I came to biodynamic growing at the same time I uprooted my life in London after 25 years, and moved to the Herefordshire countryside to begin farming animals and growing food. I had no experience of farming, or any idea of how to grow plants other than geraniums, badly, in my London flat. What I did know was that I had to work very hard and do it the best way possible for it to be the best quality both in taste and beauty.
The biodynamic approach is, in my mind, the ultimate in organic farming. It follows the fundamental rules of organics, meaning prohibiting the use of chemical fertilisers or pesticides, which poison the land and the creatures whose lives depend on clean, natural soil for their survival. These chemicals eventually find their way into the food we eat, which cannot be a good thing. Biodynamic farmers and growers believe in building and maintaining soil fertility by adding organic matter to the soil rather than directly to the plant. Think of it as a holistic way of looking at food production. It takes into account not only at the tangible realm of a healthy soil, but also the unseen forces and energies of life and growth that permeate all living things. A healthy soil will deliver a healthy plant that is nutritious and robust. Biodynamics takes things a step further. This discipline sees the farm as an organism in its own right, and to help with this it takes into account the activity of the sun and the moon, as well as other planets, acknowledging that there are considerable influences from the unseen world of nature. It uses special applications to assist in harnessing these unseen influences.
These “preparations”, as they are known, are either plants or minerals found easily around the farm.They enhance the ability of soil, plant and animal to make better use of the forces, or information, that are available to them in the atmosphere of the surrounding cosmos.
As well as using these preparations, which is a requirement of biodynamic practice under certification, biodynamic growers use a calendar to guide them in choosing optimum times to carry out tasks. These include seed sowing, working the soil, planting, pruning and harvesting.
While I practise all of these things, I honestly don’t yet fully understand how it works. But I can see from the difference it makes on the qualities of the plant, from its health and resistance to disease, to taste, beautiful form, colour and vibrancy. The language of biodynamics is difficult. At times it may seem like hocus-pocus. I do believe that modern folk are so removed from this way of thinking that, in turn, the rhythm of biodynamics is unfamiliar.
I have an elderly neighbour, not a well read or educated man, but having been brought up on
these hills as the youngest of 12 children, he had to survive on his wits and hard work from a young age. He often talks of the waxing and waning moon, and whether to plant or not to plant his potatoes. He looks to the skies to predict the next day’s weather. He observes the trees in winter and spring for hints of how the growing season will be. One could say he is tuned in to the holistic approach that is biodynamic farming.
This way of thinking, I believe, is a wonderful way of going about your day-to-day life. It puts things into perspective when things are tough. The giving of oneself to growing plants is hard and one’s livelihood is very vulnerable, particularly when one has no control of such things as the weather, the extremes of recent years has had a huge impact on production and has lent its way to many farmers considering a different approach to growing. The use of biodynamic practices is incredibly relevant to these changes of climate, and a way in which we can nurture and maintain healthy soil. And without that, we are nothing.
