Chromatographia

News Leaf
Biodynamic Agriculture Australia Ltd

See our new website
And when I live in senses heights,
There flames up deep within my soul
Out of spirits fiery worlds
The gods own word of truth:
In spirit sources seek expectantly
To find your spirit kinship,
Surrendering to senses revelation
I lost the drive of my own being,
And dreamlike thinking seemed
To daze and rob me of myself,
Yet quickening there draws near
In sense appearance cosmic thinking.
Rudolf Steiner
May You Live in

Interesting Times
Chromatography Explained
The Air Food Web
www.biodynamics.net.au
SUMMER 2011
ISSUE #89
rrp $11.00 inc gst
News Leaf is the Official Journal of

and published quarterly for each season.
Editor

Your Company, Your Board
Ray Unger, Chair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (02) 6869 7635 . . . . rayunger@bigpond.com
(02) 6655 0566

PO Box 54, Bellingen NSW 2454 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . bdnewsleaf@biodynamics.net.au
......................................................................................................................
Carolyn Ditchfield, Deputy Chair . . . . . . (02) 6721 5111 . . . . carolyn@fromthesoilup.com.au

Ted Clarke, Treasurer
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (02)
6649 2132 . . . . tedpeggy@bigpond.net.au
Hugh Lovel, Director
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (02)
6779 1136 . . . . hugh.lovel9@bigpond.com
Proof reading John Hodgkinson
Shane Joyce, Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (07) 4993 1880 . . . . sjoyce1@bordernet.com.au
Copy deadlines for News Leaf Autumn ~ 31st January 2012
John Priestley, Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (02) 4938 5116 . . . . jdcitrus@bigpond.net.au
Send copy/photographs to: bdnewsleaf@biodynamics.net.au in Windows format.
Wayne Rankine, Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0427 551 887. . . . . . . bbrolgapass@gmail.com
News Leaf Advertising Rates Increase effective Autumn 2011 issue
Louise Skidmore, Secretary
Size of Advertisement
Price per issue
Annual Price for 4 issues
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OFFICE

PO Box 54
Bellingen NSW 2454
ABN 42 588 901 426
Account Enquiries
Ph. (02) 6655 0566

Fax (02) 6655 0565
bdoffice@biodynamics.net.au
Leonie Milne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ph. (02) 6655 0566

bdaccounts@biodynamics.net.au
Preparations Co-ordinator
Alan Johnstone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ph. (02) 6655 0566

bdpreps@biodynamics.net.au
Preparation Orders Please phone, fax or email to office. Orders are posted Monday
to Thursday each week. See Biodynamic Preparations and Product List on page 54.
Typeset by Robin Ellis, Macman & Robin, Bellingen NSW Ph (02) 6655 2226 Email: robinellis@westnet.com.au
Printed by Mid Coast Printing, Bellingen NSW Ph (02) 6655 9414 Email: print@bellingen.com
News Leaf #89 ~ Journal of Biodynamic Agriculture Australia Ltd
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (07)
4697 3148 . . . . lskidmore@aapt.net.au
An accountable, transparent and consultative Board will ensure that it has

good policies and procedures in place so that all decisions are made fairly and
transparently. This will help remove any perceptions that Board processes are
carried out in undue secrecy or that things are being hidden
Using the website to publish information about your Company and the Board:
The minutes of each Board meeting are published here:
http://www.biodynamics.net.au/annualreports.htm
Board members Disclosure and Conflict of Interest declarations are on the website,
Financial Statements are available on the website,
Privacy compliant procedure to enable members to contact members.
Practical measures that the Board has put in place to ensure your Company
becomes more consultative with a diversity strategy to ensure that the views of
members are adequately represented on the Board:
Emails and letters circulated to Board members,
Phone numbers of Board available if members want personal contact,
Letters to the News Leaf Editor.
Maintaining a communications strategy to ensure that Board decisions are
explained and widely known:
Board Update in News Leaf,
Letter from the Chair.
Seeking input from members when key decisions are being contemplated or a
change in direction is being considered:
Inviting members to join committees to make recommendations to the Board,
AGM and National Conference.
News Leaf
is the official journal of Biodynamic
Agriculture Australia Ltd
and is published quarterly to coincide with each of the four seasons.
Biodynamic Agriculture Australia Ltd is a not-for-profit company limited by

guarantee supporting Australian farmers and gardeners to regenerate the land
and produce quality food and fibre.
The objects of the association are to foster, guide and further develop biodynamic
farming and gardening in Australia based on indications given by Rudolf Steiner.
Submission of articles for consideration, requests for permission to reprint,

and enquiries regarding the placing of advertisements in News Leaf can be
emailed to bdnewsleaf@biodynamics.net.au or, if in hard copy, mailed to the Biodynamic Agriculture Australia Ltd office, attention to The News Leaf Editor.
Advertising Rates: See inside front cover for details.
News Leaf is printed on Forest Stewardship Council (FSC Australia), certified

paper using vegetable based inks. FSC certification ensures products are derived
from ethical and ecologically sustainable sources.
Copyright: Reproduction in whole or in part may only occur with the written
permission of the editor.
Disclaimer
While every effort is made to publish accurate information, Biodynamic Agriculture

Australia Ltd accepts no responsibility for statements made and opinions expressed in this journal.
Furthermore, Biodynamic Agriculture Australia Ltd accepts no responsibility for results or perceived
results on individual properties as the implementation of the biodynamic techniques is ultimately the
responsibility of the individual.
Biodynamic Agriculture Australia Ltd does not necessarily endorse the product or services being offered
within advertisements in this magazine. Acceptance of advertisements is at the discretion of Biodynamic
Agriculture Australia Ltd.
Cover: The sunflower used in BAA branding was sourced from morguefile.com : contributed by mirabbi.
Website Design: Dynamic Web Solutions Pty Ltd
Biodynamic Agriculture Australia Ltd ~ News Leaf #89
Features
6
8
BAA 2012 National Conference

May You Live in Interesting Times
Ian Bell
Running the Spirit level across
burgeoning Biodynamics.
13 Why Paper Disc Chromatography?

Hugh Lovel
Measuring the vitality in soils and
organic tissue.
15 Chromatography Applied to
Quality Testing
Shabari Bird
Revealing the inner nature of a
substance its vitality and dynamics.
21 The Air Food Web

Shane Joyce
The missing link.
36 Horn Silica BD 501

Alan Johnstone
Connecting cosmos to soil.
39 Sustainable Living Festival

Costa and dirtgirl meet BAA at
Coffs spreading the word.
44 Sequential Spraying
Alan Johnstone
Balancing too little or too much
rain on farms.
2
Regulars
4
Welcome to Summer
Letter from the Chair
10 Announcements
30 Seasonal Notes
33 dirtgirlworld
40 Preparations Report
47 Book Review
Imprinting, re-organising and
potentising water.
49 Membership Form
Alan & Costa with BAAs new stirring
machine at the Sustainable Living Festival,
Coffs Harbour, NSW.
54 Preparations & Products List
BAAs stand at the Sustainable Living Festival.

The dirtgirlworld posters attracted much attention.
3
Welcome to Summer
A collaborative edition; a glorious season being enjoyed by most of our membership;
a Board which is totally supportive of our work here; marketing innovations from
Cheryl Dooley; rigorous financial management from Ted Clarke; a new web page;
buoyant preparation sales and high office morale despite a hectic workload; what
else could we ask for?
This issue is full of interesting and informative articles. Alans article on Horn Silica
should stimulate some new thought, especially regarding sandy soils and Horn Clay
as a vital Si/Ca mediator. The reproduced article by Ian Bell from the latest Star &
Furrow we feel is so important that we are serialising it over two issues.
And Shane Joyces and Hugh Lovels contributions are just so good again.
Were also moving to more colour. We thought this would enhance the enjoyment
for you and we also have advertisers asking about colour options, so this enables us
to include colour ads without losing the colour pages for our articles. Youll also see
the colour ad we are putting into ABCs Organic Gardener magazine and we anticipate
it will bring us more News Leaf readers.
Thanks in anticipation for your support for our annual raffle. Those who may not
wish to participate, please feel free to return the raffle book of tickets to us ASAP
using the reply paid envelope.
We wish you all a wonderful Christmas and New Year; may your crops and livestock
and yourselves be happy and healthy in the best of the biodynamic spirit.
Warmest wishes
The BAA Team.
* * * * *
The Biodynamic Agriculture Australia office will be

closed over the Christmas holidays.
Our office will be closed from Saturday 24 December 2011 and will reopen on Monday
9 January 2012. Last day for preparations orders will be Friday 16 December and
packing will recommence on 9 January 2012.
We wish all our members a safe and happy holiday.
News Leaf #89 ~ Biodynamic Agriculture Australia Ltd
Letter from the Chair

Dear Members,
Spring is such a hectic time, both for farmers and gardeners
and also for the BAA office. Its our major sales time for preparations and also horns need to be lifted and new pits dug and
we are undergoing a transformation as far as our marketing is concerned. The office is busy with activity and rising to new challenges.
Im thrilled that this News Leaf is going out on time and we intend to stay on schedule now so you can have the information you need about the season right at the
beginning of that season. To add extra information for you we have started Between
the Leaves, an email newsletter, and we have been impressed by the feedback weve
received from the first edition that went out at the beginning of November. Though
Im not a social media man myself, I hear many are joining our facebook page and
even our twitter conversation and its wonderful that we can reach out to new audiences this way.
You may also have taken the time to look at our revamped website by now. We
think youll find it much easier to navigate and we hope you enjoy the new look
and features. We are proud of our new look and the sunflower has captured much
attention. Our marketing person, Cheryl Dooley, has included some items in this
issue that explain our direction and what you can expect to see and weve included
a copy of the ad well be running in ABC Organic Gardener Magazine. We hope that
will bring new people into the world of Biodynamics.
Last issue we introduced dirtgirlworld into News Leaf to offer something to our
younger readers. We are proud to be involved with this Australian success story
and from the number of competition entries, dirtgirl is popular in the biodynamic
world. This relationship will continue and we trust it gives you something to encourage your children to be in the garden even more.
The weather in NSW has been quite variable depending on where you are in the
state. In our neck of the woods (about the centre of the state) the winter rainfall
has been well below average with only 341mm of rain so far this year (this is at
least 100mm below average for the time of year). Consequently crops will be below
average in yield, however sheep and cattle are relishing the drier conditions. We
have been, where possible, running sheep and cattle together (about 1000 sheep
and 100 head of cattle in one mob), to emulate a cell grazing system. This has the
effect of better weed control with the greater stock pressure but with a shorter grazing time and longer recovery phase. This tends to leave a better layer of mulch to
conserve moisture, and onto which to spray biodynamic preparations. Along with
putting out preparations we have been busy with fencing, crutching sheep and getting machinery and silos ready for the harvest.
My wife Judi and I would like to wish all our members, hard working staff, Board
members and Secretary and their families a happy and holy Christmas and a bountiful biodynamic new year.
Ray Unger,
Chairman of the Board, December 2010
*****
2012 National Conference

We have reserved the dates Friday 20th until Sunday 22st July 2012 at the beautiful
Lake Hume Resort near Albury NSW for next years National Conference and we
are pleased to confirm that Hugh Williams from New York State has agreed to be
our Keynote Speaker. Any regional BD Group who would like to have Hugh as a
speaker and to do a one day workshop with them please send your expression of
interest to Alan Johnstone at the BD Office ASAP. We will be asking for a contribution towards the cost of Hughs travel from USA and Hughs domestic travel; billeting and workshop fee will need to be covered. More information about the
National workshop theme and the program will be included in next Autumns
News Leaf #90 or in Between the Leaves e-zine.
Hugh Williams biography

