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CleverRootSpring2017

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s p r i n g 2 0 1 7 | 6 9 FIELD SPRAY PREPARATIONS BD #500 – Horn Manure (cow horns with fresh cow dung) A humus mixture prepared by filling the horn of a cow with cow manure and burying it in the ground in the autumn. It is left to decom- pose during the winter and recovered for use the following spring. Promotes proliferative growth phase of plants through increased root activity, increased soil life through beneficial bacterial growth and regulation of lime and nitrogen bal- ance in the soil. Helps in release of trace elements. Stimulates germination of seeds. BD #501 – Horn Silica (cow horns with quartz sili- ca) Crushed powdered quartz prepared by stuffing it into a horn of a cow buried into the ground in spring and taken out in autumn. The mixture is sprayed under very low pressure over the crop dur- ing the wet season in an attempt to prevent fungal diseases. Enhances light metabolism. Stimulates photosynthesis and formation of chlorophyll. Influ- ences color, aroma and flavor of crops. BD #508 – Horsetail Herb (Equisetum arvense) Serves as a preventative to lessen the effects when conditions are conducive to fungus prob- lems. Complements BD #501 and works well in conjunction with BD #505 to increase resistance to disease, pests, and pathogenic fungi. COMPOST PREPARATIONS Compost preparations function together in the com- post pile as change agents. In the composting pro- cess, these preparations produce a compost that is uniquely sensitive to the needs of the plants on that particular farm consistent with the farm's individual- ity. And, in this regard, their actions in the pile are very similar to the actions of homeopathic remedies seeking to bring balance to the whole organism. BD #502 – Yarrow (flowers of Achillea millefolium) Yarrow blossoms are stuffed into urinary bladders from red deer (Cervus elaphus) placed in the sun during summer, buried in earth during winter and retrieved in the spring. Initiates life processes in the compost pile utilizing the forces of sulfur and potassium. Assists plants in the uptake of trace elements in extremely dilute quantities for nutri- tion supportive to proliferative growth. BD #503 – German Chamomile (flowers of Matricaria chamomilla) Chamomile blossoms are stuffed into small intestines from cattle buried in humus-rich earth in the autumn and retrieved in the spring. Stabilizes nitrogen in the compost pile such that it is available to plants for their contin- ued growth through the interaction of calcium and potassium processes. BD #504 – Stinging Nettle (stem and leaves of Urtica dioica) Stinging nettle plants in full bloom are stuffed together underground surrounded on all sides by peat for a year. Organizes circulatory life in the plant through the processes of potas- sium, calcium and iron. Provides intelligence to the plant to seek the individual components of nutri- tion needed for optimal health. BD #505 – Oak Bark (bark of Quercus alba) Oak bark is chopped in small pieces, placed inside the skull of a domesticated animal, surrounded by peat and buried in earth in a place where lots of rain water runs past. Provides healing forces to combat disease through a living form of calcium in the bark. BD #506 – Dandelion (flowers of Taraxacum officinale) Dandelion flowers are stuffed into the mesentery of a cow and buried in earth during winter and retrieved in the spring. Stimulates relationship between silica and potassium so that silica can attract cosmic forces to the soil. BD #507 – Valerian (flowers of Valeriana officia- nalis) An extraction of Valerian flowers. Provides the warmth of phosphorus to the compost pile engendering life of the pile, and proper utilization of phosphorous by the soil. Utilized independently in an atmospheric spray form, as a frost protectant. For more information, visit www.jpibiodynamics.org Applied Bio-Dynamics (JPI) in Woolwine, Virginia, as a non-profit organization with the goal of pro- ducing and providing biodynamic preparations. Abby Porter (Josephine's daughter and a mem- ber of the Board of Directors at JPI) remembers, "Courtney had mentored with my mother for seven years and visited the farm once or twice a year from the fall of 1976 until the fall of 1983 to make biodynamic preparations with her. After her passing, he felt called to continue her work so that biodynamic preparations would continue to be available. The organization was named to hon- or Josephine Porter's 28-year service of providing preparations to the larger biodynamic community and educating on their making and use." Over the years JPI has trained hundreds if not thousands of practitioners in the use and making of the preparations, many who have gone on to make preps on their own farms or vineyards. In 2013, JPI moved off the privately owned farm of the founder to nearby Floyd, Virginia, to a property along the headwaters of the New River nestled between the lands of like- minded communities Spikenard Farm Honeybee Sanctuary and Riverstone Organic Farm. The 25-acre farm was purchase in 2016 to secure a permanent home for the continuation of JPI's biodynamic preparation work, education and to further research in biodynamic preparations. "JPI's purpose going forward is to provide a permanent home for not only making and distributing the preparations, but the research and education into the quality of preparations," explains Patricia Frazier, President of the Board of Directors. "This work is, outside an economic motivation but within the economic realm, best provided by a non-profit. JPI is now the only entity stewarding this endeavor." As the rest of the world seems to be catching up to Steiner's ideas of "farm individuality" as the most truly sustainable and regenerative form of agricul- ture, the Josephine Porter Institute's preparations give both the novice and advanced practitioner the opportunity to cultivate a diverse, fertile and bal- anced garden or farm, orchard or vineyard. PHOTO: COURTESY OF JPI Josephine Porter, circa 1982. PHOTOS: COURTESY OF JPI JPI'S BIODYNAMIC PREPARATIONS BD# 500 BD# 501 ■cr

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