Chamomile - The Plant's Physician

Chamomile

For over 2000 years, chamomile has been a garden herb favorite.  The famous Greek physician Dioscorides recommended it as a medicine for fever in 900BC.  It was one of nine sacred herbs for the Saxon's who used it widely as a sedative and calming medicine for the stomach (Brooke, 25). It was highly valued as a remedy for hysteria, insomnia, nightmares, convulsions, delirium, tremors of alcoholics, melancholy and a whole range of other nervous afflictions, especially of women (McIntyre, 153).

In the language of flowers, chamomile means patience in adversity (McIntyre,153).  It was known as the herb of humility because, as a lawn plant, the more it was trodden on, the faster it grew. Like a wise grandfather, it is able to calmly quell a tantrum recognizing that these fiery outburst usually stem from fear and anxiety.

Anne McIntyre describes,

The flower essence will soothe tension and anxiety and stop them from accumulating through the day to cause restlessness, insomnia and nightmares.  Chamomile will help one to stand back from the day-to-day things that irritate and annoy, and upset one's superficial equilibrium, and to find a place of calm and serenity where light, like the sun behind the clouds, is always shining .

Chamomile has a marvelous ability to relax smooth muscle throughout the body.  It is a famous remedy for soothing all kinds of digestive upsets, especially those related to stress and tension such as nervous indigestion, heartburn and acidity (McIntyre, 153-154). As it relaxes the nervous system, use chamomile for headaches, anxiety, insomnia, palpitations and general fearfulness.  Chamomile is a pain reliever and an excellent remedy for teething in babies.

Chamomile is a wonderful herb to use with children.  Think about Peter Rabbit's mother, who when Peter returns from his ordeal in Farmer McGregor's garden, wisely tucks him into bed with a warm cup of chamomile tea.  Chamomile is an excellent relaxant for babies and children.  It calms anxiety and nervousness.  It is well known for calming restless babies prone to colic, teething and sleeping problems, as well as overactive, irritable children (McIntyre, 28).  These results can even be achieved through a warm bath using chamomile infused water.

It has a long association with young maidens, used as a bath in Celtic initiation ceremonies and Beltane festivals.   It is very useful in relieving premenstrual stress (including headaches) and menstruation cramps.  Chamomile tea has been drunk throughout childbirth to relax tension and lessen the pain of contractions. It is also helpful to reduce menopausal symptoms.

As a natural antihistamine, chamomile is useful for hay fever.  It has an anti-allergic effect by reducing the body's response to allergens such as pollen and house dust.  Steam inhalations (putting hot water over the flowers in a large bowl and then covering the head and bowl with a towel or blanket and breathing in the infused steam) will help relieve hay fever, asthma, catarrh and sinusitis (McIntyre, 154). The anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties of chamomile help heal inflamed mucous membrane linings of the lungs and sinuses (Soule, 50).

In the garden, chamomile is like having little rays of sunlight mingling and poking through the perennial border.  It is a wonderful companion of cabbages, onions and mint and its unobtrusive nature makes it pleasant anywhere in the border.  It is also a micronutrient accumulator harnessing calcium, potassium and phosphorous (Woodrow, 35).

Chamomile posy

In Biodynamics, the chamomile preparation promotes a good breakdown of the proteins in the compost to humic plant nutrients, and prevents the protein breaking down to ammonia which would be lost to the atmosphere (Proctor,70).  It helps soil to retain nitrogen and calcium, keeping them in the living realm and preventing loss to the atmosphere.  Chamomile preparation strengthens the plant's regenerative life activity and reunites this with the physical (Biodynamic Resource Manual, 22).  This ability has led chamomile to be referred to as the "plant's physician" in folklore.  It has been said that if you have a failing plant, simply plant chamomile next to it and it will revive.

As a mother, a woman and a farmer, I love growingand nurturing plants that benefit humans, animals, plants and soil.  Chamomile is wonderful in its ability to comfort and aid all of the living things on our farm.  I delight in its mercurial quality of popping up in different places in the garden year after year and am always grateful to see it in the spring.

Linda Woodrow's Witch's Brew

To stop fungus diseases like powdery mildew use the following liquid brew.

-Gather stinging nettle, comfrey, causurina needles and/or chamomile. -The first three are high in silica, which is water-retardant and so creates leaf surface conditions unsuitable for fungi.  The chamomile is a mild fungicide. -Cover the herbs with water and let the mixture brew for just TWO days. -Dilute 1:10 and add to perennial seaweed brew. -Spray zucchini, squash, cucumber, pumpkin and anything else you think is susceptible.  The same mixtiure is a foliar fertilizer so there is no worries about over using. -This brew works well if you catch the infestation early and only if the brew is fresh - after no more then 48 hours' brewing.  After this it is still a great foliar fertilizer and compost additive but it does not work against fungus.

-An Astrological Herbal for Women by Elisabeth Brooke; Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs by Scott Cunningham; The Yoga of Herbs by Dr David Frawley and Vincent Lad; Herbal Healing for Women by Rosemary Gladstar; The Complete Floral Healer by Anne McIntyre; Grasp the Nettle by Peter Proctor with Gillian Cole; The Roots of Healing by Deb Soule; The Permaculture Home Garden by Linda Woodrow; Biodynamic Resource Manual by Biodynamic Agriculture Australia

Biodynamic Gardening Notes 9 - 15 November

The moon continues descending until the evening of Sunday the 13th – The earth is breathing in and drawing growth forces back down below the soil surface.  Activities that take advantage of the descending moon include making and spreading compost, transplanting seedlings and trees, taking and planting cuttings, cultivating soil and spraying horn manure preparation 500,  manure concentrate and horn clay (Biodynamic Resource Manual, 51-53). View our previous postfor more information about horn manure preparation 500. The moon starts ascending on Sunday night – the earth breaths out. We see this as growth activity above the soil surface.  Growth forces and saps flow upwards more strongly and increase plant vitality.  Although germination takes place below the ground, it also takes part in this upward striving.  This is the time to sow seeds, spray horn silica preparation 501, cultivate at the appropriate constellation before sowing, harvest on an air constellation plants for medicinal purposes, flowers and plants for preparation making and field crops such as silage and hay (Biodynamic Resource Manual, 51-53).

November is the last opportunity this spring to apply Biodynamic preparation 500.  It is best applied late in the day when some moisture has returned to the air and soil.  Depending on the evening, plan for an application on Tuesday 8 November, the night before the moon is in opposition to Saturn or with the synthesis of lunar contractions: descending, waning moon in an earth sign on Sunday 13th.  On both of these days, you can follow the 500 with an early morning application of 501 to balance the soil and the atmosphere.

