God is so good! Earlier this week while working with some college students we got talking about when to plant various fruits and vegetables in the garden. As we worked I mentioned a song from my past that reminds me how everywhere we look, if we pay attention there are signs. We talked about “old wives tales”, folk lore, proverbs, and traditions that hale from every culture. Through time, science has proved the wisdom behind many such “traditions”.
Tonight during a “Soil Building” meeting the topic of planting traditions came up in conversation. We all know from experience that in some locals or years, planting peas on Valentine’s Day, or potatoes on St. Patrick’s Day, may become fruitful. In many scenarios this is not the case.
The farm I worked at for many years in Indiana used many sources of wisdom for everything from gardening, to animal husbandry, and more. Others were more versed in all of the sciences, terms, formulas, etc. What made sense to me is the truth that all life is energy. A web of life exists, if we can see the signs, all life is connected.
Biodynamics is complex and fascinating, in the ideal world or day on the farm, we utilized the practices very successfully. Other days or weeks we went with our present reality and the “window of opportunity” set before us. Below are references for those of you who like me enjoy learning, calendars, systems, guides, etc..
Today is the first day of Spring; happy planting!
BD Sowing & Planting Calendar– Maria Thun
Moon Time: The Art of Harmony with Nature and Lunar Cycles– Johanna Paungger
Living in NC I was able to get Biodynamic compost from Frog Holler Farm near Waynesville and I loved it. I also like to use the moon signs as a guide to gardening, but like you, interspersed with days of opportunity for getting things done. We have forsaken so much in the pursuit of ‘yield’ or ‘commodity prices.’ However, when we treat the Earth as a sentient being–a feeling, pulsing, living, breathing being–it’s difficult to understand why we would want to inject her with chemicals, poisons, blow her up, dig her up, trash her, when there are ways to acquire what we need that are not harmful or invasive, ways to grow food that rely on our understanding of the web of life and how we humans are only one part of it. I would enjoy a workshop on Biodynamic farming so if one is available in our region, I hope you’ll let us know.Thanks for this post.