Storing the preparations

How are biodynamic preparations stored?

Once dug up, the preparations are kept so that they stay alive and moist without spoiling. The proven method: the preparation is surrounded by a layer of peat (raised-bog peat) or untreated coconut fibre and kept cool and frost-free in a container made of wood, clay or stoneware. Too much humidity and wetness harm all finished preparations; changes show up as a musty smell and mould. Carefully stored preparations keep their effect for at least a year, often for several years. They should not be kept near stored crops.

The preparations one by one

Horn manure 500, after being dug up and roughly cleaned, either stays in the horn (packed in dry peat) or is knocked out. Storing it as partly dried balls has proved useful: the contents of about four horns are kneaded into a ball about 8 cm across, dried for several days in an airy, shady place until no soil organisms or seeds can develop in it, and then stored in dry peat in a wooden or clay container. Horn manure should be made fresh every year; a small leftover can be mixed with fresh material.

The solid compost preparations (502–506) are separated from the remains of their sheaths, dried quickly on racks in the shade if needed, and stored separately from each other, each surrounded by at least 5 cm of peat or coconut fibre in its own container of wood, clay or stoneware. They are not mixed, because each is meant to keep its own quality. A lid, also filled with peat, is placed on top.

The liquid valerian preparation (507) is kept in closed glass containers, cool, dry and frost-free, in a dark room.

Horn silica 501 is the exception: it is stored dry and in the light, ideally in a glass jar (or left in the horn), the exact opposite of horn manure, which is kept moist and dark. This reflects the polarity of the two: horn manure belongs to the moist earthly sphere, horn silica to the sphere of light. Horn silica also keeps for a very long time, whereas horn manure should be made fresh every year if possible.

Moist or dry? An open question

Whether the solid compost preparations should be stored moist like soil or dried (like medicinal herbs) is an open question in practice and is decided individually. Both approaches have advantages and drawbacks.

Stored moist, the preparations are meant to stimulate the transformation processes in the moist compost environment; all soil organisms need this moisture, and the ordering forces are considered effective in a moist environment. The drawback: the preparations can decompose into crumbs of humus. They have then become a metabolic product of soil organisms, turned to earth and can no longer be told apart (but are still considered effective).

Stored dry, their effect is preserved by drying at the stage at which they were obtained and is only reactivated when they go into moist compost. This way the preparations keep their original state for several years. The drawback: moths may move in, and the preparations can lose effect if they lie exposed for too long while drying. This follows the old pharmaceutical practice of drying medicinal herbs and only making them active again by moistening them.

What is the peat or coconut layer for?

The surrounding layer keeps the moisture constant and shields the preparation from its surroundings in a chemically neutral way. Its purpose is moisture regulation and stability, not, as is sometimes claimed, "protection from radiation" or electromagnetic fields. That idea is not part of biodynamic storage practice and is expressly not claimed here. In factual terms, peat (or coconut fibre as a peat-free alternative) is a chemically inert medium that regulates moisture; nothing more is needed. A practical side effect of coconut fibre: stirred spray preparation also keeps longer when stored in it (see dynamisation).