What is Biodynamic Farming?

Preparations

Special manure and herb-based preparations are applied to the fields and compost. This to enhance and stimulate the microbiological life in the soil and improve fertility. These have been shown to significantly improve the health and well-being of soil, plants and animals. In addition, they enhance the vitality, flavour and keeping qualities of the produce for the benefit of the consumer. The soil also stores more carbon than conventional farming methods. Biodynamics is therefore a sound basis for sustainable food production which cares for the planet.

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Lunar and Planetary Influences

Biodynamic farmers and growers recognize that the life of a farm is open to wider influences. The more subtle rhythms associated with the sun, moon and planets form the basis of an annual planting calendar. This guides growers towards appropriate times for cultivation and sowing for optimal quantity and quality. As a result, a rich and diverse farm evolves, built on sound organic principles, embedded and sensitized to its surroundings. It produces food with such an individual quality that, as with wine, it can be described as having the ‘terroir’ of the farm – the sense of the place where it was grown.

Rudolph Steiner

In the early 1920s, farmers, concerned about the declining health of soils, plants and animals, sought the advice of Rudolf Steiner. The founder of anthroposophy, he had spent his life researching the subtle forces within nature. Rudolf Steiner held a series of lectures and conversations at Koberwitz, Germany, in June 1924. The fundamental principles of biodynamic farming and gardening emerged from here.