The moon continues waxing reaching full moon on Friday 11th of the 11th of the 11th.

On Wednesday the 9th, the Moon and Saturn are in opposition to each other.  The Moon and Saturn in opposition cycle occurs every 27.5 days.  “The Moon forces bring in the calcium processes which are connected to propagation and growth.  The Saturn forces bring in the silica processes which connect form and structure.  The balancing effect of these two influences streaming into the earth produces very strong plants from seed sown at this time.  Tests have shown the 48 hours leading up to this event is optimal time that overrides even the ascending, descending and moon in constellations for best planting time” (Biodynamic Resource Manual, 54).

Maria Thun emphasized that cultivating and transplanting on the constellation in which the plant you are trying to encourage lies, emphasizes that plant’s qualities.  Based on her research, weed around or transplant your cabbages in a water sign, your broccoli in a flower sign,  your carrots and root crops in an earth sign and  your corn in a fire sign.

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday until 19:58, the moon is in a fire sign.  Warmth or fire signs are favourable for fruit plants.  These include all plants whose seed fruit we harvest: beans, peas, grains, cucumbers, squashes, lentils, corn, capsicums, rice, soya, tomatoes, zucchini, strawberries and fruit trees.

The moon then moves into an earth sign until Monday at 07:24. Earth signs are favourable for root plants.  These included all plants whose roots we harvest: carrots, parsnips, radishes, beetroot, celeriac, swedes, potatoes, onions and garlic.

On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday until 16:48, the moon is in an air sign. Air signs are favourable for flower plants.  These include all the plants, which are grown for their flowers, and where we want a long flowering time: garden flowers, medicinal and preparation flowers, bulbs and broccoli.

I continue to find it interesting as a farmer to take all of this information as a" lens" through which I can make observations of the natural world.  By using this" lens", I continue to tune my intuition and hone my observational skills.  As in all aspects of life, observing, doing and observing will build your personal experience through which you gain wisdom.  I like to believe that the wisdom I am gaining is not my unique wisdom but merely my tapping in to the life pool of age old wisdom.  So have a go...spray out some 500 and then some 501 and notice if you sense and observe any changes.  Watch the moon and notice if it begins to look bigger in the coming few weeks as it approaches perigee.  Measure your young vegetables now and then again in two weeks when the moon is ascending and then do it again when the moon is descending and see if there are any changes.  Have fun observing your garden and your part in it.

-Gardening Notes are compiled using Brian Keats Antipodean Astro Calendar; Maria Thun’s Gardening for Life; Biodynamic Agriculture Australia’s Biodynamic Resource Manual; Peter Cundall’s The Practical Australian Gardener; Louise Riotte’s Astrological Gardening; and the experiences and farm practices on Transition Farm

Links for more information

For more information about our Biodynamic Gardening Notes, visit our previous post About our Biodynamic Notes.

For more information about liquid brews for plant health, visit our Seasonal Notes page and click the tag "liquid brews" .

For more information about Biodynamics and to purchase biodynamic preparations visit Biodynamic Australia at http://www.biodynamics.net.au.

For more information about the Antipodean Astro Calendar, Biodynamic Planting and research and more visit Brian Keats’ website at http://astro-calendar.com/index.htm.

Flowering Tomatoes and Zucchini

I heard someone say that spring was a surprising time for vegetables.  We are thinking that we should have this surge in our choices, because everything is taking off and growing, and yet we are still eating silver beet, broccoli and cauliflower.  While I understood the sentiment, I did walk through the garden and think; we ARE getting new and delicious ad-ins to our palette.  They may not be the bold and dashing summer vegetables, but I love the spring choices.

Here, we are harvesting the staples of silver beet and kale and we still have pumpkins from last autumn, but also there are the artichokes; asparagus; the tops of the basil transplants; beet root; bok choy; broad beans (also known as fava beans); HUGE heads of broccoli and all of the glorious side shoots; cauliflower...cauliflower...cauliflower; celery; coriander (cilantro); lovely spring greens, herbs and lettuces for salads; nettles; red pak choy; parsley; PEAS; and spinach.

I have to admit as a mother of small children and a farmer, spring is not about being in the kitchen. Our "planting time" meals are all about fast cooking. Still, our spring menus (with all produce from the house garden) have included steamed asparagus; broccoli and cauliflower with a lemongrass, coconut cream sauce; steamed broad beans with melted butter and pepper; baked cauliflower casserole; pasta with broccoli and a lemon, basil (the pinched tops) sauce; beautiful spring greens and sprouted fenugreek topped with a light vinaigrette; sprouted mung bean, chive, garlic top, spring onions and broccoli stir fry; raw sugar snap peas (they may make it into a basket but never further then that); grilled marinated artichokes; steamed artichokes with butter; marinated artichokes with spinach; lamb and broad bean tangine; baked beet root; beetroot with parsley and feta salad; cilantro salsa; sesame fried kale; bok choy, broccoli, pea and spring onion stir fry.

Spring feels like an exciting time to cook and eat.  Different from winter and yet when we have a cold, wet day, I still have all I need to make a lovely stew to nourish our family.

And growing....The past two weeks have seen the greenhouse empty and the circles taking shape with rows of little seedlings. Started in the greenhouse or direct seeded into the fields, growing for the Summer Share are basil, green beans, broccoli,  cabbage, capsicum, carrot, cauliflower, celery, coriander, corn, eggplant, leeks, lettuce, muskmelon, onion, parsley, potato, pumpkin, radish, rocket, rosemary, silver beet, spinach, spring onion, tomatoes and cherry tomatoes, watermelon, and zucchini. Despite the strong winds we  had last week, everything is looking happy and healthy! The zucchini and tomatoes have started flowering.  With the help of the many bees about, soon they will set their "fruit".  For insight into our farming activities this week, please read our gardening notes.

Pete wrote last weeks post about putting "the face on the farmer" and he actually wrote..." Hmmm - This seems like the perfect spot to put a photo of Robin and I but it seems that one or the other is always holding the camera. The only photo I have found of us together is in our wedding gear, and I doubt that you want to see that."  We both decided to cut that from the post but the fact that there are no photos of either of us in that post or on the website has arisen in several emails-  So here we are...Pete (photographed by Robin) and Robin (photographed by Pete)!

