Care for the Earth by caring for your earth
There are lots of reasons to garden biodynamically. We could go on all day with a list as long as an orang-utan’s arm. But we won’t. Instead, here are three top reasons why you should give biodynamic gardening a go.
Do a taste test. Compare home grown tomatoes with conventionally farmed tomatoes. There’s no contest there. Place a bunch of basil bought from the supermarket next to a bunch fresh picked from the garden. Give them a sniff. Which one would you prefer to make pesto with? Not only does it taste better, it’s better for you. It doesn’t sit in cold storage for however many weeks, even months, before it arrives on your dinner plate. Food picked fresh has the maximum amount of vitamins and enzymes and biodynamically grown produce is invested with nature’s life forces, meaning highly nutritious food for you and your family (and lucky friends).The only thing that will be missing is the chemical residues.
You will be part of a growing community of biodynamic gardeners who know that their work contributes to the greater health of the Earth. Any step towards self-sufficiency can give a sense of personal satisfaction, and supplying your household with fresh vegetables, herbs and fruit (and eggs if you keep chooks) is certainly a noble pursuit. When you garden biodynamically, you can’t help but become more aware of the rhythms of the seasons, skies and the Earth itself. Your tiny speck of garden indicates what is happening in the wider environment. Learning to organise gardening tasks according to planetary movements and seasonal changes gives rise to the realisation that nature and our actions are closely connected. We can feel the Earth breathing in during the colder months, and out during the warmer months. Biodynamic practices inherently foster an enriching relationship between human beings and nature that is based on giving as well as receiving.
Food from your backyard has no food miles attached. Biodynamic gardening is a carbon efficient method of growing that captures atmospheric carbon dioxide through humus formation. This means your gardening activities can offset your carbon emitting activities, and you become part of the solution to climate change rather than part of the problem. It is timely to be reminded of the positive impact we can have on our planet if we take responsibility for healing the damage already done.
This is a frequently asked question. It’s not so much about difference (the two practices do not oppose one another), but rather how biodynamics enriches and goes beyond basic organic principles. Biodynamics is super-organics, if you like. An organic gardener may view nature as a sustainable system, but a biodynamic gardener goes further by regenerating and improving the soil. Biodynamic gardeners are interested in the spiritual health in addition to the physical health of themselves and their garden.
In practical terms, the main differentiator is the use of biodynamic preparations. These are fundamental to the composting process, soil nutrition, plant health and complete management of the garden or farm:
The application of these preparations is the basis of biodynamic practice. Each preparation works as an organ of the farm and helps to establish the farm’s integrity. Each also has a specific role in stimulating bacterial and fungal activity, making trace elements and minerals available to the plants. Combined, they also work in making the soil and atmosphere more sensitive to cosmic rhythms, connecting the Earth to the life-forces of the cosmos.
Biodynamic Resource Manual, Biodynamic Agriculture Australia, Third Edition 2006, p. 10
Yes, that last sentence may sound a bit out there to those who are new to biodynamic principles. However, the idea that the Earth is influenced by the rhythms of other planets and the moon forms an important part of a holistic view that encompasses much more than pure chemical analysis. In addition, the ways in which the biodynamic preparations enliven and regenerate the life forces in the soil makes this practice conspicuously different to other organic approaches.
We’re just scratching the surface here. Stick with us to explore how biodynamics can work for your garden. And no, we don’t communicate with aliens.
Photo credit: net_efekt
Welcome to Backyard Biodynamics. This is our first post, and we are very excited about bringing biodynamics into backyards all over the world. If you think that biodynamics is only for farmers and market gardens, think again. We’re here to help home gardeners apply biodynamic practices, even in the smallest of gardens.
So, what exactly is this practice? Well, this is what we will be discussing throughout our blog and within the Backyard Biodynamics website. But in a nutshell, biodynamics is an organic system of soil remediation and enlivenment. The nutrients that are taken up by plants and therefore taken away from the soil at harvest are replaced by biodynamically prepared compost full of life giving humus. Along with compost, the biodynamic system uses a set of organic preparations that are administered at specific times of the year to increase the life forces available to plants. Biodynamic gardeners and farmers treat their garden or farm as a living organism that is connected to the wider environment.
Biodynamics has been practiced for over 80 years. It was conceived by Rudolf Steiner in 1924 after a group of German farmers asked him how they could improve their exhausted soils and keep their animals in good health. Steiner developed a series of preparations made of cow manure, silica and herbs. These preparations were made at particular times of the year and composted into potent soil activators. Steiner died soon after delivering his agriculture lectures, but subsequent practitioners have carried on his work, and have established a highly effective method for maintaining healthy soil, plants and animals.
This site is brand new, so we’ll be working hard to constantly add content that will encourage you to go outside and start digging for a better future … for all of us.
Backyard Biodynamics is a place where you can learn, share and be engaged by biodynamic gardening in your own backyard. 