Hugh Williams was born in Burwood (Sydney) in 1946. He
spent 13 years in suburbia, so when his parents bought an
orchard at Bilpin in the Blue Mountains in 1961 it was an
overwhelming change for the better. His mother was already
using biodynamics preps but his father was a skeptic so
Hugh learnt about conventional management of orchards too and developed a

deep love of farming through his school years. He worked as a Jackaroo on a
sheep property at Oberon. He received a BA at the University of NSW, and then
went walkabout in Europe and USA.
At age 24 Hugh ended his travels and pondered what to do with the rest of his
life, resulting in a totally unexpected revelation that he would be a farmer.
He almost immediately found inspiration in Rudolf Steiners Agriculture which
set him on his lifes work as a biodynamic farmer. In 1973 Hugh returned to
Bilpin to run the family orchard previously abandoned. Remember Bilpin Apple
Juice? He sought out Bob Williams, out of which began a lifelong love of work
with the preparations, and with spiritual science. During this time Hugh formed
a strong vision of the closed biodynamic farm as the core revelation of Agriculture. Hugh spent subsequent decades establishing such a farm, not in Australia
but in New York State, USA.
Hugh loves the northern winter for thinking and writing; the longer and colder
the better. He spent the 70s and 80s developing biodynamic methods for raising
orchard fruits without poisons and developing a deeper personal relationship
with the preparations.
Over the past 18 years, with his wife Hanna, Hugh has built up Threshold Farm
in New Yorks Hudson Valley, including orchards, a vegetable operation and a
herd of cows specially bred for this closed biodynamic farm. All preparations are
made on the farm. The family lives from farming. Hugh is the father of 5 children.
*****
Call for Nominations to the Board
Nominations from the membership are invited for four two-year Board positions
which fall vacant at the Biodynamic Agriculture Australia Ltd 2012 Annual General
Meeting. Interested members may email the Secretary for a nomination form and
Board position information. Completed nomination forms must be received before
4pm, 13 January 2012. If required, an election will be conducted by postal ballot; the
results of the ballot will be announced at the Annual General Meeting.
Secretary: lskidmore@aapt.net.au
May You Live In Interesting Times

Running the Spirit Level Across
Burgeoning Biodynamics
By Ian Bell
This is the first part of the article by Ian Bell which appeared in Star & Furrow
Issue No 115 Summer 2011. The second will appear in our next issue. Our thanks
to the author for his kind permission to reproduce it ED.
Casting ones mind back twenty years, to those first stirrings of both sense of
purpose and the Preparations there was but the merest inkling for me, of the
invitation to higher realms, to wholeness, to the inter-connectedness of Nature.
I had heard of Steiner schools and I had seen references to him as mystic, clairvoyant
or seer. All of those descriptions, though accurate, carry in contemporary English
language, at any rate connotations of the weird and wonderful, representative of
marginalised sects or cults with little or no real value in our technological age. This
much is obvious from Steiner sometimes being referred to as enigmatic.
Today, I believe there is nothing of the riddle about Rudolf Steiner. It is we, the rest
of us, who are the enigma.
The faithfulness of George Adams translation of the Agriculture Course is a blessing;
each nuance of the great philosophers offerings loses none of its paradoxically
subtle, yet strident authenticity and I confess, (being a Virgo) to an irresistible
attraction to the ideals expressed through Steiners remarkable abilities.
We should thank Providence for this translation, as much as for the good fortune
described by Pfeiffer, (an attendee of the seminal lectures) upon witnessing the refinding in the nick of time of the buried cow horns at Koberwitz, before an
exasperated Rudolf Steiner, with appointments pressing, could depart the scene!
We came within an ace of losing the potential fruits of the Agriculture Course. Could
such a loss be facing us now?
Let us explore
Rudolf Steiner was himself a scientist, whose own grounding in mathematics and
mechanics was very sound and as good, if not better than his peers and, for that
matter, many of his forbears.
He had as firm a grasp of a materialistic worldview as any. His unique abilities,

represents nothing less than a co-existence with the world that lies beyond the
senses what he called the super-sensible. He claimed these were abilities inherent
to all of us, through our shared human spirit. These powers separated him from
scientists of the day and, rather than confront him intellectually (where he was
indomitable), the Establishment simply ignored him. Whats more, the Great War,
the years of build-up to it and its after-effects, made for a grand punctuation in the
social, political and scientific landscape he inhabited, though for him, these appalling
events merely confirmed the malign influences emanating from certain quarters of
the spiritual world.
The huge distraction of World War 2, again decimating an entire generation, cannot
be over-emphasised and survivors remained blinkered for a long time thereafter.
The movement towards a renewal of agriculture decayed, as structural and
economic rebuilding took priority and farming began its industrial affair with
synthetic chemicals.
Rudolf Steiner was not alone. The good works of others, the great writer Thoreau
for one, (whose eloquent questioning of human agricultural, economic, social and
political values had begun to gain something of a following in the U.S.A.) were
similarly obscured by world events. (I would urge you to read the book Walden or
Life in the Woods and ponder our contemporary situation!)
The Agriculture Course represents the very essence of all Steiners work for without
it and the changes that it inspires there can be no hope of humanitys being
emancipated from the cloying, flat and one-sided materialistic science that wishes
to become our master. I believe that, were all of Steiners works to be melted in a
crucible and, from the resulting stock, one thing was to be reconstructed, then it
would be the Agriculture Course.
True, when asked which he thought the most important of his works, Steiner
nominated his book, The Philosophy of Freedom. However, this question was put to
him before he had held his lecture course at Koberwitz. Therefore the context of its
asking had indeed changed quite radically, since he had now come to realise that
without the organic, sulphurous restoration of human spiritual sensitivity, achieved
essentially through regenerated nourishment, the human ego would lead us ever
deeper into the material abyss and thereby to an unthinkably dark end at the hand
of forces we had not even learned to recognise.
continued on page 26
Announcements
Changes you can see Many of you have commented positively about the
spectacular sunflower image on the front of News Leaf # 88 and we are pleased to
explain that it is now very much a part of our new brand image. As you know, weve
been revamping things, especially on the marketing side. To survive we must take
Biodynamic Agriculture Australia Ltd into new areas and ensure it can be seen in a
world that is increasingly busy and filled with many messages.
Youll see a number of things happening.
Weve standardised our logo, and weve opted to use deep earth colours.
Biodynamic Agriculture Australia Ltd (BAA)

Were using a Japanette font for our name and key headings.
The sunflower will be used in many situations; as a facebook
avatar, on the new website, in advertisements, on membership
forms and on labels. Why a sunflower?
Several reasons: it really stands out; our friends at the Biodynamic
Farming and Gardening Association in the USA use a sunflower,
so it provides a global link; it can be grown in farm production or
simply in your home garden and it is universally loved.
We also now have what is known as a tagline. We have chosen Activating Nature.
We believe it hints at what Biodynamics is about and what we aim to do in our work
everyday. Biodynamic preparations are the catalyst to activating many natural
rhythms and patterns. We also want to enthuse (activate) farmers and gardeners into
taking on this way of working with nature.
Biodynamics goes beyond focusing on cropping and cultivating plants and endless
growth, and rather includes the process of activating and enhancing the whole of life
harmoniously; it has a role in restoring and safeguarding the natural environment and
in reversing the degradation we have brought about through ignorance and greed.
BAA moves into Social Media There is no doubt about the

online growth phenomenon. Use of search engines such as Google has
doubled since 2002, the number of people banking online has increased from 19% to 43%
in the same period, and online shopping has grown from 4.9% to 33.2% and there is no
indication of a slowdown. In December 2006 the use of facebook was 0.3% (almost non-
10
existent) and yet it was measured 41.5% at the end of 2010. 28% of people use You Tube.
In 1999 7.2% of Australians went online more than once a day. That figure has now grown
to 52.6%. (Source Roy Morgan Research, March 2011.) There are currently almost 10.7
million facebook users in Australia, thats more than half the population and about
63% of all online users. 37% of facebook users are over the age of 35. (Source
Socialbakers, November 2011).
So we decided to take the leap and spread the word of biodynamics via both facebook
and Twitter.
Follow us on facebook. Go to http://www.facebook.com/BiodynamicAgAus and
click on the like button. Well post breaking news, interesting articles, product specials
and competition details.
If you tweet follow us at http://www.twitter.com/BiodynamicAgAus
Postage and Handling Rates Simplified For quite some time we have
had a $3.85 packaging charge per item on our orders. This has covered the handling
and packaging costs and then postage has been added at cost. This has made the billing
complicated and where there are many small items it can be substantial; so weve
decided to simplify things and charge an all inclusive postage, packaging and handling
charge that will be based on the weight of the total order and an amount to cover
packaging and handling. This will also allow for complete transactions on the website
with shoppers able to see exactly what they will be charged in total before they select
their payment option.
Larger orders such as the 20 litre, 200 litre and 1 tonne shuttles will be organised
separately to ensure we gain the best options for you at the time.
Advertisers News Leaf is a unique publication reaching a specialised group of

people. Weve decided to extend our colour pages and we would like to offer you the
opportunity to advertise in colour on a few selected pages. There is a 35% upload on
the current black and white rates, which you will find in the front inside cover. Please
book early to ensure we have colour space available. Deadline for the Autumn issue is
31st January. All enquiries to bdnewsleaf@biodynamics.net.au
Are you on our email list? We have a new eNewsletter that will come out
between issues of News Leaf. Weve called it Between the Leaves. Youll receive it in
February, April, May, July, August, October and November and it will include breaking
news, competition updates and interesting bits and bobs. Its only a couple of pages
of easy reading and it should cut down the number of emails you receive from us.
The initial issue received a great response, with many entries into the
11
competition, people joining us on facebook and Twitter, raffle prizes and several
glowing comments (keep sending those in we love them!)
If youve dropped off the list for some reason, send us an email
bdoffice@biodynamics.net.au or call the office (02) 6655 0566, and well put you back
on so you dont miss out.
Behold our new website has
been launched and it is good!
Well we think it is. What do
you think? As you can see from
this photo it looks very
different! It has lots of new
features and much better
functionality.
There is a scrolling screen on
the front that you can click on
to discover more on the topic
that takes your interest; a latest news section allows you to catch up on the latest. Buttons
take you to facebook and twitter feeds and members have special access to ensure they
receive the special discounted prices that apply to members and access to board minutes
and member notifications.
Weve included more information about staff and the board and there are product
photos and more detailed information about how the products can be used. Weve
added more information about Biodynamics including useful articles, resources and
links to other organisations
The look is new, it should be faster and ordering is much easier. Wed love
your feedback, positive and negative as we complete the tweaking and
ongoing development that comes with any website. Send any thoughts to
marketing@biodynamics.net.au
Website Design: Dynamic Web Solutions Pty Ltd
12
Why Paper Disc Chromatography?

