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Fertility is a Marriage
Even Steiner says in the Agriculture Course that it is virtually "inconceivable" to consider farming these days -- in 1924 -- without a tractor. He was not recommending a return to draft power or doing away with technology but rather making sure that technology must serve LIFE.
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Jacob Boehme
Steiner offers a fascinating suggestion about Boehme and the alchemist Paracelsus: “One needs only to know Paracelsus...
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Freedom & Farming
Imagine every farm being free in itself (freedom within the boundaries of the farm), of itself (free from dependence on outside inputs), and for itself (free to pursue its own creative expression within the farm). Moreover, imagine countries doing the same. People ask, "Is biodynamics scalable?" If it means freedom, then, yes, it's one of the only things worth scaling.
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The Way, the Truth, and the Life
Biodynamics centers around fostering, of these three, LIFE. How people choose to use their life remains under their o...
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Leavening Your Soil
The biodynamic preparations work a bit like specialized "yeasts" in compost and create a better final product. Are the biodynamic preparations absolutely necessary?
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Rudolf Steiner
How do we restore healthy life to the soil? We do this with responsible common sense farming, incorporating the latest scientific research plus biodynamic preparations. We don't have to exclude anything that works.
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Is Biodynamics Pseudosience?
What hypothesis does biodynamics as an intuition advance? That these special biodynamic preparations will measurably improve the quality of compost, hasten the formation of humus and the build-up of organic matter in the soil, and increase the nutritional value of crops. This hypothesis must be tested, but funding for research is a very different question!
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Healthiness
If we wish to have healthy plants, we should consider using healthy inputs. But that means reaching beyond soluble fertilizers which, let's face it, are not alive enough to be "healthy." Now, a particular chemical may be healthy or unhealthy for a living organism, but if we wish to foster healthy plants, we need to add heathliness back to the soil.
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Wholeness & Holistic Farming
On the farm, we should imagine the farm as if it's a living thing that can be healthy or unhealthy and watch for where there's stagnation or inflammation. Look out at the field and you'll see dry spots or water-logged areas. Imagine that in your body as arthritis or bloating and you'll quickly grow more sensitive to how the farm organism "feels" and how to make it healthier.
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Love & Farming
Do you need biodynamics? Not if you really love your land. I don't mean loving your land in a mere affectionate way. ...
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