Our mission is to grow high quality organic produce, and help others do the same. Many problems inherent in modern agricultural production disappear by farming organically on a smaller scale. Locally grown food uses less energy, and provides more employment. Soils are better cared for, and the farmers and surrounding environment are safer. There is…
What is the difference between organic and biodynamic? Both are farming methods which contrast drastically with the chemical agriculture so common today. They both attempt to build up the soil’s humus content, and rely on biological activity for fertility and pest control. The use of toxic chemicals – whether insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, or fertilizers –…
We need farms for a variety of reasons, besides just a place to get our bread. The domestication of cattle and the dawn of agriculture gave birth to the rise of civilization and the growth of human culture. Much of the work was done by slave labor. As consciousness expanded, hired labor became the norm….
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….
Spinach and onions love cool weather. Every year in early spring I’m anxious to get them planted. Warm temperatures make the spinach bolt, and as it sends up its flower and seed stalk, it quits putting out leaves. Onions also don’t like it hot, so we can hardly get these two planted too early. But…
Variety is the spice of life, so how will we season our garden this year? I’ve been very happy with Romano and Blue Lake bush beans and believe I’ll try Improve Wax for a new yellow one. Shumway’s is the catalog I’m ordering from, along with Nichol’s and Johnny’s. Detroit Red is the standard beet…
Old habits are hard to break. Although, I no longer market to stores and don’t really need as much garlic as I’ve been growing, we still planted the same sized patch. Gotta keep those vampires at bay. It took me a long time to figure out where to put it. Last spring the garlic suffered…
Kittens have entered my world once again. I’ve managed to remain catless for a few years, but noting remains the same. I was plenty happy feeding mouse traps, and drinking my coffee on the porch alone. But them I had a bumper crop. Towards the middle of autumn we brought into the cabin close to…
Are the foods that we eat providing us with the proper living quality of forces? The greater part of what we eat daily is not there to be received as substance in the body, but to give the body the forces which the food contains. Matter is never without spirit, and spirit is never without…
Biodynamics has an organic farming method, born in 1924, which suggests that the use of artificial fertilizers will have a detrimental effect on our soils and eventually our human spiritual development. It appeals to me because it values old-time farming practices, such as using compost, cover crops and manure. By giving back to the earth…