We have had a few emails regarding the links in these updates.  The gardening notes and the companion planting posts are all on our website under the Seasonal Notes heading.  Recipes are under the Recipe heading.

If you are unable to use the embedded links, please copy the following

http://transitionfarm.com/index.php/seasonal-notes/

and paste it into your internet browser.

On the right of the Seasonal Notes page, there is link to previous posts sorted by month.  You can also click on any of the bold words under the heading "TAGS" and search for any posts on those topics.  Hope that helps!

Artichokes - Steamed

Remove the outer leaves of the artichoke until the colour of the base of the leaves is a lighter yellow/green colour.  This is easy to do by pulling the leaves towards the stem.

Organic artichokes may have earwigs in them.  Usually the earwigs are only in the outer leaves so they should come out with this cleaning.

Using a knife, pare back the artichoke stem being careful to not cut too much off.  The stem softens when cooked and taste delicious.

Cut the tips of the artichokes off.  They will almost instantly begin to brown so do this right before steaming. Place the clean  artichokes in a steamer basket with ½ a lemon and 2 bay leaves.

Steam until heart is tender when pierced with a tip of a paring knife, and inner leaves pull out easily, 25 to 35 minutes; add more water to pot, if necessary.

Melt butter and place this in small bowls with freshly cracked pepper.

Peel the leaves off the artichoke dipping them in the butter and then use your teeth to remove the soft flesh from the base of the leaf.  Discard the leaf.  Continue in this fashion slowly, unveiling the soft centre of the artichoke.  The closer you get to the centre, the more of the leaf you can eat.  If the “choke” has fiberous hairs, gently remove these with a spoon.  They come out easily.  Consume the whole remaining stem and heart.

Biodynamic Gardening Notes 2 November - 8 November

The moon continues descending - The earth is breathing in and drawing growth forces back down below the soil surface.  Activities that take advantage of the descending moon include making and spreading compost, transplanting seedlings and trees, taking and planting cuttings, cultivating soil and spraying horn manure preparation 500 with manure concentrate and horn clay. View our previous post for more information about preparation 500. November may be the last opportunity this spring to apply Biodynamic preparation 500.  It is best applied late in the day when some moisture has returned to the air and soil.  Depending on the season, December evenings can begin to be too hot for these applications.  Plan for an application when the moon is in opposition to Saturn on 9 November or with the synthesis of lunar contractions: descending, waning moon in an earth sign on Sunday 13th.  On both of these days, you can follow the 500 with an early morning application of 501 to balance the soil and the atmosphere.

Tuesday the 8th is the Apogee of the moon - The moon is at its furthest from the earth.  During Apogee there is always multiplicity of form, and it appears a good time to plant potatoes as these multiply.  Apogee times bring a stress period and seed sowing should be avoided 12 hours on either side of these times (except potatoes) (Biodynamic Resourse Manual, 53).

The moon continues waxing this week.  On Thursday the 3rd, the moon will be half way towards full.  Full moon is on Friday 11th.

On Wednesday the 9th, the Moon and Saturn are in opposition to each other.  The Moon and Saturn in opposition cycle occurs every 27.5 days.  “The Moon forces bring in the calcium processes which are connected to propagation and growth.  The Saturn forces bring in the silica processes which connect form and structure.  The balancing effect of these two influences streaming into the earth produces very strong plants from seed sown at this time.  Tests have shown the 48 hours leading up to this event is optimal time that overrides even the ascending, descending and moon in constellations for best planting time” (Biodynamic Resource Manual, 54).

Take advantage of this time planting any of the following on Monday the 7th.   Basil, French beans, beetroot, broccoli,  cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, Chinese greens, coriander, corn, cucumbers,  lettuce and salad greens, parsley, potatoes, radishes, rocket, silver beet,spinach, spring onions, sweades, turnips, winter squashes and pumpkins, and zucchini and summer squashes.

Maria Thun emphasized that cultivating and transplanting on the constellation in which the plant you are trying to encourage lies, emphasizes that plant’s qualities.  Based on her research, weed around or transplant your cabbages in a water sign, your broccoli in a flower sign,  your carrots and root crops in an earth sign and  your corn in a fire sign.

The moon is in an earth sign until Friday the 4th at 07:22. Earth signs are favourable for root plants.  These included all plants whose roots we harvest: carrots, parsnips, radishes, beetroot, celeriac, swedes, potatoes, onions and garlic.

It then moves into an air sign until Sunday at 18:47. Air signs are favourable for flower plants.  These include all the plants, which are grown for their flowers, and where we want a long flowering time: garden flowers, medicinal and preparation flowers, bulbs and broccoli.

On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday until 07:26, the moon is in a water sign. Water signs are favourable for leaf plants.  These include all the plants whose leaves we harvest: cabbages, cauliflower, parsley, coriander, lettuce, spinach, bok choy, silver beet, asparagus and fennel.

For more information about our Biodynamic Gardening Notes, visit our previous post About our Biodynamic Notes.

For more information about liquid brews for plant health, visit our Seasonal Notes page and click the tag "liquid brews" .

-Gardening Notes are compiled using Brian Keats Antipodean Astro Calendar; Maria Thun’s Gardening for Life; Biodynamic Agriculture Australia’s Biodynamic Resource Manual; Peter Cundall’s The Practical Australian Gardener; Louise Riotte’s Astrological Gardening; and the experiences and farm practices on Transition Farm

For more information about the Antipodean Astro Calendar, Biodynamic Planting and research and more visit Brian Keats’ website at http://astro-calendar.com/index.htm.

For more information about Biodynamics and to purchase biodynamic preparations visit Biodynamic Australia at http://www.biodynamics.net.au.

What is Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)?

We have been asked this question a lot. Fair enough – it is not a concept that has taken off in Australia the way it has elsewhere - but we believe this will change. In a nutshell CSA is a concept which encourages local, environmentally sustainable food production, and which supports both farmers and consumers alike. It is about trying to localize food.  When we localize food, we are not only building our own community, we are also ensuring our own health and food security.

“Putting the Farmers Face on Food” (“teikei”) as the concept was called where it originated in Japan – CSA is a response to the increasingly globalised food system, and the corresponding social, environmental and health problems which it poses.

CSA is a partnership of mutual commitment between a farm and a community of supporters that provides a direct economic and social link between the production and consumption of food.

The community is working together - in return for a membership fee to help cover the production costs of the farm, CSA members receive a weekly share of the highest quality organically-grown produce.