By Hugh Lovel, Director BAA
Chromatography (Paper) was our first lab experiment, first lab class
meeting in Freshman Chemistry Majors Chemistry Chemistry 131 lab, (as taught by
Mr. Shaw, Autumn 1970, Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond, Louisiana.)
Each of us got a strip of filter paper and 20cm long upright test tube, in which we
placed 10ml or so of 0.5% aqueous India Ink solution. We then let the tip of the filter
paper sit in it so the solution would gradually wick up the paper. As the India Ink
solution gradually rose, the more highly charged particles in the inks chemistry
travelled very slowly up the paper because the paper itself had a uniform, responsive
charge. The less highly charged particles travelled faster, with those least charged
moving fastest. After a few minutes we took our strips out and dried them. The
India Ink had separated out into a spectrum of coloured chemicals very pretty. I
had no idea there were so many colours in India Ink.
In the case of a Paper Disc Chromatogram, a specimen is ground and a carefully
measured portion is extracted over a period of time. For soils and organic tissues
such as plants, generally this period is 4 hours, with specific agitation so many
swirls, both clockwise and anti-clockwise, every 15 minutes in an Erlenmeyer flask.
A specific concentration of sodium hydroxide is used generally for soils this is 1%
and for organic tissue specimens 0.1%. Then the sediment is settled and the liquid
is drawn off into a clean Petri dish of around 10cm diameter.
Separately, while the specimen is being extracted, a 15cm #1 Whatman filter disc is
treated with freshly prepared 0.5% silver nitrate solution. This solution is light sensitive made and kept in a dark glass bottle wrapped in aluminium foil like a photographic chemical. Generally anything over a month or so old is discarded and fresh
solution prepared. Initially 100 or 200 discs are cleanly drilled through centre with
a 4 to 4.5mm (3/16th inch) paper drill. For each series of chromatograms as many
filter papers as will be used are freshly treated with silver nitrate solution. In the
hole in each disc a tightly rolled wick, made of the same filter paper and cut to a
length that it will touch the bottom of a clean Petri dish. In subdued light, the 0.5%
silver nitrate solution is wicked out halfway across each paper and the discs dried.
Treating the paper discs freshly for each series of chromos ensures vivid colours in
the final chromatograms.
13
Then, on a level table in indoor light, a

previously treated filter disc is fitted with
a new wick, labelled around the edge
and laid flat over each Petri dish in which
a specimen extract has been poured. The
solution wicks out from the centre toward the edges of the disc to within 1 to
1.5cm of its edge before the process is
stopped, the disc removed and its wick
taken out. The disc is then dried and the
colours developed in bright light, usually
sunlight on an auto dash or back window. Care should be used to avoid finger
prints or any droplets of moisture touching the filter papers at any stage of the process.
Finished chromos seem to photograph better than if they are scanned, and a camera
stand may be used for this so clear focus and uniformity are ensured.
This careful procedure results in a complete picture of the chemical compounds between the lime (charged) and the silica (neutral) polarities of the chemistry of the
soil or organism in question. It displays everything from the most to the least
charged compounds in the specimen. This means lime in the middle and silica on
the edge of the colourful, patterned disc.
Thus a Paper Disc Chromatogram shows the ways in which the lime polarity, with
its allies, interacts with the silica polarity and its allies. Generally the nitrogen chemistry shows up in the centre portion, at least as long as it is compounded as amino
acids. Urea, if present, is found as a blue line on the extreme edge of the image because it is completely neutral, though highly soluble. Silica shows up as a nearly
black line or band at the outer edge, just inside the urea line (if present). The carbon
chemistry, being less charged but not quite neutral, is found in the outer region of
the field. There can also be considerable interaction between the inner and outer regions. On the silica/carbon side of this interaction, fatty acids are found more
toward the centre with complex sugars or waxes more to the edge. If the outer,
silica portion is rich in organization and thus life this will look crenelated like
the outer edges of a parachute. If the inner, lime portion is rich in organization this
will show up as numerous ray-like shapes that radiate outward from somewhere
near the centre like sharply pointed spokes.
14
The of really significant thing about this is it will clearly display the degree of
organization and complexity in the chemistry of the specimen in the beauty of its
patterns. Salts are uniform and formless, and, being highly charged they colour the
paper in the middle. Meanwhile the more complex compounds form patterns as
they adhere to different portions of the paper. This is important since organization
is the basis of life. Life is organized and self-organizing or it would not be called organic. Thus in a simple analytical procedure we have a measure of the vitality of a
soil or an organic tissue. If you want to know, not only the aliveness, but the nature
of the aliveness of a potato, a radish, a bean or maize plant, there is hardly any
more elegant method than a paper disc chromatogram inexpensive, simple enough
to do and easy to develop skill at with a modest investment and a willingness to
practice. They can be quite beautiful or in the case of GM soybean compared from
a GM free soybean, they can be ugly.
* * * * * *
Chromatography Applied to Quality Testing

By Shabari Bird
Introduction
When Steiner noted that the icy crystals that form in winter on the panes of
windows are different in a flower shop from those appearing on the windows of a
butcher shop, he suggested to Pfeiffer and to another of his early followers, Lily
Kolisko, that they experiment in the lab with the formation of crystals as a means
of demonstrating what he called his formative forces in nature.
To satisfy Steiners desire to demonstrate what lies beyond the veil of matter, Pfeiffer
developed a system known as chromatography in which various solutions of mineral
salts, imbibed by rounds of paper, were made to reveal the differing patterns left by
forces at work in soil and plant life.
With a similar method, knows as capillary dynamolysis, Kolisko went further, validating not only Steiners but Paraclesuss dictum that each planet is linked to a metal
on which it has a special effect, varying with the motions of that planet. With her
method Kolisko was able to explain such mysteries as why highly refined metal
objects such as ball bearings can turn out badly if manufactured at an inappropriate
15
planetary phase. The same subtle forces she found to be at work

in the living cells of plants, affecting both their growth from seed
and the quality of fruit and vegetable, and even such odd facts as
that lumber, to be lasting, must be cut in the appropriate moon
phase. (The many painstaking experiments to validate the actual effect
of stars, sun, planets and moon on germination of seeds and the growth
of plants were carried out over a period of thirty years by Lily Kolisko.)
Lily Kolisko
Technique to Reveal Quality & Vitality
Chromatography is a technique for separating the components in a complex mixture. The mixture flows though a medium and the individual substances that make
up the mixture are deposited at different distances from the point of inflow. In
contemporary chemistry the resulting image is incidental and largely ignored. The
emphasis there is on analysis of the types and amounts of the components.
In biodynamics the technique was originally named capillary dynamolysis and is
used to create a picture of the substance that can be interpreted directly. Approached
in this way it can reveal something of the inner nature of a substance its vitality
and dynamics. Pfeiffer tells us that,
Since 1953 this method has been used for the purpose of determining differences in the formation of humus in soils, as well as
in compost differences which cannot be determined by chemical
analysis. There are soils which have almost identical values of
available mineral substances; their biological efficiency, however,
as well as the yield and quality of the crops grown on such soils,
differs widely.
Ehrenfried Pfeiffer
Quite a few years ago, we published the analyses of two soils

which were nearly identical. The one field produced maximum
yields, the other far below average, medium yields. The difference
between the two lay in the soil structure and the humus condition. In a similar way, composts containing the same mineral
substance, the same NPK, the same pH, even the same amount
of organic substance, may have a widely varying effect on soil
structure, humus formation, humus condition, yield, germinating
quality of the seeds, and protein quality.
16
Below are a number of chromatograms made following the procedure and recommendations of E.E. Pfeiffer described in Chromatography Applied to Quality Testing
1984, Bio-Dynamic Literature, Wyoming, USA. These are chromatograms taken
from the research of Dr. K. Perumal at the Shri A.M.M. Murugappa Chettiar Research
Centre in Chennai.
The Recommended Procedure

Essentially, a circular filter paper (Whatman #1) with a cylindrical paper wick sitting
in a 0.5% solution of silver nitrate is allowed to absorb the solution, which spreads
by capillary action, to a certain diameter. The wick is removed and the paper is
dried. Meanwhile, the substance to be tested is mixed with a 0.1 to 1% solution of
sodium hydroxide and let stand for a period of time. The prepared filter paper is
then allowed to absorb this solution and the substance spreads over the paper.
When it has spread to a certain distance, the wick is removed and the paper dried.
The paper is then exposed to indirect sunlight to let the image develop.
Dr. Perumals Evaluation of the above Chromatograms

The BD500 applied soil possesses a natural, stable humus and friable structure that
contributes to soil health. Attention is drawn to the medium brown edge zone of
the chromatogram with light brown spots. The middle zone protrudes with spike
into the outer zone. The pattern of radiating forms from the middle zone was harmonious. The inner zone is light brown in colour and has a width of 3.3cm which
indicated its quantity of available mineral. The quality difference of the post harvested soil shows an increased amount of availability of organic carbon and proliferation of micro flora such as bacteria and fungi are apparent in each three zones.
The qualitative analysis of the biodynamically grown carrot was undertaken in
order to separate the different fractions in 0.1% alkali-water solutions (sodium hydroxide), which were subjected to Whatman #1 filter paper analysis. The paper
chromatographic analysis of the two carrots revealed a very clear difference in
colour, pattern and shape of the spikes in each zone, which is propositional to the
quality of carrot between biodynamic management and the conventional practices.
In the chromatograms of carrots there were three zones: inner, middle and the outer
which reflect the presence of mineral, starch and proteins respectively. The chromatogram of the biodynamically grown carrot shows a more prominent inner zone
(3.5cm diameter) than that of the inner zone of the commercial carrot (2cm), which
clearly indicated qualitative and quantitative differences in the availability of min-
17
Chromatograms of soil
From left: soil before addition of BD 500, after adding BD 500, post-harvest with lots of microlife in soil
Chromatogram of a commercial carrot
Chromatogram of a biodynamically grown carrot
erals. According to Pfeiffer (1984) the width of zones corresponds to the amount of
characteristic substances available in the test sample. The spikes protruding from
the middle zone towards the outer zone are caused by proteins. Another important
feature in this chromatogram is the small, round bell shaped spot which is light
olive in colour that appeared on each spike at the outer zone. This bell shape appears
only in the biodynamically grown carrot.
Pfeiffers Criteria for Evaluation of Chromatograms

In his book Chromatography Applied to Quality Testing Pfeiffer gives the following
pointers for interpreting the chromatography images:
1. Number, width and colour of the different zones, as well as their regular or irregular formation and shading. Distinguish between 3 main zones:
18
a) outer and middle mainly due to the organic material tested

b) inner which indicates the presence or lack of mineralization
The width of the zones corresponds to the amounts of characteristic substances.
2. Ring formations between the middle and outer zone and at the edge of the outer
zone.
3. Colour of the zones:
a) a light to medium brown, evenly distributed, points to a good colloidal humus
formation
b) dark brown enclosures point to acid humus substances
c) violet radiations point to increasing mineralization and reduced organic substance
d) in the case of plant extracts, vitamin preparations and foodstuffs, other colours
are observed.
4. Radiation, number, colour and shape of pike-like formations
a) the violet radiations of the inner zone again indicate the breaking-down tendency toward mineralization.
b) the various phases of fermentation (first, decomposition; second, humus formation; third, mineralization and greatly advanced decomposition) are clearly
indicated in the chromatograms of soils and compost.
* * * * *
The quality images on page 20 are chromatograms of meat substitutes made of soy
beans, respectively from organic and biotechnological sources.
The left chromatogram, from the soy of the certified organic trade mark, shows the
normal image of a chromatogram. The chroma images in the centre and on the right
were first obtained in 2001. Before that we had not encountered such images in our
investigations nor in the literature on radial chromatography. The chromatograms
of the biotechnical soy are virtually exploding. They show a very inharmonious
image. The DNA is no longer organised according to the phi-ratio, resulting in severe
protein digestion problems. First the shape is not recognised by the body, thus the
wrong enzymes are made available and next there is a severe imbalance in the proteins. Due to the imbalance in proteins the body requires three to four times as much
food to arrive at a satisfied feeling and will still remain imbalanced with respect to
essential amino acids, such as lysine. Moreover the body will inject lysine into the
intestines to provide for the impaired amino acids composition of the food. Leading
to an increased deficiency of amino acids in the body. This results in a fatigued body,
19
without knowing, resulting in excessive touchyness / illtemperedness

(ADHD?).
A Dutch high school student in Hilversum did his thesis in 2000 on feeding GMO corn and soy beans to laboratory rats. The rats did not eat the
soy beans. However, feeding the
corn/maize he observed either depressiveness or increased levels of aggressiveness and ADHD symptoms.
Refer to www.i-sis.org.uk, the website
of Dr. Mae-Wan Ho, for the unbiased
information about biotechnology.
Chromatographs of soy products

(meat substitutes made of dried tofu)
Soy chunk from a certified organic quality mark
ED: BAA Chromotography

Service Biodynamic Agriculture
Australia Ltd will be offering a
chromotography service from February 2012. Details will be included in the February Between the
Leaves ezine.
Literature:
Pfeiffer, E.E. 1984. Chromatography
applied to quality testing. AcresUSA
# 6374, US$8,= (Publisher: Bio-dynamic Literature, P.O. Box 253,
Wyoming, Rhode Island 02898).
Soy chunk also from a an organic quality mark but

different trademark. Presumably this product is partly
contaminated with genetically modified soy beans.
Pfeiffer, E.E. 1957-1960. Ehrenfried

Pfeiffer himself: eight audio tapes
in a shelf binder. AcresUSA # 6385
US$32,=. A comprehensive course
on synthesis and digestion of proteins in nature (plants, animals
and humans).
Soy chunk reportedly containing 100% genetically
modified soy beans.
20
The Air Food Web

