Biodynamic magazine
Preparations, application, the Moon and the farming year: articles for biodynamic practice on the farm and in the garden.
Lunar calendar
- 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.
- Why two lunar calendars show different constellations
Two calendars, one day, two different answers. Where the difference comes from, what precession has to do with it and how to tell in thirty seconds which system you are looking at.
- Gardening by the Moon: a guide to the biodynamic lunar calendar
How the lunar calendar times sowing, planting, tending and harvesting: day types, the Moon's path, Moon phases, unfavourable hours and a table of which plant belongs to which day.
Preparations
- Oak bark (505) — a portrait of the calcium preparation
Oak bark (Quercus robur) as compost preparation 505 — how it works against plant diseases, maturing in a domestic animal's skull, and its role in compost.
- Biodynamic mushroom growing: substrate, Demeter requirements and preparations
How biodynamic mushroom growing works: biodynamic substrate, the Demeter requirements for raw materials and casing soil, and the use of the preparations after steaming – an overview.
- Biodynamic preparations in spring — application and making
Which preparations are applied in spring and which are made now — horn manure, horn silica, valerian for frost protection and the making cycle.
- Maria Thun's plant-based preparations: what they are – and why they do not comply with Demeter
Plant-based preparations are Maria Thun's sheathless alternative to the classic compost preparations – with wooden containers instead of animal organs. Important: they are not recognised under the Demeter standards.
- Sourcing biodynamic preparations: making your own, regional groups, the international scene
Where do you get biodynamic preparations? An overview of the options – making your own, regional preparation groups, preparation centres and the international biodynamic scene – and what to look for in terms of quality.
- Stinging nettle (504) — a portrait of the iron preparation
The stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) as compost preparation 504 — how it works, maturing without an animal sheath, and its role in biodynamic compost.
- Tree paste after Maria Thun: bark care for fruit trees
Tree paste cares for the bark of fruit trees the way compost cares for the soil: a spreadable mixture of clay, cow manure and horsetail. When, how and with what to apply it.
- Valerian (507) — a portrait of the phosphorus preparation
Common valerian (Valeriana officinalis) as compost preparation 507 — the only liquid preparation, its picture of action of phosphorus and warmth, making and application.
- Yarrow (502) — a portrait of the potassium preparation
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) as compost preparation 502 — its effects, the stag's bladder sheath, how it is made and its role in biodynamic compost.
- Biodynamic preparations in drought and heat
How horn manure, barrel compost and horn silica are used in drought and heat — and how to build a soil that withstands dry spells in the long term.
- Biodynamic preparations through the year — the twelve monthly guides
What is due month by month — applying and making the biodynamic preparations from January to December, concise and backed by sources.
- Care in preparation work: what quality depends on
Biodynamic preparations work only as well as they are made, stored and applied. The key principles of care: material, storage, water, vessel, stirring and rhythm.
- Chamomile (503) — a portrait of the calcium preparation
German chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla) as compost preparation 503 — its effects, maturing in cattle intestines, how it is made and its role in biodynamic compost.
- Dandelion (506) — a portrait of the "heavenly messenger"
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) as compost preparation 506 — mode of action, maturing in cattle mesentery and its role in biodynamic compost.
- Biodynamic preparations in wet conditions and waterlogging
How biodynamic preparations work in wet conditions and waterlogging — permeable soil, horsetail against fungal pressure and the quality of application.
- Horn manure (500) — a portrait of the soil preparation
A portrait of horn manure (500) — cow manure in a cow horn, its picture of action as the soil preparation, making it and its place in the biodynamic canon.
- Horsetail (508) — a portrait of the silica preparation
Field horsetail (Equisetum arvense) as preparation 508 — rich in silica, preventive against fungal diseases, making and application as a tea.
- Making biodynamic preparations yourself — the autumn work
Which preparations are buried and which are dug up in autumn — horn manure, yarrow, chamomile, dandelion and oak bark in the making cycle.
- Making horn manure 500: the complete guide from cowpat to preparation
How the horn manure preparation 500 is made: the right cow horns, firm manure, the pit, lifting around Easter, recognising quality and storing it. With the horn calculation and a troubleshooting table.
- Getting started with biodynamic preparations — a guide for beginners
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.
- Applying the compost preparations: the six manure preparations in practice
How to put the six compost preparations 502–507 correctly into compost, manure and slurry: timing, the pattern of holes, quantities and the most common mistakes — a compact guide for practice.
- Barrel compost after Maria Thun: making it, using it, Demeter rules
Barrel compost brings the six compost preparations together in one sprayable mass. Maria Thun's original recipe, quantities for farm and garden, the passages in the Demeter standards, and how it differs from Cow Pat Pit and the Mäusdorf decomposition guide.
- Stirring biodynamic preparations: a guide to dynamisation
Vortex and chaos, the hour, water and warmth, vessel and stirrer, quantities by technique, the common mistakes and stirring together. The detailed guide.
- Horn silica 501: making it, applying it, timing for each crop
Horn silica 501 is the light preparation of biodynamics: for ripening, flavour, keeping quality and healthy leaves, mandatory for Demeter. How to make it, store it, stir it and when to spray it on each crop.
