3. Good Organic Gardening - May-June 2016 AvxHome.in

BIODYNAMICS BASICS | Part II
Filling the cow horns
STRANGE BREW
Continuing our special feature on biodynamics, we look at some
of the preparations and methods used in growing food according
to founder Rudolf Steiner’s philosophy
Words Claire Bickle
In maintaining a sustainable gardening
or farming system, many of the organic
practices and materials most of us use
already are well in line with biodynamic
principles. The key element is soil fertility,
which is where biodynamic preparations
come into the picture.
These preparations made and used by
biodynamic growers are sometimes a source
of amusement to those who don’t understand
or believe in — and even scoff at — their
highly beneficial effects on soil, plants and
our environment in general.
Some may find it a little hard to believe
that the burying of cow horns, the various
brews used to fertilise the garden/farm
and even the method of spreading these
preparations all draw on the cosmic energy
within the universe, which impacts on
everything, right down to our small patches
of earth. But, as with most things, the proof is
always in the results.
There are many kinds of biodynamic
preparations and, these days, several of
them can be readily purchased from organic
gardening groups, online organic garden
suppliers and even local garden centres.
The original
preparations
Horn Manure 500: Cow horns are filled
with manure from lactating cows and are
then buried with their points facing upwards
and left to ferment over winter. The horns
are dug up after about four months and the
fermented manure is heavily diluted and used
as a spray up to four times a year.
Benefits: Strong soil humus formation,
improved soil crumb structure, increased
soil bacteria and rhizobial activity,
increased earthworm activity, development
of deeper root systems and better
52 | Good Organic Gardening