By Shane Joyce, Director BAA
In the recent past there has been a lot of focus on soils.
Ah at last agriculturalists have made a quantum shift acknowledging the need
to nurture and attend to the soil, rather than adding nutrients just for the plants.
As a result of this shift many biological farming methods have emerged or been
reborn and one can buy or make a virtual smorgasbord of soil amendments.
But, is there something missing?
My point of view is resoundingly YES, there is an important element missing that
can potentially limit the benefits of all farming systems. This missing link is what
I call the air food web.
There is no doubt that we may see great leaps forward in our farm/garden soil
health and the quality of our produce when we introduce one or more of the
biological methodologies; however I believe that we will reach a limit which is well
below our farms/gardens full potential.
Let us start by looking at the Soil Food Web. Wow, what a breakthrough and I doubt
that there is a biological system that does not refer us to the soil food web and tutor
us on how to nurture it.
Yet, my observations and experience suggest that there is often something missing,
that being what grows above ground, and how this supports the soil food web.
Lets start with fungi in the soil. Picture, if you will, fungi as the communication,
electricity, water, and transport grid of our soils.
Fungi are the very first networks to go down under many past agricultural
practices. It is therefore, in my mind, the first network that we need to re-establish.
We are taught that grasslands are bacterial dominated, and woodlands fungal
dominated environments. If we are attempting to re-establish healthy fungal
networks in for instance a grassland (a sugar cane farm, a wheat field, or grass
pasture), then to a large extent we will be defying nature if there are no trees or
shrubs in our paddocks.
Observations on our property show an increasing diversity of fungi across our
landscape associated with living trees and decaying dead trees.
Let us now look at a tilled paddock where we may be growing a cereal crop: When
the paddock is fallow, we are effectively killing off soil biology due to extreme
exposure, and high soil temperatures, and lack of living plants photosynthesizing.
21
Paddock Yields have been based on the gross margin agistment rate of $3.50 per LSU per week.
Loss of production due to clearing is $342.88 per hectare over the 16 year period.
Percentages in the graph represent total canopy cover.
Eucalypt Forest (with cows & calves)

Brigalow regrowth
22
If, on the other hand, we are to retain tree & or grass strips (climatic extreme
modifiers) throughout the paddock, then there are effectively refuges for soil
biology to retreat to when we till the soil. In this scenario, as our crop emerges the
biology can then re-colonize the tilled areas. (Search for Alley Cropping on web.)
Now lets take a look at birds, bees, grubs, spiders yes all those critters that live
above ground in the grass, trees, and shrubs. No amount of soil biology or
biological inputs will compensate for the lack of food and habitat for these guys.
At Dukes Plain we now have sixteen years of data (Grazing Charts) showing
individual paddock yields, and for the past nine years have used biodynamic
methods, along with our many other management strategies.
The results of various different land clearing methods are revealed in this data.
We have defied conventional wisdom/science since 1982, as well as initially
following the conventional methods.
The results, from the graph below, are from groups of paddocks ranging from 95%
canopy cover, down to as low as 6% canopy. We have chosen the paddocks based
on vegetation type (Brigalow, Semi Evergreen Vine thicket, Eucalypt Forest) which
are both common on Dukes Plain as well as in our region.
The paddocks with low canopy cover (6%) have been re-cleared & cropped (19831996) to ensure timber regrowth (brigalow, SEVT, Eucalypt) does not come back.
Following the cropping phase these paddocks were re-pastured with native &
introduced perennial grasses.
The brigalow paddocks (40% canopy) have been treated with a blade plough
(1988) to remove half of the timber regrowth.
The Semi Evergreen Vine Thicket paddocks (50% canopy) have had no timber
treatment (mechanical or chemical) since the initial clearing of the scrubs in 1965
& experienced their last wild fire in 1977.
Eucalypt forest paddocks (95% canopy) have had no timber removed apart from
the last logging operation in the mid 1950s.
In looking at the data in this graph, one can do the math from the Gross Margin
per hectare, and in the case of the land that we re-cleared, cereal cropped, & repastured, see that over the sixteen years the accumulated loss of production
amounts to $342.88.
The story only gets worse if we are also to take into account the cost of re-clearing, and
reestablishing perennial pastures. Quite sobering. What a story though to reinforce the
production benefits of biodiversity.
23
Lower yielding re-cleared country
Semi Evergreen Vine thicket regrowth
24
These figures are from our beef cattle grazing enterprise. For further or more
specific information related to cropping enterprises, an Internet search of Alley
Cropping is recommended.
Let us now reflect on Steiners Agriculture Lectures.
The biodynamic preparations are connected to various planets, body organs,
metals, and grains.
Yarrow: kidneys, Venus, copper, barley.
Chamomile: lungs, Mercury, mercury, millet.
Nettle: gall, Mars, iron, oats.
Oak Bark: brain/gonads, Moon, silver, rice.
Dandelion: liver, Jupiter, tin, rye.
Valerian: spleen, Saturn, lead, maize.
Horn Manure & Horn Silica: heart, Sun, gold, wheat.
Steiners Biodynamic Preparations were to remedy the post World War 1 use of
chemical fertilizers, which had resulted in declining vitality of farms in Europe.
Bring yourself forward then to 2011 and the many biological methods that are
available.
Are we using these then under the input output model of agriculture?
Are we using them as a remedy to restore our farms/gardens vitality?
Are we using them with the view that eventually our farms/gardens will become
truly self replacing?
Surely our strategy here is to have our farm once again become a self sustaining
organism, with no need to use the biodynamic preparations, or other biological inputs.
Imagine, if you will, a farm/garden, which grows all the necessary plants to bring
in the cosmic influences, as Steiners biodynamic preparations were designed to do.
On these landscapes we will then have what I call The Air Food Web to work in
harmony with the soil food web!
Large plants, such as trees, shrubs and vines, especially those relics of the prior
ecosystem before clearing, are integral to supporting the soil food web fungal
association. Re-introducing these plants in an alley system can reestablish this vital
element in agriculture.
25
May You Live In Interesting Times
from page 9
As the years have passed, I have witnessed a great surge of interest in Biodynamics,
which one should find both encouraging and gratifying. At last, there is the
unfurling of genuine agricultural potential; a possibility that we might yet see what
ought to be obvious: that the reductive, analytical, scientific view from the
microscope exactly because it is incomplete is highly misleading and dangerously
inaccurate. In cahoots with centralised government, politicised commerce, the
globalisation of human affairs and a materialistic religiosity, this flat and rather
dry science is made truly fiendish.
Having converted to biodynamic standard two formerly intensively managed farms,
I feel adequately qualified to expound a view that will be at odds with much of what
is nowadays being propounded in the name of Biodynamics and its further
development.
Now, before anyone springs the dogma trap on me, because I am enthusiastically
and frequently going to quote from Steiner though little more than others might
quote, unabashed, from Einstein, Newton, Darwin et al lets be clear that
everything I write here stems from a desire to prevent the derailing of a beautiful
train carrying a very special cargo. This train? The Agriculture Course. The cargo?
The Preparations. The destination? Nothing less than the salvation of rightful human
evolution and everything encompassed by that, at a time when the threat against
such evolution should be clear to anyone worth his spiritual salt.
I am well read in Steiners great works because I felt impelled to learn more about
the fullness, the sheer spirit, of a man who could describe the humble dandelion as
a messenger of heaven, or the largely ignored yarrow as a miraculous creation, the
greatest boon; a philosopher who asks that Man wrap the nettle about his heart!
Immersing oneself in Rudolf Steiners philosophy is very uplifting; refreshment
comes about, rather like taking a bath in fine minerals. We are fortunate indeed that
those of us involved in agriculture have this philosophy to hand, if first we free
ourselves of inhibition at the very mention of the term spiritual.
We must abandon too, a blind faith in our sciences, for what we are told by our
geologists, biologists, astronomers, physicians and physicists is, as already said, an
incomplete picture.
Our scientific community has come to assume an authority that it was never
granted. Its enduring precept that Information is Physical delivers to us an abstract
view of our world, the universe and its workings, to sit alongside the empty
26
pronouncements of ten a penny philosophers who have everything worked out at

a very early age as they tumble from the universities!
Consider Einsteins regret when he stated, we cannot solve the problems of today
by using the same kind of thinking which we had when we created them. Perhaps
he too, had secretly taken a plunge into Steiners curative world!
Only upon his deathbed, did Einstein have courage to speak about the jarring
omissions of a purely mathematical, mechanistic view of the Universe. The very
omissions addressed by Rudolf Steiner.
Let us confirm this
It was Rudolf Steiner who first declared that the stars are hollow spaces. It was he
who spoke of cosmic rays long before general recognition of such phenomena. From
within the scientific community, he was mocked, yet no acknowledgement accrued
to him once these things were indeed accepted by the self-same community.
It is Steiner who gives us the background that leads to a new understanding of spirit,
showing us that there is no empty space in the universe, and that it is filled brim
full, with spirit and with matter.
In this lies the secret of the biodynamic Preparations: the joining of universal cosmic
forces with benevolent human intent and energy in order to produce food that endows
us with insight and infuses our natural world with the harmony of the cosmos.
His description of the Sun is a startling revelation and the key to our contemporary
purpose: Steiner paints for us a picture of the Sun as a living, spiritual entity, the
Archangel Michael (pronounced Mi-ky-el) made manifest.
The Sun, he declares, is a hollow space, a vacuum, with a vortex at its centre!
If so great a scientist as Dr. Steiner was indeed proved correct in his other
cosmological assertions and way before others came to his unacknowledged
viewpoint then is it not meet that we should take notice and try to sense the truth
of this? Are not the warmth and the light of the Sun demonstrable cosmic forces?
Could our Suns power to generate life, be seen perforce, as anything other than an
act of love? Is not love itself a force of the spirit?
Our Archangelic Sun: Called Ahura Mazda by our more spiritually sound
ancestors, this is neither a burning ball of gas, nor the manifestation of nuclear fusion
in space, but an irresistible, spiritual force attracting matter, before once again raying
it back into the universe, re-spiritualised, re-enlivened, re-loved! Does this not bring
to mind a very particular agricultural activity?
27
Most recently, scientists (who constantly and rather witlessly refer to the suns
having a surface) have calculated the weight of the sun at twenty billion, billion
tonnes! Yet Steiner directs us to the knowledge that it weighs not an ounce! Far from
being all mass, in fact it has none.
So, we have two opposing concepts: the one, abstract, drawn from a purely
materialistic science, the other concrete, gained from a science complete with spirit.
For those of us who have been granted just a mite of the clairvoyance or lighter
vision promised by Steiner to those who eat biodynamic foods, the Suns vortex
may be gently discerned in a low western sky, during a red sunset.
The point of all this?