- Applying horn manure 500 — the right time
When horn manure (500) is sprayed — spring and autumn, warm and moist soil, afternoon to evening. Quantities, crops and how often to apply it.
- List of all biodynamic preparations: the canon 500–508 and its variants
The complete list of biodynamic preparations: the classic canon 500–508 after Steiner and the most important developments such as prepared horn manure (500P), barrel compost and Cow Pat Pit.
- What are biodynamic preparations? Explanation, making, effect, criticism
Biodynamic preparations are nine substances made to Rudolf Steiner's recipes (500–508) that enliven soil, compost and plant in tiny amounts. What they are, how they are made and applied, what research shows — and where the criticism is justified.
Background
- 10 biodynamic rules of thumb — what is worth remembering for practice
In his standard work, Pierre Masson formulated a series of compact practical rules — short maxims for biodynamic farm and garden practice. Ten of them are particularly useful because they cover typical mistakes.
- Sourcing Demeter seed — suppliers, variety standards, quality criteria
Demeter seed comes from open-pollinated varieties, is multiplied biodynamically and is produced under some of the most demanding organic standards there are. The main suppliers in the German-speaking countries, their profiles — and what to look for when choosing.
- Biodynamic pioneers: the people behind the method
From Rudolf Steiner through Ehrenfried Pfeiffer and Maria Thun to Peter Proctor: the pioneers who developed biodynamic agriculture, tested it and carried it out into the world.
- Organic vs. biodynamic – what is the difference?
"Organic" and "biodynamic" are not the same thing. EU organic is the legal minimum standard; biodynamic (Demeter) goes further – with the farm as an organism and mandatory work with the preparations.
- Cabbage stem flea beetle in biodynamic winter oilseed rape: monitoring and measures
How to get the cabbage stem flea beetle (Psylliodes chrysocephala) under control in organic and biodynamic winter oilseed rape: thresholds from yellow traps and larva counts, and preventive crop management.
Soil & humus
- Crop rotation in biodynamic growing — the key to soil fertility and plant health
A well-planned crop rotation is the backbone of biodynamic growing — it maintains soil fertility, prevents disease and closes nutrient cycles. What the classic rules say, what a biodynamic rotation looks like and where the preparations come in.
- Soil fertility and humus building the biodynamic way
How the biodynamic method builds soil fertility: living humus, compost management, a closed cycle and the preparations. What is proven – and what is tradition.
- The Fritz study on the soil microbiome: what it reports – and what it does not
A study (Milke, Fritz et al., 2024) reports more putatively growth-promoting microorganisms in biodynamically than in organically managed soils. What the study text says – and what does not follow from it.
Through the year
- Working with the preparations in October — 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.
- Working with the preparations in September — the making cycle begins
Barrel compost and horn manure carry the autumn sowing, horn silica ripens the fruit — and in the soil the great making cycle begins: burying and lifting.
- Working with the preparations in April — application and making
The busiest month for the preparations — horn manure and horn silica on grassland, arable land and in the garden, valerian as frost protection in orchards, and the full making cycle.
- Biodynamic preparations in August — ripening and the start of autumn
The transition to ripening and autumn work: horn silica for ripening, barrel compost for stubble cultivation, horn manure for autumn sowing — and oak bark is set up.
- Working with the preparations in December — winter rest with one exception
Growth stands still and the field spray preparations rest — with one exception: valerian as frost protection. Plus horsetail as a preventive and the compost preparations.
- Working with the preparations in February — the soil impulse begins
As soon as the land can be driven on, the soil impulse begins: horn manure at the start of the growing season, valerian as frost protection in winter cereals, horsetail preparation when fungal pressure is high.
- Working with the preparations in January — what is due in winter
In deep winter the field spray preparations rest. What still makes sense: horsetail preparation on frozen ground, valerian as frost protection, compost preparations.
- Biodynamic preparations in July — plant protection in high summer
In high summer, plant protection comes first: horsetail against fungal pressure, horn manure and horn silica on grassland — and the stinging nettle is buried.
- Working with the preparations in June — growth and gathering herbs
Horn manure and horn silica after each cut, horsetail against fungal pressure — and the time for gathering chamomile, yarrow, valerian and horsetail begins.
- Working with the preparations in March — soil and light
The soil impulse gets going and the light impulse follows: horn manure at the start of the growing season and at tillage, horn silica on the first shoots. And the dandelion is collected.
- Working with the preparations in May — new growth and the last spring recovery
Horn manure and horn silica for every new growth, valerian as frost protection before the Ice Saints — and the last preparations are taken out of the spring soil.
- Working with the preparations in November — last applications and frost protection
The last applications of the year: horn manure and barrel compost on harvested areas, horn silica in winter cereals, valerian as frost protection. The preparations rest in the soil.
Garden & growing
- Promoting plant health naturally: the biodynamic approach
Healthy plants come not from control but from prevention: living soil, robust varieties, crop rotation, diversity – and, on a biodynamic farm, the preparations. How the interplay works.