The aim of our first CSA Summer program is to provide members of our CSA program with six weeks of freshly grown produce from our farm. We are working to supply members with both a variety and quantity of vegetables to get them through a week of healthy, seasonal meals. All the produce will be grown here on our farm – this would be the main difference to the more widely available vegetable box schemes, where the issue of food miles and knowing where and how the food was grown is often not accounted for.

Our Seasonal Notes will document the food as it is being grown for the Summer program.

Why did we choose to run a CSA farm?

We bought a potato, carrot and raspberry farm in the mountains of Victoria shortly after we married.  It was a walk in/walk out contract on a commercial farm.  Instead of trying to do anything different, in our first year, we listened to what the farmer and other local commercial farmers did to produce the food they were growing.  It was a bad drought year in Victoria and potato prices were high but our potatoes were not yet ready for sale.  We were advised that we should spray a light application of Round Up to kill the tops and harden the skins of the potatoes.  The trick, we were told, was to time the spraying and the selling so that the spray was not detectable if our potatoes were to be tested.

There were many other times during that growing year when we questioned commercial farming practices.  But this for us was a real eye opener.  Here was a chemical input that the farmers knew was not good for human consumption, and yet if the price was right, they were suggesting we incorporate this into our farming practice.  What is the point of a governing body supposedly protecting the consumer? Where was the farmer’s conscience?  Why should Organic growers be the ones required to have certification?

A CSA is not only putting a “face on the farmer”, it is also putting a face on the consumer.  It is providing a high level of accountability through the consumer knowing the farmer, asking about how the food they are receiving is grown, and trusting that the answers are honest.  And for us as farmers, we know who is eating the food we are growing and therefore food quality is very important to us.

This is building community. Building and maintaining the communication within the community.  Building and maintaining mutual care and respect- respect for each other and respect for the earth in our community.

And then there is the food.  Our farming practices are all about maximizing the inherent energy in food.  Maintaining soil life and plant diversity so that there is a thriving ecosystem filled with life energy.  Working to maintain plant health instead of just treating plant diseases and infestations.  This results in food full of energy.  Some foods will maintain that energy for a while, others begin to loose it immediately.  Buying food direct from the farmer who has picked it fresh for you ensures that you are receiving all of the energy that food has to offer.  And that also translates as taste. Anyone who has eaten freshly picked sweet corn will understand the incredible difference in taste to corn bought from a supermarket.

We enjoy growing food and have done so together since we married.  But after having children, it went from being a hobby to a need.  Our family needed to have optimum health and food was a vital part of that.

And now we are expanding that to include other families.  We do not have a lot of acreage, but we would like to use the land we have to grow food in a sustainable manner.  The CSA concept enables us to put our time, energy and inputs into growing food that has already been sold in advance to CSA members – we do not have to grow a vast amount of food in the hope that the market will want it – we are using only the resources needed to supply our demand.  These resources include water and plant and animal matter for compost.

We would love to see many small acreage CSA’s throughout the Peninsula providing for their communities.  We believe that the participation of members and their children in a CSA farm will lead to many more people feeling empowered to grow food in their own backyards.

If our CSA program results in members buying less food from us because they are producing more of it themselves then we will be happy farmers!

This weeks companion planting article is Nettle - The Growth Stimulant of the Garden.

Gardening notes for this week have also been posted.  These gardening notes offer an insight into the biodynamic and sustainable farming practices that we are using.

Nettle - The Growth Stimulant of the Garden

Despite its cruel sting, there is always room in our mandala circles for nettle.  It self seeds and spreads rapidly, "invasively" I have heard some say.  But as I am so fond of this herb, not only as food for my family and a medicinal herb for acute ailments, but also as an incredible micronutrient accumulator and plant tonic for the whole garden, I have never minded its habit of being everywhere.

Nettle grows easily in temperate climates.  The stinging hairs of the fresh nettle contain formic acid and histamine, and have a long history of therapeutic use.  The Romans, when they entered cold and damp Britain, used to flog themselves warm to ward off the illnesses and infections rife in that weather.  In South America regular stinging has been used to stimulate the circulation, even in serious conditions such as gangrene.  Galen recommended the friction of the leaves against the skin to increase the circulation and stir up 'natural heat', to stimulate desire and cure impotence. The nettle's sting has given it a symbolic meaning of cruelty and spite (McIntyre, 229).

The tough fibers of the stalk are used in fabric making.  Remnants of nettle fabric have been found in burial shrouds that date back to the Bronze Age, and it is still used today to make cordage and fabric  (Gladstar, 250).

Nettle is a great example of Hippocrates' adage, "Make food your medicine and medicine your food".  Nettle is a gourmet green.  Lightly steamed, served with olive oil, lemon juice and a bit a feta, it makes a wonderful early spring addition to a meal.   Nettle can be substituted in any spanikopita recipe making a lovely, wild, tasty delight.  You can also pickle spring nettle tops by layering them in a mason jar and topping them with one part apple cider vinegar and one part olive oil.  You can add garlic cloves and cayenne peppers. Ensure that no nettles surface above the liquid.  Let the herbs marinade in the jar for several weeks or even months (Gladstar, 250,251).  We also add nettles to simple quinoa soups and our "green eggs", a light omelette with nettles, spinach, lemon thyme and chives. In fact, my children tease that the green in most dishes in spring is probably nettles.  The formic acid wilts when the leaves are steamed or cooked and will no longer sting.

Nettles are highly nutritious, rich in vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, and one of the highest sources of digestible iron in plant form.  They have been used throughout history as a nourishing tonic for anaemia, fatigue, edema, menstrual difficulties, allergies and hay fever.  They stimulate the liver and kidneys, cleaning the body of toxins and wastes.  Used as a tea or cooked into food in spring, they help restore vitality to the system.  Nettle enrichs the blood and nourishs the nervous system.  Being hot and dry, it helps the body to release excess mucous from the lungs and colon.  Made into an ointment, nettle helps to relieve irritating skin conditions such as eczema.

In ayruvedic medicine, the nettle has a cooling energy and a pungent effect (Frawley and Lad, 209).

Nettle leaves are safe for pregnant women and provide a nourishing, iron rich tonic which can be drunk throughout the pregnancy.  Mixed with red raspberry leaves, borage leaves, and fennel seed, nettle provides a nourishing postpartum tea for rebuilding strength and adding nutrients to breast milk (Soule, 57). Because of its high Vitamin K content, it helps control and prevent haemorrhaging (Gladstar, 251).