Well, Steiner once said, Anthroposophy needs no protection and no guidance
adding, It must and will make its own way in the world.
Whilst one must trust to the great philosophers confidence in the fate of wider
Anthroposophy, it is hard to imagine how one very important branch of it
biodynamic agriculture might flourish and prosper without a little guidance and
certainly some measure of protection from those with the experience to offer it.
So, here we are, year 2011 AD: Biodynamics on the march, bearing an effervescent
desire for a renewal of agriculture and, with it, revitalised food bringing new hope
for a troubled Mankind and healing for Earth herself.
Yes, we can aim this high, confident in the knowledge that our methods, if used
according to Steiners indications, will yield food of barely imaginable nutritive
value, never mind its aesthetic potential. This food and the means of growing it, will
in turn sustain us and all the natural flora and fauna that share our earthly home.
Our natural world, the American Indians knew, was born of Man: Man is in all
creatures and all things. Without this natural world, we cannot survive, physically
or otherwise.
Nature, which Steiner described so tenderly as Gods wrought-work, must be our
continuing inspiration, our source of courage, our Spirit Level. Nature cannot be
seen simply as the conservationists plaything, nor merely as a separate realm
populated by interesting life forms that arrived by accident, pleasant to observe and
to be written about with a distant, nebulous admiration.
The kind of food in question brings with it a fresh and compelling evocation for
Man, of the world that lies beyond, yet within, our physical senses, a world that our
ancestors knew they were intimately related to: they felt embedded in the cosmos,
they possessed spiritual faculties which have been lost to us, over generations.
28
I would ask at this point, how many, among even those involved with Biodynamics,
be they farmers, gardeners, administrators or even just bloggers, enjoy a diet that is
predominantly biodynamic in origin?
Its not pedantic to assert that one cannot laud Biodynamics, then shop for food in
Tesco or any of the retail behemoths, for they are manifestly opposed to the freedoms
inherent to a kind of food that will help to bridge gaps in our ways of thinking, to
impel our imagination, through inspiration and towards intuition.
We still possess latent powers, innate to the cosmos. And shouldnt we accept that
humanity is degenerating at a pace consistent with the fall from grace of a morally
productive agriculture, the loss of a true culture of land?
Well, here is the rub

Little time has elapsed since a more public light has been thrown onto biodynamic
agriculture, in no small measure because of our own farms efforts at marketing the
meat that we produce, not only directly to Mr. and Mrs. John Bull, but also to the
countrys top chefs. This is not self congratulation, merely a statement of fact that,
when we first began, few people apart from a lucky circle had even heard of
Biodynamics, still fewer the far-reaching philosophy that lay behind it. Now even
the great and the good show interest.
For years, this lucky circle of heroic farmers had trod a lonely, dedicated biodynamic
path, quietly and assiduously.
Now, far from there arose a great number of kindred souls whose imagination was
fired by the text of Steiners lectures and eager to use the Preparations. At every
opportunity and no matter the effort required, they are happy to subscribe to a
profound, expansive and measured philosophy and open to an entirely different
concept of crop yield. Instead, there have come about innumerable self-styled
practitioners claiming ground in the guise of Biodynamics with claims underwritten
by views that are not compatible with authentic, correct and effective biodynamic
methods, let alone a true interpretation of the subtleties of Steiners unselfish guidance.
Let us explore together, some examples. But first, something needs to be made clear:
passionate as I am about Biodynamics and the human potential that it embraces, I
have no wish purposely to upset anyone who chooses to walk his or her own path
in this field. Over the years, I have read many differing views in our wonderful Star
and Furrow and other places; these, simply, are mine.
End Part 1
29
Seasonal Notes
Extreme Weather predictions for Australia
January 2012: Brian expects a deep trough over WA in the first week. In the 2nd
and 3rd weeks especially around 13th 15th January severe weather is expected
especially in the Tasman Sea. The last week of January from 23rd with the New
Moon is likely to see some extreme weather particularly in Eastern Australia with
the likelihood of tropical cyclones.
February 2012: Lots of turbulence expected in WA during the first week. The second week especially from 7th to the 10th should see some intense weather with
a possibility of tropical cyclones around the Gulf of Carpentaria. Week 3 should
see Western Qld; NSW and SA affected by some wild weather. The last week of
February is likely to see tropical cyclones developing in the Timor Sea above the
Kimberley and pushing low pressure cells down into WA.
March 2012: A big month for cyclones according to Brian particularly around 4th
and 5th both in Eastern and Western Australia. The second week will probably see
the development of East Coast lows developing off Tasmania. The sun crossing the
equator on 20th could lead to more cyclonic activity. Week four may see some more
unsettled weather around 29th March when Mercury crosses the equator again.
Biodynamic Practices
Continue to put out soil and atmospheric sprays monthly if possible before Moon
opposition to Saturn. Be sure to include 508 Equisetum/ Casuarina teas in atmospheric and soil sprays. This will build maximum resilience on your farm to
buffer the effects of extreme weather. If there is a prolonged wet period try doing
a sequential spray in the air/fire signs.
Errata Brian Keats asked if we could pass these corrections on to all our members who use his calendar*.
The Moon opposition Saturn and Jupiter are incorrect in the 2012 edition of
the Antipodean Astro Calendar. Please amend with the data below.
Moon opposition Saturn 2012
3 Jan 2012
5:01 am
30 Jan 2012 3:20:59 pm
26 Feb 2012 10:51:58 pm
25 Mar 2012 3:17:09 am
21 Apr 2012 5:34:45 am
30
18 May 2012
14 Jun 2012
11 Jul 2012
8 Aug 2012
4 Sep 2012
2 Oct 2012
29 Oct 2012
26 Nov 2012
23 Dec 2012
7:44:23 am
11:55:10 am
7:23:18 pm
6:04:03 am
6:53:43 pm
8:31:49 am
9:54:35 pm
10:29:54 am
10:13:03 pm
Moon opposition Jupiter 2012

17 Jan 2012 4:33:41 am
13 Feb 2012 3:11:35 pm
12 Mar 2012 6:13:17 am
9 Apr 2012 1:07:52 am
6 May 2012 10:13:56 pm
3 Jun 2012
7:29:29 pm
1 Jul 2012
3:04:35 pm
29 Jul 2012 7:36:59 am
25 Aug 2012 8:24:46 pm
22 Sep 2012 5:40:40 am
19 Oct 2012 12:32:04 pm
15 Nov 2012 6:25:07 pm
13 Dec 2012 0:12:10 am
My sincere apologies, Brian Keats
Spraying Dates
Using Moon opposition Saturn (2 days prior to)
Moon opposition Saturn dates for spraying Biodynamic Preparations out: increases soil activity. Also best time to plant seeds out: Moon = fertility and germination. Saturn = form and strong structure.
December 4-5, 2011

January 1-2, 2012 and 28-29 Jan, 2012
February 25-26
March 23-24
April, 19-20
May 16-17, 2012
31
Moon Descending Periods

An alternative spraying time when the Moons influences are working below
the earth in the soil
December 1-10 and 24-31 2011

January 1-6 and 21-31 2012
February 1-2 and 17-29
March 1 and 16-18
April 12-24
May 9-21
Peppering dates for Weeds

Moon in Leo (Note when Mercury is in retrograde it interferes with some planetary
influences and appears to affect making of peppers.)
Dec 16-17 2011
January 12-13 2012
February 8-9
March 6-8 (Mercury retro 12-31st) 8th also full moon extra good time
April 3-4 (Mercury retro 1-4) So no good for peppering
April 30, May 1-2 and 27-29
Insect Peppers
Ground living types eg Pasture Grubs, Scarab Grubs, Buffalo Fly,
Burn when the Sun is in an Earth Sign Capricorn, Taurus and Virgo.
Air Insects: Those that lay eggs on leaves and live mostly in the air
Burn when Sun is in an Air signs Aquarius, Gemini and Libra.
Watery: Slugs, snails etc although better to ferment overnight and spray out
maybe when the Sun is in a water sign Pisces, Cancer and Scorpio.
Keats, Brian (2012), Antipodean Astro Calendar
32
dirtgirl talks slugs with BAA staffer Leonie

LEONIE: Welcome to News Leaf
dirtgirl. Our younger readers are
really happy to have you as part of
the journal and they love the
competitions. Thank you so much
for being part of our world!
DIRTGIRL: Youre welcome Leonie.
Im glad to be here.
LEONIE: So dirtgirl, you have a
fantastic garden, but we have had
a question about any pests you
might come across and how to deal with them.
DIRTGIRL: You know Leonie, not long ago I had a problem with slugs. I wasnt exactly
sure how to solve it, but my friends came to my rescue with several solutions.
LEONIE: Would you mind sharing them with our readers please dirtgirl?
DIRTGIRL: Of course not. The first one came from Grubby and it is eggshells.
LEONIE: Egg shells?
DIRTGIRL: Yes you just crumble them up and the slugs dont like to go across them,
so if you sprinkle them around your seedlings, that will keep the slugs away. My friend
Hayman, says hay works too, so mulch around them to keep the slugs away.
LEONIE: Great idea. What else.
DIRTGIRL: Ken likes to plant nasturtiums, and he also told me
that slugs have 2700 teeth!
LEONIE: Wow its no wonder they chew up all of my plants!
Why do nasturtiums help?
DIRTGIRL: Well even though nasturtiums smell nice to me,
slugs dont like them, so its the smell that works. You can also
make slug traps just use half orange shells. Carefully cut an
orange in half. Pull out the orange pieces and eat them, and
then put milk in the shell and, hey presto, a slug trap!
LEONIE: Well we know you also have a good friend in Scrapboy
what did he suggest.
33
Congratulations to last issues competition winners:

Teagan King; aged 7, Isabella Ferguson; aged 6, Charlie Beryman; aged 7
Jo Coppock; aged 11, Zack Soper; aged 4, Emma King; aged 4,
Finn Radford; Aged 4
34
DIRTGIRL: Scrapboy bought over some donuts not real donuts, donuts made from
sand paper. You put them around the plant and the slugs wont crawl up the sharp
surface so it is like a castle wall!
LEONIE: Thanks dirtgirl youve been a real help. Bye bye.
DIRTGIRL: Bye bye and my best wishes to all you young biodynamic gardeners and
farmers out there. My slug song is called best worst bug and you can hear it on my
first album get grubby, which is available from the dirtgirlworld eco-store (www.dirtgirlworldshop.com.au) or for download from iTunes.
This issue you

can win one of
3 dirtgirlworld
books!
To enter send your name, the name of the child youd like
to receive the prize and their age, your full postal address
details and a phone number to bdnewsleaf@biodynamics.net.au or PO Box 54, Bellingen, NSW, 2454 by 5pm January 31, 2012. All entries will go into a barrel and the prizes
will be drawn at 10am Friday February 3, 2012 at our office
in Bellingen, NSW. Prize winners will be notified within 48 hours of the draw.
(This competition is not open to staff and directors of
BAA Ltd, or staff associated with the dirtgirlworld
program)
Opposite is another great colouring in page.
Have fun kids.
Thank you to 6 year old Isabella Ferguson
who sent us in this beautiful version of last
months colouring in page. Well done Isabella.
35
Horn Silica BD501

Compiled by Alan Johnstone
Horn Silica BD501
In the first lecture of the Agriculture Course Steiner says, Plant life as we know it
today can thrive only when these two forces the forces of substances like lime and
like silica are in equilibrium and are working properly together. The substance
which helps establish this equilibrium and ensures that the lime and the silica (two
very disparate materials in Steiners description of their nature) are indeed working
together properly; is none other than clay which mediates between them. Clay is
closer to silica; but it still mediates towards lime.
Types of Horn Silica

1. Quartz Crystal Horn Silica (SiO2)
Hugh Courtney (Master Preparations Maker of over 30 years from Josephine
Porter Institute of Applied Biodynamics in USA) recommends using this type of
BD 501 on biodynamic farms and gardens where soils are mainly heavy clay or
containing a significant clay component.
2. Feldspar Horn Silica (Ka1Si2O8)

In his Agriculture Course Steiner said, Instead of quartz you could use orthoclase;
feldspar. Orthoclase feldspar with its potassium and plagioclase feldspar
containing calcium would have a much more direct relationship to lime than that
of a pure quartz crystal. For this reason Hugh Courtney suggests that soils
containing a mostly sandy component could well have gained greater benefit
from using Feldspar BD 501 with its stronger relationship to the lime pole.
Biodynamic Agriculture Australia Ltd supplies both Feldspar and Quartz Horn Silica
501. If you wish to try the Feldspar Horn Silica 501 please indicate this when ordering,
otherwise we will send you the Quartz Horn Silica 501.
3. Diatomaceous Earth Horn Silica

