medicinal plants.

TADEU CALDASis a Brazilian agronomist, based in the UK, who has been working in the development of ecological agricultural systems, especially biodynamic agriculture, for the last 20 years. As a researcher, lecturer and consultant, he is involved in several organic and biodynamic cultivation projects in Latin America, Africa and Asia. He has initiated organic cultivation projects at ITTM since 1996, and he teaches and supervises the planting of medicinal plants at ITTM on his regular visits to India.
 

TADEU CALDAS
ECOTROPIC
Ecological Agricultural Systems
Parracombe, Chapel Lane
Forest Row, E. Sussex RH 185 BU
UNITED KINGDOM

E-mail: Caldas_ECOTROPIC at compuserve.com
Phone: (0044)-1342-824622   Fax: (0044)-1342-824949

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