Nettle is a friend to women experiencing menopause.  Warm nettle and sage-leaf tea helps reduce night sweats, and nettles in combination with other herbs such as oat straw, red raspberry leaves, borage leaves and Siberian ginseng, support the body through this changing time by increasing low energy levels and helping to overcome fatigue (Soule, 57).

Nettle builds and empowers the fire element in a person.  It helps a person who is cold and angry to break through their self-pity and victimhood.  It is for evoking the will and contracting the warrior within (Brooke, 162).  Nettle helps people to express and thus release their anger and through its expression to relate to others more openly (McIntyre, 229).

In the garden, nettle is an incredible micronutrient accumulator.  It accumulates sodium, sulphur, nitrogen, calcium, potassium, iron, manganese, chromium, zinc, magnesium, boron and copper, even in soil that is deficient.  This makes nettle a valuable addition to the compost pile and an excellent plant and soil tonic.  While we have nettle growing throughout the garden, and this does sometimes result in children and adults being inadvertently stung, it would also be well placed next to a compost pile where it could be easily harvested for the benefit of the pile.  This in turn spreads the micronutrients to the whole garden.

In Biodynamics, nettle is one of the compost preparations.  According to Dr Rudolf Steiner, the nettle is a plant with healing qualities for both humans and plants.  Stinging nettle conveys intelligence to the soil; helps proper decomposition, aids chlorophyll formation and stimulates iron, potassium, calcium, magnesium and sulpher activity in the soil (Biodynamic Resource Manual, 22).

If there were ever an herb most people would like to keep from their garden, nettle would be high on the list.  But in our garden, I treat it with the same level of care and respect that I have for all of our vegetables and herbs.  It is welcome in the nutrient rich beds because I value the health it brings to the garden and us.

Antidote for the Sting (formic acid) Bruise plantain or yellow dock leaves by chewing them slightly.  Place the poultice onto the affected area.

NETTLE BREWS

Stinging Nettle 24-hour extract Take 1 kg of fresh stinging nettle without root (it should not have gone to seed) placed in a suitable container. Pour over 10 litres of cold or luke-warm water. Leave it to stand for 24 hours. Sieve the juice and use as a spray for larvae or caterpillars, twice within a period of a few days.

Stinging Nettle Manure as a growth stimulant Use same proportions of nettle and water as for 24-hour extract. Leave it to stand until the leaves decompose. May take between three days and some weeks depending on the temperature. Dilute at a rate of 1: 10.  Spray twice within the period of a few days. This manure has a potent effect on growth and is sprayed on the soil either towards evening or in the early morning and watered well a few hours later.  The sap begins to flow more vigorously causing aphids and fungal attack to disappear.

As a general tonic for plant growth Dilute at the rate of 1 litre: 40 litres for water crops (eg. tomato, cucumber, spinach and cabbage). Dilute at the rate of 1 litre: 20 litres and stir for 15 minutes before spraying out through fine jets on to growing plants.

Deb Soule of Avena Botanicals has wonderful  nettle recipes for women -  from those just entering menses to those moving through menupause in her book The Roots of Healing (Published by Carol Publishing Group).

-Biodynamic Resource Manual by Biodynamic Agriculture Australia, An Astrological Herbal for Women by Elisabeth Brooke, Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs by Scott Cunningham, The Yoga of Herbs by Dr David Frawley and Vincent Lad, Herbal Healing for Women by Rosemary Gladstar, The Complete Floral Healer by Anne McIntyre, Grasp the Nettle by Peter Proctor and Gillian Cole, The Roots of Healing by Deb Soule, The Permaculture Home Garden by Linda Woodrow

Biodynamic Gardening Notes 26 October - 1 November

The moon is ascending this week until Sunday 30 October - the earth breaths out. We see this as growth activity above the soil surface.  Growth forces and saps flow upwards more strongly and increase plant vitality.  Although germination takes place below the ground, it also takes part in this upward striving.  This is the time to sow seeds, spray horn silica preparation 501, cultivate at the appropriate constellation before sowing, harvest on an air constellation plants for medicinal purposes, flowers and plants for preparation making and field crops such as silage and hay (Biodynamic Resource Manual, 51-53). On Sunday the moon begins descending.  Activities that take advantage of the descending moon include making and spreading compost, transplanting seedlings and trees, taking and planting cuttings, cultivating soil and spraying horn manure preparation 500 with manure concentrate and horn clay. View our previous post for more information about preparation 500.

November may be the last opportunity this spring to apply Biodynamic preparation 500.  It is best applied late in the day when some moisture has returned to the air and soil.  Depending on the season, December evenings can begin to be too hot for these applications.  Plan for an application when the moon is in opposition to Saturn on 9 November or with the synthesis of lunar contractions: descending, waning moon in an earth sign on Sunday 13th.  On both of these days, you can follow the 500 with an early morning application of 501 to balance the soil and the atmosphere.

The moon continues waning until the new moon on Thursday 27th, which is also the Perigee of the moon (when the moon is closest to the earth).  Watch for increase moisture, start of mildews and fungal infestations.  This moon is another "Supermoon" with wild weather worldwide predicted (Keats, 26).  The man who coined the phrase "supermoon" has his own website discussing what it is and means.  Please visit Richard Nolle for more information.

A tea made with fresh Casuarina (She-Oak) needles is useful to tighten the fluids in the plant, balance the water in the plant and prevent fungal infestation such as mildews, rusts and moulds.  For small areas you use 500 g fresh Casuarina needles.  Place the needles into a stainless steel saucepan and cover with water.  Bring to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes.  Use at a rate of 1 litre of tea to 40 litres water aiming at 1 litre of tea per hectare.

We also use a seaweed brew to help our plants reach optimum health which in itself can increase their resistance to pests and diseases.  Seaweed contains 14 Amino acids and over 60 trace elements and minerals.  You can make your own seaweed brew by taking bull kelp, chopping it up and half filling a 200 litre  food grade drum.  Fill with water.  You can also add Biodynamic compost preparations (available through Biodynamic Australia) or some of the micronutrient accumulating herbs to this brew (Search Companion Planting under Seasonal Notes).  Let it sit for at least a month, stirring occasionally.  When the brew stops bubbling, it is ready for use.  You can use bucketfuls of the tea to moist down the compost pile or use it diluted 1 :10 as a fortnightly plant tonic (like humans use vitamin and mineral supplements).  You can top up the water in the main brew and use it for 12 compost piles (Woodrow, 75).