In Australia Hugh Lovel and John Priestley have been experimenting with filling
horns with Diatomaceous Earth a biological form of Silica from the skeletons
of microscopic organisms. We have made a small quantity of this DE 501 which
is available for experimental use at no charge contact the office if you are
36
interested. You will be asked to give some

feedback on your observations.
Uses of Horn Silica

In Agriculture Steiner said, If you apply this
(horn silica) as a fine spray on the plants
themselves especially on vegetables and
things like that you will soon notice how it
complements and supports the influence
coming from the other side; from the soil as a result of the cow horn manure. If we
only use the biodynamic soil sprays and the compost preparations this will lead to
the plant only partially expressing its full potential. Plants will become bulky; soft
and prone to disease.
Another extremely important reason to use horn silica in these times is that our
atmosphere has become extremely contaminated with man made forms of energetic
pollution. As well as microwaves and other electromagnetic pollution there is our
thought and emotional pollution fear; hate; greed. Steiner has said that the horn
silica allows plants to connect with the cosmos through the many layers of
atmospheric pollution. This cosmic connection is vitally important for balanced
plant growth.
1. Horn silica should be sprayed out every time we use the biodynamic soil
preparations Horn Manure 500; Combined Soil Preparation and Soil Activator.
This can be monthly during the growing season under intensive regimes such as
market gardening and vineyards. For extensive grazing and cropping enterprises
both soil and atmospheric sprays should be used at least twice per year in Spring
and Autumn.
2. With vegetables, green manure crops, hay crops and grain use Horn Silica 501 at
the seedling or 2 leaf stage and again when the crop is growing vigorously and
for those crops which need ripening fruiting vegetables or grain spray 501 two
or three days before harvest this will finish the ripening process; raise brix
(sugar) levels; harden the skins for better storage and intensify flavours; add oils
and colour to your produce.
3. With orchard fruits spray horn silica when the moon is in a fruit sign after the
fruit has set and is the size of a pea. Spray out a second time midway through the
season and a final spray a couple of days prior to harvest. Horn silica can be used
to thin out fruit contact the office for further information.
37
4. When there has been an excess of moisture eg rain for a week use BD501 with
fresh equisetum tea to balance the effects of this excess moisture in the atmosphere
and in the plants.
When Not to Use Horn Silica

1. Do not use horn silica when plants are stressed due to lack of moisture they will
go straight to seed.
2. Do not use horn silica when fruit trees are flowering it will burn off the flowers
= no crop! With vegetables and berries that are continuously flowering; one days
crop is worth sacrificing for the benefits of flavour, colour, health and storability
that horn silica endows.
3. Do not use in the middle of the day it will burn you and the crop.
Myths About Horn Silica

A myth exists that as horn silica works with light and Australia has such bright
light; that it can be disregarded as unnecessary in biodynamic agriculture.
Experience has shown that farms that do not use horn silica become unbalanced
after a couple of years.
Biodynamic Atmospheric Sprays

Horn silica can be used on its own or stirred and sprayed out with summer horn
clay and fresh equisetum or casuarina tea. The summer horn clay will help the flow
of sap from the plant into the soil and the equisetum tea will balance the moisture
in the atmosphere to minimise the effects of fungal attack on plants.
Reference:
Applied Biodynamics Josephine Porter Institute Issue No12. Hugh Courtney
38
Sustainable Living Festival 2011

It was great to be part of the
Sustainable Living Festival
held recently in Coffs
Harbour. Our new stirring
machine and our posters
showing our association with
dirtgirlworld meant many
more visitors approached the
stand, giving us the opportunity to spread the word about
Biodynamics.
Dirtgirl greeting visitors to the stand, whilst John Hodgkinson

is busy serving customer.
Costa Georgiades gave a

rousing address to the Festival, his visit to our stand was
a real thrill and he showed a
keen interest in Biodynamics.
Dirtgirl was present at the event and a smash hit with the children and their parents.
Its wonderful to be associated with this
Australian success story. Many of the parents came to the stand, attracted by the
dirtgirlworld merchandise and commented
that their children suddenly helped in the
garden and now understand where their
vegetables come from. Read more about
dirtgirl on Page 33.
Many people took information or signed up
for workshops and we now have even more
ideas to enhance the stand for future events.
Do you have festival events in your area
that you believe we should be represented
at? Please let us know where and when by
emailing marketing@biodynamics.net.au or
phoning the office on (02) 6655 0566
Alan Johnstone & Costa Georgiades
39
Preparations Report
By Alan Johnstone, Preparations Manager
Biodynamic Soil Preparations
Summer is often a time of climatic extremes in Australia and this
summer is looking like following the trend if you study Brian Keats weather notes
in the Astro Calendar. The interplay of excessive moisture and excessive heat calls
for continued vigilance in observation and use of the full range of biodynamic preparations to maximise the resilience of your farm or garden.
Office Preparation Retrieval Wed 19th October

25 people including 10 Coffs TAFE Organic Horticulture Course students; 2 visiting
members; 2 staff and 11 local members made up the enthusiastic team for the day.
It was a cool and fine day.
Horn Manure We retrieved some good quality horn manure then came to a patch
of the pit that had poorer drainage where the horns had not completely turned. We
decided to leave retrieving the remainder of the horns for another month.
Treatment of Pit Once the horns are retrieved the pit will have biodynamic compost incorporated into the topsoil then be planted with sweet corn, chick peas and
buckwheat over the summer. Crop residue will be brush cut and covered with
mulch to sheet compost before the pit is re-dug by hand in Autumn. Combined
Soil Preparation and atmospheric preps will be sprayed over the pit at least 3 times
during summer.
Yarrow Preparation 502 We stuffed 16 large stags bladders with dried and some
fresh yarrow flowers (biodynamically grown at the office) and hung them on the
verandah. The 502 we dug up was of high quality (by sight, smell and feel).
Chamomile Preparation 503 Last year the wet weather and a low lying pit contributed to a poor yield of chamomile preparation. This year with the 503 pit on
higher ground, the result was much better. The compost worms and native earthworms had just discovered the 503 however, and were starting to eat it. We extracted as many earthworms and eggs as we could during harvest. We will
monitor the prep in storage to find any strays.
We are attempting to use 100% biodynamic intestines next autumn. This year we
used some organic intestine sourced for us by John Priestley. The majority of the
chamomile will be biodynamically grown and dried at the office.
40
Dandelion Preparation The 506 we

extracted was of excellent quality. We
have grown, harvested and dried the
majority of dandelion flowers at the office to be used at next Autumns burial.
Oak Bark Preparation The 505 we extracted was a good sample and was
stirred daily in a stainless steel bowl for
5 days until the smell dispersed before
it was stored.
Horn Silica 501 We stuffed horns
with silica slurry and buried them in a
pit with Summer Horn Clay.
Horn Silica settling ready for burial.
Dorrigo Horn Retrieval

We retrieved horn manure from a pit at
Cheryl Kemps property in North Dorrigo
on Wednesday 9th
November assisted by
10 students from
Armidales Organic
TAFE course. The
horns were excavated
from the rich and well
drained highly paramagnetic red soil and
the quality of the horn
manure appears to be
excellent. We used cow
manure sourced from
a local Bellingen biodynamic beef farmer.
Visiting and local members retrieve Horn Manure with TAFE students burying
Horn Silica in the background.
41
South Australian Weeds Workshop

Sponsored by a grant and organized by
Will Miles, Fleurieu Swamps Project Officer.
The venue was in a new metal shed on Sally
Richards property which is totally energy self
sufficient. She has a vegetable garden and
brought the property to be custodian over 100
acres of national heritage remnant endangered woodland. The balance of the property is grassland which she wishes to convert to 100% native grasses. Hence every other species is a weed to her!
We concentrated on weeds and the messages that they bring and some strategies
for managing them. We then gathered a 200 litre drum full of Cape Weed and we
prepped it to make a weed tea.
After lunch we had a farm walk with a fork and looked at many different communities of weeds and discussed why they were growing where they were and dug up
many samples to see what their roots were doing. Returning to the shed we made
a little fire and burnt some Cape Weed seed in a tin and I explained the process of
potentising it into a weed pepper.
Any group interested in organizing a Managing Weeds Biodynamically one day
workshop in 2012 please contact the office.
BFA Roadshow
I attended the BFA roadshow in Mullumbimby in October. Biodynamic agriculture
did not get one mention!
Gary Zimmer, world renowned biological consultant from the USA spoke on organic
inputs and management practices and his co-speaker Joel Williams from the BFA
explained thoroughly the soil food web to us.
The outstanding impression from Gary Zimmers presentation was the huge difference between the commercial organic system of farming with a big reliance on
brought in organic inputs and biodynamic farming which focuses on creating a self
sustaining farm organism creating fertility on the farm, which in its ideal form becomes a closed system.
The myth of farm production running down farm fertility does not allow for the regenerative powers of soil via its complex soil food web especially under biodynamic
management nor for the essential elements that plants can absorb from the atmosphere and the importance of the animal/plant relationship in building soil fertility.
42
Gary was helpful in explaining a

method for turning around a rundown
and depleted farm in a few years using
organic inputs such as rock dusts and
rock phosphate which become more
available to plant life when put through
a compost heap.
A contrast to Garys model of
input/output organic farming will be
explained by Hugh Williams our Guest
Speaker at the 2012 BAA National
Workshop, who will be talking about
Threshold Farm in New York State
which he has developed as a biodynamic farm organism with minimal
need of importing any inputs. He has
commercial orchard,vegetables and a small dairy herd.
Retrieving Yarrow Preparation.
Radionically Potentised Preparations

Biodynamic Agriculture Australia does not sell or endorse any radionically prepared
preparations. Any homeopathically potentised preparations we sell eg Equisetum 8x
are hand made from real equisetum herb.
May you have a meaningful Christmas
break and enjoy your biodynamic
practices whatever the weather may bring.
Thank you for your continued support of
Biodynamic Agriculture Australia.
* * * * *
Look for us in ABCs Organic

Gardener Magazine
Were in both the Jan/Feb and
March issues and are looking
forward to introducing many
more people to Biodynamics.
43
Sequential Spraying of
Biodynamic Preparations
Compiled by Alan Johnstone
Lisle Harvey with over 40 years of experience as a biodynamic grower and an articulate figure at the forefront of American biodynamic agriculture claimed to have experimented with spraying the soil polarity prep 500 and waiting weeks or months
before spraying the atmospheric polarity 501. He was emphatic that this was a good
way to create an imbalance on your farm. He had been there and done that.
Ultimately, according to Harvey, the secret to achieving the best results with biodynamics was striking a balance between the activities of the soil-mineral release; nitrogen fixation; digestion and nutrition; and the activities of the atmosphere
photosynthesis, blossoming, fruiting and ripening. Biodynamics depended on developing a dynamic interplay between what went on below the surface of the soil and
what went on above in the atmosphere. The more dynamic the interaction, the better
biodynamic agriculture worked. So Harvey used to apply the soil spray in the afternoon and the atmospheric spray the next morning.
Hugh Courtney, who founded the Josephine Porter Centre of Applied Biodynamics
and who is responsible for making and distributing biodynamic preparations throughout America, believed that we should put out all of the biodynamic preparations in a
sequence which he has named sequential spraying.
Sequential spraying caused a lot of interest when, as part of the first Southeast Regional Biodynamic Conference held on Hugh Lovels farm near Blairsville Georgia in
1987 which was in the grip of drought, the participants stirred and sprayed out horn
manure the first evening, horn silica the next morning, manure concentrate (with BD
preps 502-507) that evening and fermented equisetum (BD508) the next morning. Immediately there began drought breaking rain. The spray sequence was done in a
leaf/water sign a few days before full moon.
Hugh Courtney and other farmers experimented with sequential spraying and eventually did a survey where they found that 90% of these practices in times of drought
resulted in significant rainfall. A few years later when the southern States of America
were gripped with unceasing rain the sequential spraying was used with the moon
in a fire/fruit sign and this resulted in significant reduction of rain and destructive
winds in the areas to which it was applied. Hugh Courtney has been advocating that
biodynamic practitioners apply their preparations as sequential sprays ever since.
44
Through further experimentation Courtney now recommends that to encourage rain

the sequence should be manure concentrate, then horn silica, horn manure and fermented equisetum (BD508) all sprayed out in a leaf/water sign and to discourage
rain manure concentrate, fermented equisetum, horn manure and horn silica
sprayed out in a fruit/fire sign. An abbreviated sequence is to spray out horn manure
and manure concentrate stirred for 1 hour in the evening and horn silica and fermented equisetum stirred for 1 hour the next morning. Hugh Courtney believes that
the biodynamic preparations have the ability to draw to themselves whatever is
needed for crops to grow and agriculture to flourish including rain.
It was tempting to call this a rain making technique, but Courtney emphasized that
sequential spraying was an energy balancing procedure. Rain clearly was one of the
results, but the whole idea was balancing and enlivening the dynamic interplay between the photosynthesis and related silica activities occurring above ground and the
nitrogen fixation and related lime activities occurring in the soil. What sequential
spraying of all the preps actually did was restore a healthy in and out breathing of life
energy to an environment that had fallen stagnant and moribund. The effects of sequential spraying appear to be significantly reinforced if done just prior to new moon
or full moon.
Hugh Courtney says, Sequential spraying should be used with an attitude of
thoughtful responsibility. The major use of this technique should be to balance and
harmonise the forces and energies of the agricultural individuality. No biodynamic
farm or garden should ever suffer from the extremes of unbalanced weather.
This technique should not be approached from the viewpoint of manipulating the
weather; but rather as a means to restore conditions of harmony and balance when
conditions would clearly suggest that such harmony is lacking.
Acknowledgement This article was compiled from articles by Hugh Lovel (2011) and
Hugh Courney Applied Biodynamics Issue No 6 Winter 1993.
BIODYNAMIC EQUIPMENT
STIRRING MACHINE
Copper Tank Galv.Steel Frame 60 Gallon Capacity All new material used
Electric motor base mounted
SPRAY TANK
Stainless Steel 60 Gall. Mounted on 3 pl linkage Swing out boom arms
Manf. B.D. equipment for 20 yrs. Contact KEVIN WILLS
Phone (02) 6550 5179 Email kdwills@bluemaxx.com.au
46
BOOK REVIEW
THE HEALING POWER OF
ENERGISED WATER
By Ulrich Holst
Review: by John Hodgkinson

