Getting started with biodynamic preparations — a guide for beginners

Work with the biodynamic preparations is what, at its core, distinguishes a Demeter farm from every other farm. Anyone starting out faces many questions at first: which preparations do I need? Do I make them myself or buy them? When does what happen in the year? This guide gives the overview for getting started — what work with the preparations is, how to begin and how a year of preparations is organised. The detailed recipes and application details are in the linked portraits; this is about orientation.

What work with the preparations actually means

Biodynamic preparations are nine substances made to Rudolf Steiner's indications that are meant to enliven soil, compost and plant in very small amounts — not fertilisers, but means of ordering processes. What there is to know about them in detail is in the basic article What are biodynamic preparations? For getting started one thing matters most: working with the preparations is less additional work than a different way of perceiving your own farm. Over the year it connects you with the rhythm of soil, weather and crop.

In the biodynamic literature the preparations are described as "bioregulators": they stimulate the self-organisation of the soil and are meant to bring about a balance of yield and quality suited to the site. The attitude behind this matters — the effect depends directly on the care taken in making, storing and applying them. Made carelessly and stored wrongly, preparations lose their point. That is exactly why a clean start is worth it.

The preparations at a glance

For practice, it is best to sort the preparations by how they are applied:

The two field spray preparations — horn manure (500) and horn silica (501) — are stirred in water and sprayed: horn manure in the evening onto the soil, horn silica in the morning onto the plant. They form the core of the mandatory work.

The six compost preparations (502–507) — yarrow, chamomile, stinging nettle, oak bark, dandelion and valerian — go into compost and farmyard manure and steer decomposition there. They are used as an ensemble.

In addition there are care and collective preparations: the horsetail preparation (508) against fungal pressure and barrel compost as a prepared mixture of the compost preparations that is easy to spread over the land. The numbers 500 to 508, by the way, date from the early days of the movement and were originally meant as code names — today they mainly make international exchange easier.

Make them yourself or buy them?

When starting out, you do not have to do everything yourself. There are two routes, and they combine well.

Buying. Ready-made preparations from a reliable source are the pragmatic start — especially during conversion, when a lot is new anyway. This lets you practise application before you venture into making them.

Making them yourself. The biodynamic tradition suggests making the preparations on your own farm if possible, or together in regional working groups. This is the real path of learning: filling the cow horns or lifting the compost preparations in spring, you understand the method with your hands. Many farms join together in preparation groups for this — which lowers the effort and the threshold considerably.

A realistic start often looks like this: first buy and apply, then grow gradually into making them, ideally with an experienced group or an adviser behind you.

The year of preparations in rhythm

Work with the preparations follows the seasons — both in making and in applying them. Roughly:

In spring the preparations that have matured in the soil over winter are lifted (horn manure, chamomile, dandelion), and the first horn manure goes onto the awakening land. During the summer half of the year horn silica lies in the soil to mature, while applications of horn silica accompany the growth and ripening of the crops and the compost preparations go into every manure pile that arises. In autumn the great cycle of making begins: horn manure and most compost preparations are set up anew and buried. Winter is a time of rest and maturing — in the soil the buried preparations are at work, above ground it is time for planning.

Every spraying is preceded by dynamisation: an hour of rhythmic stirring so that the preparation passes its qualities on to the water, followed by prompt application. Technique, quantities and timing are covered in Stirring the preparations and Applying horn manure 500; for storage see Storing the preparations.

Beginners and the more experienced

For beginners the sensible order is: start with the two field spray preparations — horn manure on the soil, horn silica on the crop — and put the compost preparations into the manure. That is the mandatory basis and at the same time the biggest lever. Better a few applications done cleanly and at the right time than many done in a rush.

For the more experienced the whole depth opens up from there: making your own, fine-tuning the timing to weather and crop, working with barrel compost and horsetail, closely observing the crops. The method is explicitly meant as a stimulus for your own research — Steiner himself did not understand his indications as a rigid recipe.

What counts for Demeter — and what is not recognised

For Demeter recognition, making and applying the preparations is binding: horn manure at least once a year on all areas, horn silica as suits the crop, the compost preparations in all organic farmyard manures. What counts is always the current Demeter standards of the country concerned.

Important for getting started: not every variant counts. Forms of preparation that deviate fundamentally from the forms originally given by Steiner — such as sheathless "vegetable" preparations, potentised preparations or preparations "transmitted" by technical devices — are not recognised under the Demeter requirements. They may be used additionally for research purposes, but they do not replace the regular forms. Anyone converting to Demeter keeps to the recognised recipes.

For conversion itself, the specialist literature gives a clear recommendation: have the process accompanied by an adviser. Work with the preparations is best learned not from a book alone but on a real farm with someone who knows it.

Frequently asked questions

How do I start working with the preparations?

Best with the two field spray preparations horn manure (500) and horn silica (501) and the compost preparations in the manure. Buy ready-made preparations, practise applying them, and at the same time — ideally in a regional preparation group — grow into making your own.

Do I have to make the preparations myself?

No. To start with you can buy them. The tradition suggests making your own because that is how you understand the method best — many farms do it together in working groups.

Which preparations are mandatory for Demeter?

Horn manure, horn silica and the compost preparations. Horn manure must go on all areas at least once a year, horn silica as suits the crop, the compost preparations into all organic farmyard manures.

Are vegetable preparations recognised by Demeter?

No. Sheathless vegetable preparations as well as potentised or technically "transmitted" forms deviate from Steiner's indications and are not recognised under the Demeter requirements. At most they are permitted as an additional research trial.

Do I need an adviser for conversion?

It is advisable, yes. The specialist literature explicitly recommends having the conversion process accompanied — work with the preparations is best learned on a real farm.

Conclusion

Getting started with the preparations is easier than the unfamiliar making of them may at first suggest: with horn manure, horn silica and the compost preparations you have the mandatory basis and at the same time the biggest lever in hand. Buy, apply cleanly, grow into making your own — best in a group and with an adviser. From there the method carries as far as you want to take it.