Today was my last day of work on the Cosmic Apple Farm in Victor, Idaho. This is the Bio-dynamic Organic farm I have worked on for the past two growing seasons. Since last May we have been growing and harvesting beautiful food for our local community as a CSA. Today was quite a spiritual day on the farm. I felt incredibly close to the earth and the food that I eat. One might view my day as Ooogy Boogy Ju Ju while others will appreciate the energy and vitality which is the backbone of a healthy, bio-dynamic ecosystem. Both sides are correct. Spirituality and biological processes are both needed for a healthy organic farm.

Bio-Dynamic farming is based on the teachings of Rudolf Steiner. Way ahead of his time, Steiner was lecturing on the bad effects of using fertilizers and pesticides back in the early 1900’s.

Steiner did not believe this was only because of the chemical or biological properties relating to the substances involved, but also due to spiritual shortcomings in the whole chemical approach to farming. Steiner considered the world and everything in it as simultaneously spiritual and material in nature, an approach termed monism. He also believed that living matter was different from dead matter, a viewpoint commonly referred to as vitalism. Wikipedia

Today we prepared a mystical Steiner potion to sprinkle over the entire farm. By mixing manure, which has wintered for 6 months buried underground in a cow horn, with water in a 5 gallon round bucket we created a mystical brew called Preparation 500. The homemade brew is then sprayed upon the fields to stimulate the soil, promote root activity and contribute to good bacteria growth. Pretty standard stuff you know!

We stirred this potion for a timed 60 minutes. The goal is to stir until forming a vortex in the middle. You want to shift the rotation of your stir about every minute. Yes, this did become a contest between the three of us. Who could get the deeper vortex, who could drink a cup of coffee and also maintain the vortex, who could avoid splashing the manure water on themselves. Good times…I’m sure NOT what Steiner envisioned for future generations brewing up his 500.

After the stirring we divided the Prep 500 into smaller buckets and used small hand brooms to sprinkle prep on the farm grounds. With the sun poking out a bit and the fall air in our nostrils we accomplished the task of laying the foundation for a happy, healthy farm next year.