Plowing is one of nature’s mysteries. I plow to fluff up the soil in the springs, but plowing destroys soil structure. This irony is hard to explain but easy to experience. I’ll try to explain my experience. Over the winter the ground gets packed down. A cover crop of crimson clover and turnips, or rye…
April is the month of planting the spring garden. Onions go in first, and then potatoes. These are the two crops that the king’s deer don’t eat, so we don’t have to plant them inside the deer fence. All other vegetables and fruits can be destroyed if unprotected. Once the ground loses its winter chill,…
“Composted” chicken litter is not compost or a fertilizer. It is a toxic waste product from a horrible industrial process known as commercial chicken houses. The small and poisons create ill feelings with neighbors and it pollutes the land and water, besides the air. The only place it should be spread is on the heads…
The potatoes are tucked into the soft ground up on the Purcell Hill. We use potatoes to build better soil. This year we planted 1700 pounds of seed potatoes. The fields were well composted and turned last fall. The land was hard packed, it hadn’t been plowed in a generation or more. A typical ridge,…
Blueberries grow well in Tennessee. There is a big patch of Hwy 231 before the bridge over the Cumberland River, and one across from the winery in Macon County. We have a small patch for our own use, but just planted another row on the farm. A friend in Summertown invited me over to dig…
When we’re sick we need a little tender loving care. A warm cup of tea, getting tucked under the covers, and a good rest can help us pull through a detoxifying process. Healing occurs when we strengthen our immune system and balance the etheric (plant-like) and astral (animal-like) forces in our bodies. We’ll drink plenty…
Just as we wake and sleep in our daily rhythm, so does the earth in her annual cycle. A common conception is that the earth wakes in spring, is most alive in summer and then falls back asleep for a winter’s rest. In biodynamics, drawing a line at ground level, we take a different view….
Health in our workplace, a small farm, abounds with contradictions. Webster’s dictionary ambiguously defines health as physical and mental well-being. With its many meanings, ironies and interconnections, this influential concept pervades society as an elusive goal, from corporate misnomers such as “health care” to my own bewildering biodynamic impulses. A healthy animal or plant is…
Why does a farmer like to look at his cows? What is it about a pastoral scene that is so comforting? How did the domestication of animals affect the history of civilization? What role will livestock play in the farms of tomorrow? I always seem to wax philosophical as late autumn turns to early winter….