Field notes on biodynamic preparations, compost and the farm organism
Latest record on the rack What a Biodynamic Compost Needs from a Garden Hive
Every note on this desk takes one question about biodynamic agriculture and answers it: what preparation 500 is and what an hour of stirring does to it, how humus is built in a soil rather than added to it, how a compost heap is assembled so that it heats and then matures, what it means to run a holding as one organism, how the sowing and planting dates fall through a year, and how silica is used on a leaf. A note is written from published research, growers' manuals and trial reports, then filed under one of four sections: the soil and its humus, the preparations, the holding, and the seasonal round.
An independent field reference on biodynamic agriculture: soil and humus, the preparations, compost, the holding kept as one organism, and the seasonal work that joins them.
RH-002The seasonal round
A community kitchen that cooks what a garden cannot sell needs a plan for gluts, and that plan decides what gets planted the following season.
RH-001The seasonal round
A fixed camera position and a fixed hour turn a year of frames into a record of slow change in a field, from soil colour to crop cover.
PR-001Preparations
The six compost preparations come from yarrow, chamomile, stinging nettle, oak bark, dandelion and valerian, and how each plant is gathered decides its work.
SH-001Soil and humus
A soil test reports chemistry, not structure. Here is what a field assessment actually measures, what it leaves out, and how often to resample the same ground.
An independent field reference on biodynamic agriculture: soil and humus, the preparations, compost, the holding kept as one organism, and the seasonal work that joins them.
SH 2 notes
Dark earth, structure, humus, the field and garden beds, and the compost that feeds them through the year.
PR 1 record
The horn manure and horn silica sprays, the compost preparations, their making, storage, stirring and the timing of their use.
HO 2 notes
The farm as one organism: fields, hedges, orchard, livestock, bees and the wild edges that carry it.
RH 2 notes
Sowing, planting, cultivating and harvesting through the year, and the rhythms that decide when each job is done.
One question, one note, one photograph filed with it and captioned as what it shows. The answer comes first, then the sections a reader can jump to, then the sources the desk actually read. A note is dated with the day it was last checked against those sources, and it is revised when a source changes or a reader sends a better one.
The Stirring Rod keeps its notes short on purpose: each one answers a single question, cites the sources the desk actually read, and is dated with the day it was last checked.
Desks kept elsewhere that answer a question this one only touches on. Each was read before it was listed here, and each is named for what it holds.
The Mower Shed is an independent editorial reference on golf course maintenance, covering turf species, mowing heights, irrigation, drainage, soil testing, mower reel sharpening, workshop repair, seasonal disease and insect pressure, and the greenkeeper's working method.
mosscreekgolfclub.com
Notes from W4 sets out the entry conditions for a local produce show, how the hall bench is run, and the cutting and staging of flowers, fruit and vegetables for exhibition.
chsw4.org
The site lists a six person inflatable spa, the Lite model, and an Orbit model at 349 euros, delivered in three working days or collected by appointment at Salon-de-Provence 13300.
spa-mspa.fr