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Vineyard

Biodynamic preparations in viticulture

For vineyards of any size: how much goes on a hectare, when to spray in the wine year, what the estate needs for the year and which pack fits. With the preparation days in the calendar.

Packs for your wineryCalculate yearly needPreparation days in the calendar
Fine spray mist over leaves

Rates per hectare

Guide values for one hectare of vines. The calculator below covers the other land of the estate.

Preparationper hectarewater per hectareStirringper yearTime of day
Horn silica 5016 g40 l60 min3×morning
Horn manure 500150 g30 l60 min2×evening
Horsetail preparation 50825 g dried herb50 l60 min simmering6×morning
Barrel compost240 g40 l20 min2×evening

Compost preparations: one set for about 10 m³ of manure or compost, up to 20 m³ of slurry or liquid manure.

In the wine year

  • Horn manure in spring and autumn, in the evening and close to the ground.
  • Horn silica from the five-leaf stage, at flowering, bunch closure and ripening, in the morning as a fine mist. Three weeks before harvest for grape quality.
  • Horsetail regularly when downy mildew or botrytis threaten.
  • Valerian straight after hail and before frost nights.
  • Barrel compost at least once a year.

Preparation calculator

Enter your fields and manure amounts. The calculator shows the yearly need, the ingredients for making the preparations yourself and whether each field gets the Demeter minimum applications.

Broken down by type of land and type of manure. Sources: Wistinghausen, Masson, Demeter-Präparatebroschüre.

Areas

Preparations

Horn silica at flowering, bunch closure, ripening. Horn manure in spring + autumn. Barrel compost is mandatory for permanent crops without livestock under the Demeter standard (at least 1×/year).

Manure to prepare

Enter at least one area or amount of manure.

Packs by vineyard area

Price and availability as listed in the Präparatekiste shop. The small garden packs are on the page of each preparation.

Sold and shipped by the Präparatekiste shop.

Stirring and spraying

Sprayer for the vineyard, stirring pot and storage box, and what to know about stirring machines and spraying.

  • Stirring equipment

    Stirring the preparations takes a round, rather tall vessel and a stirring tool that offers the water resistance: the hand, a stirring broom, a suspended stirrer or a stirring machine.

  • Dynamisation (stirring)

    The hour of rhythmic stirring in water, alternating vortex and chaos, that prepares horn manure and horn silica for spraying.

  • Applying the preparations

    How and when the biodynamic preparations go onto soil, plants and compost: time of day, season, quantities and equipment.

  • Field spray preparations

    The biodynamic preparations that are stirred in water and sprayed over soil or plants: horn manure 500, horn silica 501 and horsetail 508.

When to spray

The calendar shows for each day and your location which preparation fits.

Open the calendar

Preparations today

What the moon’s course offers for horn manure, horn silica and horsetail. Season, soil and weather come first.

Preparations by the moon →

Knowledge for the winery

  • Biodynamic viticulture

    Biodynamic viticulture applies the preparations, the farm organism and the rhythms to the vineyard. France counts as its heartland, with year-round cover crops and strict Demeter requirements.

  • Horn silica 501

    The light preparation of biodynamics: finely ground quartz, transformed in a cow horn over summer and sprayed onto the plants in the morning.

  • Horsetail tea

    Horsetail tea or horsetail decoction is a boiled extract of field horsetail (508). It is diluted and sprayed onto soil and plants, preventively against mildew, rust and rot.

  • Valerian preparation 507

    The sixth and only liquid compost preparation: fermented juice of valerian flowers, sprayed over the prepared compost.

  • Compost preparations

    Six biodynamic preparations, numbered 502 to 507, that are worked into compost and manure and steer decomposition.

  • Demeter

    The trademark for biodynamic produce and the oldest organic farming association, named after the Greek goddess of agriculture.

  • Demeter certification

    Demeter certification confirms that a farm works biodynamically. It requires a conversion period of several years and an annual inspection, and builds on EU organic certification.

  • Organic associations compared

    EU organic, Bioland, Naturland and Demeter at a glance: EU organic is the legal minimum, the associations go further, and Demeter is the only one with compulsory work with the preparations.

Frequently asked questions

How much horn silica 501 per hectare?
6 g per hectare, stirred in 40 l of water for 60 minutes. Time of day: morning.
How much horn manure 500 per hectare?
150 g per hectare, stirred in 30 l of water for 60 minutes. Time of day: evening.
How much horsetail preparation 508 per hectare?
25 g of dried herb per hectare, simmered for 60 minutes and diluted to 50 l of water. Time of day: morning.
How much barrel compost per hectare?
240 g per hectare, stirred in 40 l of water for 20 minutes. Time of day: evening.