Maria Thun offered that each activity we do for a plant such as seeding, transplanting and cultivating, when performed on the corresponding moon, further emphasize that quality in the plant.  For example, when we transplant cabbage seedlings during a descending moon in a leaf sign, we are taking advantage not only of the descending moon pulling the forces of that plant down and into the roots to minimize transplant shock, we are also emphasizing the leafy quality of the cabbage.  Sow seeds that produce above the ground during the waxing moon until the full moon on 11 November.  Sow seed that produce below the ground during the waning moon (time from full moon to new moon).

On Wednesday 26th until 17:08, the moon is in an earth sign.  Earth signs are favourable for root plants.  These included all plants whose roots we harvest: carrots, parsnips, radishes, beetroot, celeriac, swedes, potatoes, onions and garlic.  As the perigee is the following day, the chance for increased moisture is good for helping parsnip and carrot seeds to germinate.

The moon then moves into an air sign until Friday at 16:34. Air signs are favourable for flower plants.  These include all the plants, which are grown for their flowers, and where we want a long flowering time: garden flowers, medicinal and preparation flowers, bulbs and broccoli.

For the rest of Friday, Saturday and Sunday until 17:57, the moon is in a water sign. Water signs are favourable for leaf plants.  These include all the plants whose leaves we harvest: cabbages, cauliflower, parsley, coriander, lettuce, spinach, bok choy, silver beet, asparagus and fennel.

Sunday evening, Monday and Tuesday, the moon is in a fire sign.  Warmth or fire signs are favourable for fruit plants.  These include all plants whose seed fruit we harvest: beans, peas, grains, cucumbers, squashes, lentils, corn, capsicums, rice, soya, tomatoes, zucchini, strawberries and fruit trees.

This is a wonderful time in the garden.   Planting now ensures a summer filled with beautiful, home grown produce.  Crops that can continue to be directly sown during this month are French beans, beetroot, carrots, coriander, corn, cucumbers, peas (if it stays cool), potatoes, radishes, rocket, spinach, spring onions, sweades, turnips, winter squashes and pumpkins. Crops that can be transplanted are asparagus, basil, broccoli, cabbage, capsicum, cauliflower, celery, Chinese greens, eggplant,  flowers, leeks, lettuce and salad greens, parsley, silver beet, tomatoes and zucchini and summer squashes.

The white cabbage moths may again return this month.  If you see alot of the white "butterflies" flittering about in the garden during the day, watch your young brassicas (broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage) for signs of eggs and then the green larvae caterpillars. Manual removal works really well to protect young plants. Chickens will happily eat the caterpillars.  There is recipe for nettle brew which can help control caterpillars on our gardening notes post.  Peter Cundall offers another simple, safe and cheap method of control.

Spray the attacked plants with weak salty water.  It is easy to test whether the mix is strong enough because it can be tested on living caterpillars, starting with a dilution of two tablespoons of salt to a bucketful of water.  Spray directly on to the pests, and if the correct strength has been mixed, they will roll off and eventually die on the ground.  (The Practical Australian Gardener,64)

Germinating seeds and newly transplanted starts will need extra moisture to help their roots to establish.  Take advantage of earth and water days for irrigating.

For more information about our Biodynamic Gardening Notes, visit our previous post About our Biodynamic Notes.

-Gardening Notes are compiled using Brian Keats Antipodean Astro Calendar; Maria Thun's Gardening for Life; Biodynamic Agriculture Australia's Biodynamic Resource Manual; Peter Cundall's The Practical Australian Gardener; Louise Riotte's Astrological Gardening; and the experiences and farm practices on Transition Farm

For more information about the Antipodean Astro Calendar, Biodynamic Planting and research and more visit Brian Keats' website at http://astro-calendar.com/index.htm.

For more information about Biodynamics and to purchase biodynamic preparations visit Biodynamic Australia at http://www.biodynamics.net.au.

Herbs and Perennials in the Mandala

House Mandala Oct 2011

This week saw the planting of several more mandala "borders".  This area is a two metre wide circle which encloses the six inner mandala circles.  The border consists of fruit trees, perennial vegetables and flowers and a wide variety of  herbs.

Our eleven mandalas are based on the concepts outlined in Linda Woodrow's book The Permaculture Home Garden.  In her introduction she states,

The trick to doing less is doing more of what we humans do best: use our intelligence to see patterns, create designs, invent things - activities that come so naturally they feel like play.  The other side of the coin is to do less of what we do worst.  Humans make hard work of digging, but for worms it is fun.

In planting out the herbs and perennials around the mandalas, I reflected on our house garden, which after three years is a great example of an established border.

artchokes, foxglove, borage, garlic chives, pear tree

The perennial food plants planted in the border include artichokes, asparagus,  fruit trees, strawberries and edible flowers.  These are all producing in abundance now.  In addition to autumn feeds of compost, their roots would be stretching out into the annual vegetable beds receiving the benefits of chickens and cover crops such as legumes which harness nitrogen.

The herbs act as companion plants to the fruit trees and the vegetables. They attract and provide food for predatory insects and insect pollinators. They are a natural apothecary and a culinary pantry within a few steps of the kitchen.  Their flowers are both edible and decorative.

Many of the herbs are also micronutrient accumulators.  These are elements that are essential for proper plant nutrition but that are only needed in minute amounts.  Some herbs accumulate very large amounts of micronutrients, even in soil that is deficient.  Using these herbs in mulch and compost spreads the micronutrients around the garden, making them available to vegetables that may not be quite so proficient at mining them for themselves.

The herbs and perennials have matured since their original planting. In many areas they completely cover the earth.  This is beneficial as it does not offer weed seeds the opportunity to sprout or creep in and it provides a living mulch in summer keeping the roots of the  fruit trees cool.

House mandala border

Herbs can be trimmed and given to the chickens who can self medicate themselves if they are deficient in a nutrient (much like humans use vitamins and supplements) or just scratch them back into the earth adding trace minerals to the soil.  Several of the herbs are compost activators. Alternatively, the herbs can be added to a seaweed brew, making a nutrient rich tea that can be used a s a plant tonic or for wetting down the compost.

snapdragons, poppies, thyme, sage, fennel, rue, apple tree

The mandala border acts as a protective barrier for the inner circles.  It prevents weed, grass and pest invasions from the edges.  Again, with the house mandala which began in Feb 2008, one would not know that there are vegetables growing unless they stood on the roof or walked through the pathway entrance to the garden.  The herbs and natives have formed a natural "wall", offering wind protection to the tender vegetables as they are growing.  They also provide predatory birds a vantage point and predatory lizards and frogs habitat.

