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.
Anyone who wants to work biodynamically sooner or later faces the question: where do I get the preparations from? There are several ways, and they do not exclude one another. This article sorts out the options and says what to look for in terms of quality — without a specific list of suppliers, because that changes constantly and is better kept elsewhere.
Making your own
The most original way is making them yourself on the farm. The biodynamic tradition recommends this, because you come to understand the preparations with your own hands and they remain part of the farm cycle. It is not essential at the start — making them requires horns, animal sheaths, medicinal plants and, above all, experience. How the making cycle runs through the year is described in the guides to making horn manure 500 and horn silica 501, and in the overview of compost preparations.
Regional preparation groups
The most common way in practice is through regional working groups: several farms make the preparations together and share the work, material and experience. This lowers the barrier to entry considerably and is at the same time the best place to learn — especially for farms in conversion. If you are starting out, the best thing is to ask your regional Demeter advisory service about such a group near you.
Preparation centres and associations
Where making your own or joining a group is not (yet) possible, specialised preparation centres and biodynamic institutions supply ready-made preparations. In the German-speaking world there are established centres and research institutions, and internationally a well-developed scene — biodynamic associations and societies in Switzerland, France, the United Kingdom, Spain and beyond stock or arrange preparations. Buying in ready-made preparations is expressly legitimate: carefully made preparations are in any case better than no preparation work at all.
What matters for quality
Wherever they come from, what counts is the quality of the craftsmanship. Preparations are living substances whose effect depends on their origin, careful making and correct storage. When sourcing them, it is worth checking that the preparations have been made properly and are fresh, and after receiving them, storing them correctly (see Storing the preparations and Care in preparation work). For Demeter farms, it also applies that only the recognised forms of the preparations fulfil the mandatory preparation work.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to make biodynamic preparations myself?
No. You can obtain them through regional preparation groups or specialised preparation centres. Making them yourself is the way to learn, not a must.
Where can I find a regional preparation group?
Through the regional Demeter advisory service, which knows of working groups nearby and can put you in touch.
Are bought-in preparations worse?
Not fundamentally. Carefully made bought-in preparations are better than a faulty home production — and in any case better than none at all.