Biodynamic Agriculture at Solberg and Kimberton

Biodynamic agriculture is based on lectures that Rudolf Steiner gave on agriculture in 1924, the last year of his life. Most Camphill villages have biodynamic farms because of Steiner's work and inspiration. Both Camphill Solborg in Norway and Camphill Kimberton in Pennsylvania practice the biodynamic farming philosophy. Jan Martin Bang, author of Ecovillages: A Practical Guide to Sustainable Communities, is a resident of Camphill Solborg. In his book, Bang describes biodynamic farming as, "farming with a full cosmic consciousness, aware of the cycle of the stars and planets, and of co-operation with the spirit world" (130). He goes on to summarize the key ideas of biodynamic farming, which think of the farm or garden as a living organism. The main focus of Biodynamics is to enrich and enhance the soil. Biodynamics wants to keep improving the soil so that it is the healthiest soil it can possibly be. Biodynamic farming strives to have as few inputs as possible. For example, all food for the livestock should come from the farm itself, and the fertilizer used for the farm should come from the compost made from the manure from the livestock. Biodynamic farming does not rely on chemical fertlizers and pesticides, rather it promotes great diversity of plants, composting, and the use of biological insect and weed controls. In this way it aims to "increase the fertility of the land and enhance the soil".

One of the most interesting part of Biodynamic agriculture is the use of "preparations". There are specific preparations that are made on site and sprayed on the land and on the plants. One type of field preparation is called horn manure, known as 500, in which manure is placed in a cow horn and buried in the earth in the summer. The following spring, the horn is uprooted and the manure inside has been decomposed into a highly rich form of humus. The horn manure is then added to water in very small doses and sprayed all over the soil. It is said that this horn manure enriches the soil like no other. Another type of field preparation is a silica preparation, known as 501, which uses ground up quartz and places it in the cow horn just like the horn manure. In the same process as the horn manure the silica preparation is sprayed on the plants to make the most of the sunlight. The silica attracts the sunlight and intensifies it, therefore bringing even more light to the plants for photosynthesis. To read more about other types of preparations, click here.

Cow horn preparation 500. Ready to be added to water and scattered on the land.
courtesy of Allotment blog of the Gaurdian

Biodynamic farming also uses a planting calendar that works with and is aligned with cosmic forces. The calendar can be used to find the optimum time for sowing seeds, planting, transplanting, and harvesting. Some more information about the biodynamic planting calendar can be found here.