Available from BAA office for $35
In The Healing Power of Energised Water, Ulrich Holst

describes a wide range of approaches to imprinting,
reorganizing and potentising water. He calls this
bioenergetic dynamisation. In explaining the
processes involved, he draws principally on twentieth century research carried out on water flow dynamics, its memory and its capacity to cleanse and heal. Add to this his presentation of various devices available
to upgrade water and we have a most useful book.
Holst has addressed what Id broadly call the energetics of water, including numerous mechanical, magnetic and crystal devices for cleaning up and energizing
polluted water and water which is lacking in harmonious structure, has molecular
compaction, or has been pressurized or boiled, such as tap and distilled water, respectively. His coverage includes comment on the work of Schauberger, Schwenk,
Reich, Grander, Emoto and many lesser known researchers and engineers in the
field of water enhancement. He presents informative details of a wide range of
tested and proven dynamizers.
Absent, however, is coverage of some research and insights that I consider adds to
our understanding of waters ability to absorb and carry various energies, and to act
as a medium of memory in terms of imprinted messages, emotions and the vital healing impulse. There is no mention of Patrick Flanagans work on vortices and chaos,
nor coverage of Steiners indications on stirring the preparations, nor coverage of Agnihotra ashs water improving qualities, nor of Schauberger/Schwenk/Wilkes work
with water dynamics, implosion, flowform energizing etc.
In Biodynamics, as we know, imprinting and energizing (ie bioenergetically dynamizing) water is of utmost relevance and importance. Hence this book would
appeal to any gardener or farmer keen to prepare water for biodynamic purposes,
water which would otherwise be unsuitable. For instance, rainwater contains significant atmospheric pollutants, and is now usually acidic, making it unsuitable for
stirring BD preparations unless cleaned up and bioenergetically dymanized beforehand. The same goes for much of Earths groundwater. Holsts advice also alerts
47
us to the situation of most of Earths surface water, which in addition to pollution

and turbidity, contains memory of environmental degradation, negative human
emotions, judgment and conflict.
To counter negative attributes of water in my own case, I use rainwater to which
Ive added thought forms of joy, enthusiasm and gratitude, the Bach Flower Essence
Rescue Remedy, John of God healing water brought back to me from his clinic in
Brazil, and Agnihotra ash which not only adds powerful bioenergy but also has an
alkalizing influence. I use this water for drinking, stirring preparations, liquid manures, and to water my vegetable garden.
I feel there is a crucial need to manifest a bioenergised hydrology on Earth so that
every life-form is optimally nurtured. Through such accounts as Holsts there is
now the knowledge available, to ensure that we humans could consume only bioenergised water, which would include the water consumed by our meat and dairy
animals; that used to grow fruit and vegetables; that utilized by our industrialized
food and beverage processors; by our pets; and even in our bathing and swimming.
We can now reach out with these techniques to small and large bodies of water, still
and running, even the atmospheric water.
If one finds the prospect of healing Earths waters daunting, I suggest adopting at
least one of Holsts (actually Emotos) simpler remediations: write LOVE AND
GRATITUDE on a piece of paper and tape it to ones water bottle.
Steiner was aware of the vertical and ellipsoidal (egg shaped) forms which invite
cosmic energy into water and also restructure it. He gave instructions on stirring
to create alternating vortices and chaos, enabling this potentising to occur. Now, in
this relatively new field of practical water remediation and bioenergetics we are
fortunate to have writings such as Holsts, plus the following, which are all rich
with insights into waters qualities and potential:
Callum Coates, 2001, Living Energies, Gateway, Dublin. *
Masaru Emoto, 2006, The Secret Life of Water, Simon & Schuster, London *
(plus previous titles)
VV Paranjpe, 2005, Homa Therapy, Our Last Chance, ISBN 0-944909-01-9 and
www.agnihotra.com.au
Theodore Schwenke, 1976, Sensitive Chaos, Shocken Press, New York *
Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird, 2002, Secrets of the Soil, Earthpulse Press,
Anchorage. (especially Chapter 9) *
* available from the Biodynamic Agriculture Australia Ltd office

48
News Leaf
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OR Charge my:
VISA
/ MASTERCARD
Card Number: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Expiry Date: ____ / ___
Cardholders name: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Signature: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
or FAX TO: 02 6655 0565

Alternatively, call us on 02 6655 0566 to submit your membership application over the telephone.
POST TO: Biodynamic Agriculture Australia Ltd, PO Box 54 Bellingen NSW 2454
50
Biodynamic Agriculture Australia Ltd does not necessarily endorse

the product or service being offered within advertisements.
51
AVAILABLE FOR SALE

This extensive 5,628 sq mtr property consists
of Malunnah house, stables, straw bale
conservatory, nursery, and chicken pens amongst
underground, water fed, biodynamically managed
fruit and vegetable gardens.
Suit owner/operator bed and breakfast or
health retreat with the potential of own food
supply in a clean and fresh environment.
Historic Homestead
of 20 rooms overlooking
Bass Strait in Devonport, TAS
For more information please refer to

www.malunnah.com or Phone 0364232107
Mob 0433677106 Email atikarea@gmail.com
Simple, cost effective, large area application

of the biodynamic remedies, remote
peppering of weeds, animal and insect pests.
Locally built new by an Aussie farmer to the latest design
treat up to 4000 acres for cents per acre
Call for information or pricing
Setting up and Installation arranged at reasonable cost
LLOYD CHARLES
02 6955 3225
0429 444 152
lcharles@clearmail.com.au
EcoProperty / EcoRealEstate
Property Selling, Renting, Leasing all around Australia
ORGANIC FARMS ENERGY EFFICIENT HOMES IN CITY, TOWN, OR SUBURB
BUSH CONSERVATION ECO VILLAGES AND COHOUSING ECO TOURISM
LAND FOR TRANSITION TO ORGANICS AND BIODYNAMICS
LIFESTYLE PROPERTIES ECO BUSINESSES LAND FOR HOUSING
EcoProperty Marketing Programs for Property Owners & Real Estate Agents
Specialist Agents and Dedicated Real Estate Services
EcoProperty Local Consultants all around Australia
National T: 1300 796 326 (local call from landline and some mobiles)
M & SMS: (61) 0409 528 692
e: ecoproperty@eco.com.au
www.eco.com.au www.ecoproperty.com
www.ecorealestate.com.au
Sydney; NSW | Melbourne; Victoria | Local and Regional Offices
52
Biodynamic Agriculture Australia Ltd does not necessarily endorse

the product or service being offered within advertisements.
Nungra Gardens
Port Stephens
Research & Development
NUNGRA
GARDENS
SPRAYING
SERVICE
BIODYNAMIC PREPARATIONS
ORGANIC FERTILISERS
We come to you, fully equipped with
mobile flowforms & spray equipment.
March Northern NSW

April Southern NSW
May Victoria
Giving people a good start
helping to build soil fertility naturally
Suppliers & installers of
Living Water flowforms
Independent Organic Farm Inspectors
Building a Sustainable Future
Phone: Shane Martin 0421 228 499
H2O2
HYDROGEN PEROXIDE
35% FOOD GRADE
FOR FARM AND GARDEN
AUSTRALIAS BEST PRICE
CONTACT: JAN GORONCY

NTP HEALTH PRODUCTS
PHONE: 02 4997 2530
Email:
marketing@ntphealthproducts.com
53
Biodynamic Preparations & Products List

Prices as at March 2011. All prices include GST
BIODYNAMIC PREPARATIONS
Portion size
Horn Manure 500
35gm/0.5ha
Horn Silica 501
includes Horn Manure 500, Horn Silica 501,

502-507, Equisetum 508, Horn Clay and
Horn Basalt, Basalt Dust
Home Garden
$8.25
$5.50
85gm/ha
$18.15
$12.10
1kg
$130.50
>10kg/kg
$123.00
1gm
Biodynamic Soil Activator
Non Member
$82.00
$4.80
2gm/ha
$13.20
$8.80
100gm
$315.00
30gm
$9.00
$6.00
$11.00
$30.00
1kg
$127.50
Combined Soil Preparation
100gm
$20.25
$13.50
includes Horn Manure 500, Manure Concentrate,

Winter Horn Clay and Fermented 508
245gm/ha
$37.50
$25.00
1kg
$90.00
Cow Pat Pit (CPP)
Cow Manure, Preps 502, 503, 504, 505, 506, 507

Ground Egg Shells, Basalt Dust
Horn Clay
Winter Horn Clay for soil or
Summer Horn Clay for atmosphere
Horn Basalt
For making Pre Mix
Dried Equisetum Arvense
$5.00
$210.00
100gm
Manure Concentrate
$7.70
$87.00
$7.20
75gm/ha
Farmer
$7.00
$85.00
$16.00
$60.00
60gm
$6.75
$4.50
150gm/ha
$13.50
$9.00
1kg
$67.50
$7.50
$45.00
4gm
$3.30
$2.20
10gm/ha
$7.50
$5.00
100gm/ha
$30.00
$2.20
$20.00
1gm
$2.70
$1.80
2gm/ha
$4.50
$3.00
100gm
$105.00
$2.00
$70.00
100gm
$22.50
$15.00
$15.00
Fermented Equisetum 508 8X (soil)
5ml vial (up to 25ha)
$6.75
$4.50
$4.50
Fresh Equisetum 508 8X (atmospheric)
5ml vial (up to 25ha)
$6.75
$4.50
$4.50
makes 2 litres concentrate
Compost Preparations 502-507

3
Small set (up to 3 tons or 12m material)
1gm/prep
$25.50
$17.00
$14.00
Large set (up to 6 tons or 24m material)
2gm/prep
$45.00
$30.00
$24.70
Bulk set
10gm/prep
$165.00
Manure Concentrate
Preparations
Compost preparations for

1 wheelbarrow of manure 4gm of each prep
MC Preps with Eggshell

and Basalt Dust
Manure Concentrate kit

+ eggshell & basalt dust
$110.00
$75.00
$50.00
$50.00
$82.50
$55.00
$55.00
Ground Eggshell (for MC)
200gm
$6.75
$4.50
$4.50
Basalt Dust (for MC)
400gm
$7.50
$5.00
$5.00
$60.00
$60.00
10kg
Preparations & Products are packed and posted within 3 working days of receiving each order.
54
Biodynamic Preparations & Products List (continued)
OTHER PRODUCTS
Portion size
Compost Preparations in
Manure Concentrate Balls
1gm Small Set in 100gm balls
$97.50
$112.50
$80.00
$157.50
$105.00
1 portion each of Combined Soil

