Yarrow (502) — a portrait of the potassium preparation

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) is the first of the six compost preparations and bears the number 502 in the biodynamic canon. It prepares the potassium in the compost in such a way that the plant can take up exactly what it needs to grow. This portrait sets out the plant, its effects, its sheath and how it is made.

The plant

Yarrow belongs to the daisy family — like chamomile and dandelion, so that half of the preparation plants come from this family. It is an old medicinal plant: the genus name Achillea refers to Achilles, to whom legend attributes the discovery of its wound-healing power. On sheep pastures the flower heads are left standing, because sheep spurn the flowers but readily eat the leaves — hence its German name, Schafgarbe.

Effects: potassium and sulphur

In the "Agriculture Course" (GA 327), Rudolf Steiner describes yarrow as a special wonder. Its preparation helps to unlock the potassium in the compost. At the same time, according to Steiner, it mediates the effect of sulphur on the plant and thus contributes to good protein quality. In the logic of the compost preparations, each contributes a relationship to a substance — yarrow to the balance of potassium and sulphur.

Sheath and making

The sheath of the yarrow preparation is the bladder of a red deer stag. The yarrow flowers are filled into the stag's bladder in early summer and mature over the summer in the sun. In autumn the bladder is buried; the yarrow spends the winter in the soil. The following spring a pleasant-smelling, dark mass is recovered — the finished preparation 502. The full annual cycle is described in the article Making biodynamic preparations in autumn.

Use in compost

Like all compost preparations, the yarrow preparation is placed in small amounts into the maturing compost heap — together with chamomile, stinging nettle, oak bark and dandelion. It orders the transformation of substances and gives the finished compost the ability to enliven the soil in a targeted way. In bundled form it is also contained in the barrel compost.

Frequently asked questions

Which sheath belongs to the yarrow preparation?

The bladder of a red deer stag. The flowers mature in it over the summer in the sun and over the winter in the soil.

Which substance does yarrow govern in the compost?

According to Steiner, it prepares the potassium and mediates the effect of sulphur — important for the protein quality of the plant.