The circle design of a garden was not new to me as a gardener, nor was planting herbs, flowers and vegetables together.  What I have found  brilliant about the mandala design though is heavy feeding vegetable beds are kept in rotation without ever interfering with the perennial border.  The perennial border is being fed by the vegetable beds while providing all of the other benefits indicated above. The two independent systems work cohesively together creating a very healthy garden ecosystem.

In its first two years, the border did require energy.  We seeded most of the herbs and helped the little plants to get established.  There were more weeds the first two years  as there was still bare earth.    I am continually amazed at the quiet job the herbs are doing at improving our soil.  Our chickens are incredibly healthy. Our time spent combating difficult fungus and pest problems on both the vegetables and the fruit trees has also reduced. Once established, the human effort in maintaining this system is surprisingly minimal.

Baxter

This week, our friend Baxter of Palate Earth  joined in to help plant three more mandala borders.  It was great to have the help and also nice to share the beneficial aspects that the herbs are providing to the mandala.  Thank you Baxter.

Link here for more photos of establishing the mandalas.

-For more in depth information about the mandala system, the use of perennial and herb borders, making seaweed brew, having chooks in the garden, and many more topics, we highly recommend The Permaculture Home Garden by Linda Woodrow Published in 1996 by Penguin Books

Biodynamic Gardening Notes 19 - 25 October

The moon continues ascending this week - the earth breaths out. We see this as growth activity above the soil surface.  Growth forces and saps flow upwards more strongly and increase plant vitality.  Although germination takes place below the ground, it also takes part in this upward striving.  This is the time to spray horn silica preparation 501, cultivate at the appropriate constellation before sowing, harvest on an air constellation plants for medicinal purposes, flowers and plants for preparation making and field crops such as silage and hay (Biodynamic Resource Manual, 51-53). The moon is waning this week, with the new moon on Thursday 27th.  Try to plant those seeds that produce below the ground in an earth constellation sign during the third quarter which ends on Thursday 20th. The third quarter is also good for planting perennials, trees and shrubs.  The fourth quarter of the moon is favourable for cultivation, pulling weeds and destroying pests. Especially when the moon is in a fire sign (Riotte, 14).  Maria Thun emphasized that culivating on the constellation in which the plant you are trying to encourage lies, emphasizes that plant's qualities.  Based on her research, weed around your cabbages in a water sign, around your broccoli in a flower sign, around your carrots and root crops in an earth sign and around your corn in a fire sign.

The moon is in an air sign on Wednesday and Thursday until10:45. Air signs are favourable for flower plants.  These include all the plants, which are grown for their flowers, and where we want a long flowering time: garden flowers, medicinal and preparation flowers, bulbs and broccoli.

On Thursday, Friday and Saturday until 16:00, the moon is in a water sign. Water signs are favourable for leaf plants.  These include all the plants whose leaves we harvest: cabbages, cauliflower, parsley, coriander, lettuce, spinach, bok choy, silver beet, asparagus and fennel.

On Saturday at 16:00, it moves into a fire sign.  Warmth or fire signs are favourable for fruit plants.  These include all plants whose seed fruit we harvest: beans, peas, grains, cucumbers, squashes, lentils, corn, capsicums, rice, soya, tomatoes, zucchini, strawberries and fruit trees.

On Monday at 17:39, it moves into an earth sign until Wednesday 26th at 17:08. Earth signs are favourable for root plants.  These included all plants whose roots we harvest: carrots, parsnips, radishes, beetroot, celeriac, swedes, potatoes, onions and garlic.

The new moon coming on Thursday 27th is also the Perigee of the moon, when the moon is closest to the earth.  Watch for increase moisture, start of mildews and fungal infestations.  This moon is another "Supermoon" with wild weather worldwide (Keats, 26).  The man who coined the phrase "supermoon" has his own website discussing what it is and means.  Please visit Richard Nolle for more information.

For more information about our Biodynamic Notes, visit About our Biodynamic Notes

-Gardening Notes are compiled using Brian Keats Antipodean Astro Calendar; Maria Thun's Gardening for Life; Biodynamic Agriculture Australia's Biodynamic Resource Manual; Peter Cundall's The Practical Australian Gardener; Louise Riotte's Astrological Gardening; and the experiences and farm practices on Transition Farm

For more information about the Antipodean Astro Calendar, Biodynamic Planting and research and more visit Brian Keats' website at http://astro-calendar.com/index.htm

For more information about Biodynamics and to purchase biodynamic preparations visit Biodynamic Australia at http://www.biodynamics.net.au/

Corn popping through!

We continue to enjoy the bounties of spring, with the beginnings of the broad bean crop, asparagus, artichokes, beet root, a lovely variety of broccoli that is sweet both raw in a salad and cooked, white and green cauliflower, red and green cabbage, fennel, spring greens, lettuce, rocket,  spinach and rhubarb .  The peas are in flower.  And there are plenty of herbs and edible flowers which help to make flavoursome dishes and colourful salads.  There is also the spring surge of fresh eggs from the chickens.

Seasonal menu items from our kitchen have included a huge variety of spring salads with tender greens, spinach, rocket, herbs and edible flowers;  asparagus, lemon thyme and chive tart (and any other tart to try and use up the eggs); spinach, nettle, thyme, parsley and garlic chive omelette; steamed broad beans with butter, pepper and salt; buttermilk curry with cauliflower (a delicious companion to home-grown, grilled, marinated leg of lamb); steamed artichokes with a tarragon dipping sauce or melted butter with fresh ground pepper; fresh whiting with asparagus and a lemon, chervil sauce; coriander pesto; beet root, slivered almonds  and Main Ridge Dairy goats milk feta salad; and rhubarb cake.

Meanwhile the spring planting continued this week.  The summer share seedlings of cabbage, cauliflower, cucumbers, and melons have started to germinate in the greenhouse.  The broccoli which germinated last week has its first true leaves.  In the field, our first crops of beans and corn have germinated as have the carrots.  They look so tiny in the photos...and yet filled with so much potential!  They are all enjoying the rain that we have been having.  The tomatoes, capsicum, basil and eggplant will be transplanted in the next few days.  And today we planted potatoes and parsnips.  Although we have planted lettuce and other greens, radishes, spinach, summer squash and zucchini  for the house garden, it will be another few weeks before we do another seeding for the summer share boxes.

