Biodynamic knowledgeGlossary, magazine and learning
Preparations, the Moon and the farming year: look things up, read, do it yourself. Every day with what the calendar is showing right now.
Leaf day
What the calendar shows today, and where to read up on what lies behind it.
See the day in the calendar →The constellation in front of which the Moon stands sets the day type.
Root, leaf, flower and fruit days →Descending MoonThe Moon is descending: time for planting, transplanting, pruning and compost.
Ascending and descending moon →Waxing MoonThe light grows until full moon.
Moon phases in the garden →Preparation work through the year
The year as a wheel
Tap a month to see what is due then.
Autumn cultivation and the full making cycle
Barrel compost and horn manure carry the autumn cultivation, and the autumn making cycle is in full swing: burying horn manure, digging up horn silica, setting up the compost preparations.
In practice
Do it yourself, step by step
Getting startedGetting started with biodynamic preparations
How to start working with biodynamic preparations: what it is, which preparations you need, how the year of preparations runs and what converting farms need to watch — for beginners and the more experienced.
Read the article
How to make horn manure (BD 500)
Fill cow horns, bury them, dig them up
How to make and apply horn silica (BD 501)
Guide and timing for each crop
Biodynamic stirring
How long and how to stir the preparations
Horn manure application
When to spray, how much, how often
How to use the biodynamic compost preparations
Inoculating compost and manure with 502–507
Biodynamic preparations in drought and heat
Glossary
The biodynamic preparations
- 500Horn manureSoil
- 501Horn silicaLight
- 502YarrowPotassium
- 503ChamomileCalcium
- 504Stinging nettleIron
- 505Oak barkCalcium
- 506DandelionHeavenly messenger
- 507ValerianPhosphorus
- 508HorsetailSilica
- FPBarrel compostMaria Thun
Basics
Understanding Moon and calendar
Root, leaf, flower and fruit days
The biodynamic planting calendar assigns every day to a part of the plant: root, leaf, flower or fruit. What decides is the constellation in front of which the Moon stands. The system goes back to Maria Thun.
Ascending and descending moon
The moon does not only run through its phases of light — it also climbs higher in the sky and sinks again. This rise and fall is called the moon’s course, and in the biodynamic calendar it decides when to harvest and when to plant.
Moon phases in the garden
From new moon to new moon the moon’s light grows and fades again. Gardening tradition puts certain work into the waxing moon and other work into the waning one. It uses the full moon for harvesting herbs.
Gardening by the moon
When to do what in the garden
Each page shows the next suitable days, worked out for your time zone.
Planting and transplanting by the moon
Biodynamic practice plants in the descending moon.
Descending MoonRepotting by the moon
Repotting is done in the descending moon.
Descending MoonPruning by the moon
Biodynamic practice puts pruning into the descending moon.
Descending MoonFertilising and soil work by the moon
Feeding, composting and loosening the soil are done in the descending moon.
Ascending MoonHarvesting by the moon
Harvesting is done in the ascending moon when the crop should stay fresh.
Ascending MoonGrafting by the moon
Biodynamic practice puts grafting into the ascending moon.
By day typeWatering by the moon calendar 2026
In the biodynamic calendar, water belongs to the leaf day.
Descending MoonMowing and sowing the lawn by the moon calendar 2026
Grass is a leaf plant: sowing and cutting belong on the leaf day.
Descending MoonCutting the hedge by the moon calendar 2026
Biodynamic practice cuts hedges in the descending moon on a leaf day.
Descending MoonWeeding by the moon calendar 2026
Weeding and hoeing are soil work.
Descending MoonHouseplants by the moon calendar 2026
The rules of the planting calendar also apply on the windowsill.
Magazine
Reading
Lunar calendar 2027 for the garden: all sowing, planting and harvest days
The 2027 gardening year by the Moon: for every month the root, leaf, flower and fruit days, the favourable days, full and new Moon, the planting period and the unfavourable hours with times.
Read the article- Lunar calendar
Moon gardening calendars 2027 compared
- Background
10 biodynamic rules of thumb — what is worth remembering for practice
- Soil & humus
Crop rotation in biodynamic growing — the key to soil fertility and plant health
- Preparations
Biodynamic mushroom growing: substrate, Demeter requirements and preparations
Glossary
Look it up from A to Z
Calendar app
Know every day what is due
The calendar works it out for your location: day type, Moon’s path, preparations and what suits the garden.
See the calendar app