Preparation, Horn Silica 501, Summer
Horn Clay, Fresh Equisetum 508 and
1 small set of Compost Preparations
$75.00
As above with Hectare Portions of

Combined Soil Preparation, Horn Silica &
Summer Horn Clay, Fresh Equisetum 508
and 1 Large Set of Compost Preparations
$120.00
up to 1 acre
Instructions included
Home Garden Kit large

up to 1 hectare
Instructions included
Diatomaceous Earth
20kg bag
$65.00
Farmer
2gm Large Set in 100gm balls
4gm Manure Concentrate Set in 200gm balls
Home Garden Kit small
Non Member Home Garden
$65.00
$50.00
$80.00
$115.00
$115.00
$7.00
$7.00
1kg
LIQUID PRODUCTS
Biodynamic Fish Emulsion
Biodynamic Seaweed
Concentrate
Biodynamic Combined
Fish Seaweed Concentrate
Biodynamic Tree Paste
2.5 litres
$27.00
$18.00
$18.00
5 litres
$52.50
$35.00
$35.00
$120.00
20 litres
$180.00
$120.00
200 litres
$1350.00
$900.00
$900.00
1000 litres
$6000.00
$4000.00
$4000.00
2.5 litres
$34.50
$23.00
$23.00
5 litres
$58.80
$39.00
$39.00
20 litres
$202.50
$135.00
$135.00
200 litres
$1500.00
$1000.00
$1000.00
1000 litres
$4500.00
$6750.00
$4500.00
2.5 litres
$37.50
$25.00
$25.00
5 litres
$60.00
$40.00
$40.00
20 litres
$210.00
$140.00
$140.00
200 litres
$1650.00
$1100.00
$1100.00
1000 litres
$7500.00
$5000.00
$5000.00
10 litres
$75.00
$50.00
$50.00
20 litres
$120.00
$80.00
$80.00
Nozzles for 500
5kph / 8kph / 12kph / 15kph
$82.50
$55.00
$55.00
Nozzles for 501
Small / Large
$72.00
$48.00
$48.00
Filter Bag
450mm long
$55.50
$37.00
$37.00
880mm long
$84.00
$56.00
$56.00
per 1
$25.00
$25.00
$25.00
18mm diameter, 400 micron
Astro Calendar 2012
Postage, Packaging & Handling is charged as one value, which replaces the individual $3.85 packing
charge plus postage. Interstate orders are sent via ExpressPost unless otherwise arranged when ordering.
Liquid Products are sent via Post / Freight.
200lt and greater are sent at the most economic rate as arranged with customer.
Please arrange credit card payment at time of ordering.
55
www sites
We have a new range of websites for you in this edition and hope to bring you
new places to source interesting information in each edition.
If you have a website you think others should know about please drop the
News Leaf Editor a line at bdnewsleaf@biodynamics.net.au

http://www.aplasticfreeyear.blogspot.com
http://www.dirtgirlworldshop.com.au/
Ever considered giving up plastic?

Heres one persons journey.
To buy the new CD, T-shirts and a range of

other dirtgirlworld fun stuff.
http://wwwbiodynamics.com/
http://www.rsarchive.org/Books/
Our US counterparts.
The Steiner book.
http://www.rudolfsteineraudio.com/
writtenimagebased.html
Our own website. It has been transformed.

Please take the time to take a look.
Rudolf Steiner Audio Books.
http://www.biodynamics.com/
www.ofa.org.au
Our US counterparts.
Organic Federation of Australia website.

Directory of many Organic/BD farmers and
products/contacts.
http://www.biodynamic.org.uk
Our UK counterparts.
www.bfa.com.au
http://www.jpibiodynamics.org/
Josephine Porter Institute for applied
Bio-dynamics, Inc.
Biological Farmers of Australia. Australian

Certified Organic Standards.
www.nasaa.com.au
http://www.dirtgirlworld.com/
Did you enjoy our pages on dirtgirlworld?
Go and find out more here.
The National Association for Sustainable

Agriculture in Australia. NASAA certifies to
Biodynamic and Organic Standards.
Do you have some links youd like to share? Send them to

bdnewsleaf@biodynamics.net.au
MAIL ORDER BOOKS
Postage rates vary depending on destination so postage and packaging will be
invoiced at cost.
56
News Leaf is the Official Journal of

and published quarterly for each season.
Editor

Your Company, Your Board
Ray Unger, Chair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (02) 6869 7635 . . . . rayunger@bigpond.com
(02) 6655 0566

PO Box 54, Bellingen NSW 2454 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . bdnewsleaf@biodynamics.net.au
......................................................................................................................
Carolyn Ditchfield, Deputy Chair . . . . . . (02) 6721 5111 . . . . carolyn@fromthesoilup.com.au

Ted Clarke, Treasurer
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (02)
6649 2132 . . . . tedpeggy@bigpond.net.au
Hugh Lovel, Director
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (02)
6779 1136 . . . . hugh.lovel9@bigpond.com
Proof reading John Hodgkinson
Shane Joyce, Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (07) 4993 1880 . . . . sjoyce1@bordernet.com.au
Copy deadlines for News Leaf Autumn ~ 31st January 2012
John Priestley, Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (02) 4938 5116 . . . . jdcitrus@bigpond.net.au
Send copy/photographs to: bdnewsleaf@biodynamics.net.au in Windows format.
Wayne Rankine, Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0427 551 887. . . . . . . bbrolgapass@gmail.com
News Leaf Advertising Rates Increase effective Autumn 2011 issue
Louise Skidmore, Secretary
Size of Advertisement
Price per issue
Annual Price for 4 issues
(including GST)
(including GST)
Quarter Page
12cm(w) x 4cm(h)
$66.00
$224.00 ($56.00/issue)
Quarter Page
7.5cm(w) x 10.4cm(h)
$66.00
$224.00 ($56.00/issue)
Half Page
12cm(w) x 8.5cm(h)
$132.00
$450.00 ($112.50/issue)
Full Page
12cm(w) x 17cm(h)
$264.00
$898.00 ($224.50/issue)
Limited colour advertising space available at a 35% upload on black and white rates.
If design and set-up is required, or your ad does not meet size requirements, work will be
charged at $38.50 per hour (including GST) and added to your advertising invoice.
OFFICE

PO Box 54
Bellingen NSW 2454
ABN 42 588 901 426
Account Enquiries
Ph. (02) 6655 0566

Fax (02) 6655 0565
bdoffice@biodynamics.net.au
Leonie Milne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ph. (02) 6655 0566

bdaccounts@biodynamics.net.au
Preparations Co-ordinator
Alan Johnstone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ph. (02) 6655 0566

bdpreps@biodynamics.net.au
Preparation Orders Please phone, fax or email to office. Orders are posted Monday
to Thursday each week. See Biodynamic Preparations and Product List on page 54.
Typeset by Robin Ellis, Macman & Robin, Bellingen NSW Ph (02) 6655 2226 Email: robinellis@westnet.com.au
Printed by Mid Coast Printing, Bellingen NSW Ph (02) 6655 9414 Email: print@bellingen.com
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (07)
4697 3148 . . . . lskidmore@aapt.net.au
An accountable, transparent and consultative Board will ensure that it has

good policies and procedures in place so that all decisions are made fairly and
transparently. This will help remove any perceptions that Board processes are
carried out in undue secrecy or that things are being hidden
Using the website to publish information about your Company and the Board:
The minutes of each Board meeting are published here:
http://www.biodynamics.net.au/annualreports.htm
Board members Disclosure and Conflict of Interest declarations are on the website,
Financial Statements are available on the website,
Privacy compliant procedure to enable members to contact members.
Practical measures that the Board has put in place to ensure your Company
becomes more consultative with a diversity strategy to ensure that the views of
members are adequately represented on the Board:
Emails and letters circulated to Board members,
Phone numbers of Board available if members want personal contact,
Letters to the News Leaf Editor.
Maintaining a communications strategy to ensure that Board decisions are
explained and widely known:
Board Update in News Leaf,
Letter from the Chair.
Seeking input from members when key decisions are being contemplated or a
change in direction is being considered:
Inviting members to join committees to make recommendations to the Board,
AGM and National Conference.
News Leaf
See our new website
And when I live in senses heights,
There flames up deep within my soul
Out of spirits fiery worlds
The gods own word of truth:
In spirit sources seek expectantly
To find your spirit kinship,
Surrendering to senses revelation
I lost the drive of my own being,
And dreamlike thinking seemed
To daze and rob me of myself,
Yet quickening there draws near
In sense appearance cosmic thinking.
Rudolf Steiner
May You Live in

Interesting Times
Chromatography Explained
The Air Food Web
SUMMER 2011
ISSUE #89
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News Leaf

Biodynamic Agriculture Australia Ltd

May You Live in

rrp $11.00 inc gst

News Leaf is the Official Journal of

Biodynamic Agriculture Australia Ltd

(02) 6655 0566

Carolyn Ditchfield, Deputy Chair . . . . . . (02) 6721 5111 . . . . carolyn@fromthesoilup.com.au

6649 2132 . . . . tedpeggy@bigpond.net.au

Hugh Lovel, Director

6779 1136 . . . . hugh.lovel9@bigpond.com

Proof reading John Hodgkinson

Shane Joyce, Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (07) 4993 1880 . . . . sjoyce1@bordernet.com.au

Copy deadlines for News Leaf Autumn ~ 31st January 2012

John Priestley, Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (02) 4938 5116 . . . . jdcitrus@bigpond.net.au

Send copy/photographs to: bdnewsleaf@biodynamics.net.au in Windows format.

Wayne Rankine, Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0427 551 887. . . . . . . bbrolgapass@gmail.com

News Leaf Advertising Rates Increase effective Autumn 2011 issue

Louise Skidmore, Secretary

Price per issue

Annual Price for 4 issues

Biodynamic Agriculture Australia Ltd

Ph. (02) 6655 0566

Leonie Milne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ph. (02) 6655 0566

Alan Johnstone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ph. (02) 6655 0566

News Leaf #89 ~ Journal of Biodynamic Agriculture Australia Ltd

4697 3148 . . . . lskidmore@aapt.net.au

An accountable, transparent and consultative Board will ensure that it has

News Leaf #89 ~ Journal of Biodynamic Agriculture Australia Ltd

Agriculture Australia Ltd

and is published quarterly to coincide with each of the four seasons.

Biodynamic Agriculture Australia Ltd is a not-for-profit company limited by

Submission of articles for consideration, requests for permission to reprint,

Advertising Rates: See inside front cover for details.

News Leaf is printed on Forest Stewardship Council (FSC Australia), certified

While every effort is made to publish accurate information, Biodynamic Agriculture

Biodynamic Agriculture Australia Ltd ~ News Leaf #89

BAA 2012 National Conference

13 Why Paper Disc Chromatography?

21 The Air Food Web

36 Horn Silica BD 501

39 Sustainable Living Festival

Letter from the Chair

54 Preparations & Products List

BAAs stand at the Sustainable Living Festival.

The Biodynamic Agriculture Australia office will be

News Leaf #89 ~ Biodynamic Agriculture Australia Ltd

Letter from the Chair

Biodynamic Agriculture Australia Ltd ~ News Leaf #89

2012 National Conference

Hugh Williams biography

News Leaf #89 ~ Biodynamic Agriculture Australia Ltd

Hugh learnt about conventional management of orchards too and developed a

Biodynamic Agriculture Australia Ltd ~ News Leaf #89

May You Live In Interesting Times

News Leaf #89 ~ Biodynamic Agriculture Australia Ltd

He had as firm a grasp of a materialistic worldview as any. His unique abilities,

Biodynamic Agriculture Australia Ltd ~ News Leaf #89

Biodynamic Agriculture Australia Ltd (BAA)

BAA moves into Social Media There is no doubt about the

News Leaf #89 ~ Biodynamic Agriculture Australia Ltd

Advertisers News Leaf is a unique publication reaching a specialised group of