Carrots and onions

As we  set a specific date for our summer trial, we continue to try our best to plan our planting so as to ensure crops will be ready by 20 January.  While we have used previous season notes to help with timing, at this stage, many of the crops are now in the hands of the season.  If it is a cold and wet spring, some crops may be later to ripen.  If it is a hot spring, they might be early.  We have programmed consecutive plantings into our schedule.  Even still, as we start to plant into the field, the control we as farmers have shifts to working with what nature brings.

The planting continues in the coming week.  As crops germinate, so do the weeds.  So we will be out weeding,  thinning, planting and possibly watering (depending on the weather).

This weeks companion planting article is  Herbs and Perennials in the Mandala.  The mandala borders are looking beautiful with the artichokes, apple tree blossoms and sage and foxglove blooms.

Gardening notes for this week have also been posted.  These gardening notes offer an insight into the biodynamic and sustainable farming practices that we are using.

Planting, Planting, Planting

I worked on a small vegetable farm in Vermont, USA after I graduated from college.  At the time that I started, they were in their 6th year of providing locally grown, seasonal produce.  The  conversation around the lunch table on Crossroad Farm was all about how to grow a huge variety of  produce to provide to the local community.  Starting this CSA, I am reminded of those conversations daily.   Pete and I are lucky to have people to talk with who have done this before.  We are not re-inventing the wheel but applying tried and tested farming practices to different soil and climate conditions and noting what happens. One of the things that I learned on Crossroad Farm was that locally produced vegetables can and should be varied.  Take salads, for example.  Besides the cooked staples that we have in spring like artichokes,  asparagus, bok choy, broad beans, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, peas, and silverbeet,  a spring staple are greens.  Lettuce and other greens love the coolness of this season and our bodies love the gentle spring cleanse they provide.  In our garden we have several lettuce varieties, spinach, rocket, mizuna, chicory and a huge variety of herbs like borage, calendula,  chives,  corriander, fennel, parsley, thyme and sorrel.   These provide for colorful, varied salads that need only a simple vingerette to preserve the delicate flavors.  It is this kind of variety that we are trying to bring to Transition Farm and our CSA share boxes.

Lettuce “Goldrush”Lettuce "Salad Bowl Red"

Chicory / Radicchio "Red Treviso" (heirloom)

This summer trial is about planting a range of varieties to see not only which ones produce well in our area and during different seasons but also which ones our members like.  We are hoping that all of the summer share members will embrace the conversation of being a part of the food that we are growing and that your families are enjoying.

These are planting weeks here on the Peninsula.  The frost hardy plants like brassicas, onions, leeks, spinach, rocket, radishes, silver beet, coriander, parsley, and lettuces have been and continue to be planted in the field.  The soil is warming up to 20 degrees here allowing carrots, corn and beans to germinate.  We have been talking with other growers in the area and reading information in the Biodynamic Australia Newsletter.  All of us agree that this month is set to be filled with moisture.  With a high chance for cloud cover, comes the added benefit of spring frosts not being able to settle on those tender plants like basil, capsicum, cucumbers, tomatoes, pumpkins and zucchini.

Everything is moving out of the greenhouse, getting hardened off (the process of slowly acclimating plants to "unprotected" weather like rain, cold nights and drying winds) and being planted.

The broccoli and cauliflower seeded last week for summer harvest have popped up.  We are trialling several broccoli varieties as well as a few colored cauliflowers.  We are also trialling a variety of summer melons for the summer share boxes which were seeded this week.  The mandala planting continues with beets, beans, corn, leeks, quinoa and spinach.

We are posting garden notes each week before Wednesday.  Last weeks can be viewed at Gardening Notes 5 -11 October. This weeks can be viewed at Gardening Notes 12 - 19 October.

We are also posting our herb of the week, companion planting article each Friday of the week.  Read about this weeks Herb of the Week.

Please use this link to post any comments.

Biodynamic Gardening Notes 12 - 19 October

Wednesday, 12th is the full moon, the apogee of the moon (when the moon is the furthest from the earth) at 12:06 and Moon and Saturn in opposition to each other.  The Moon and Saturn in opposition cycle occurs every 27.5 days.  "The Moon forces bring in the calcium processes which are connected to propagation and growth.  The Saturn forces bring in the silica processes which connect form and structure.  The balancing effect of these two influences streaming into the earth produces very strong plants from seed sown at this time.  Tests have shown the 48 hours leading up to this event is optimal time that overrides even the ascending, descending and moon in constellations for best planting time." (Biodynamic Resource Manual, 54) During Apogee  there is always multiplicity of form, and it appears to be a good time to plant potatoes as these multiply. Seed sowing should be avoided 12 hours either side of the apogee as it does bring a stress period (Biodynamic Resource Manual, 53).

With the full moon on Wedensday, the moon enters its third quarter and waning time.  It is still descending until Monday 17th.  Activities that take advantage of the descending moon include making and spreading compost, transplanting seedlings and trees, taking and planting cuttings, cultivating soil and spraying horn manure preparation 500 with manure concentrate and horn clay. View our previous post for more information about preparation 500.

Maria Thun offered that each activity we do for a plant such as seeding, transplanting and cultivating, when performed on the corresponding moon, further emphasize that quality in the plant.  For example, when we transplant cabbage seedlings during a descending moon in a leaf sign, we are taking advantage not only of the descending moon pulling the forces of that plant down and into the roots to minimize transplant shock, we are also emphasizing the leafy quality of the cabbage.

On Monday, the moon begins to ascend - the earth breaths out.  The ascending moon is favourable for seed sowing and application of horn silica prepartion 501. 501 increases photosynthesis, protects against fungal disease and balances atmosphere for insect attack.  With the increase in moisture predicted for this October, application of 501 may help all plants and especially those prone to fungal diseases such as fruit trees and tomatoes.  501 is best applied when Moon is in opposition to Saturn, Wednesday 12th.  Apply at sun rise as a fine mist after stirring for one hour using the vortex stirring process.

On Wednesday 12, the moon is in a a water sign. Water signs are favourable for leaf plants.  These include all the plants whose leaves we harvest: cabbages, cauliflower, parsley, coriander, lettuce, spinach, bok choy, silver beet, asparagus and fennel.

On Thursday, Friday and Saturday until 13:59, it is in a fire sign.  Warmth or fire signs are favourable for fruit plants.  These include all plants whose seed fruit we harvest: beans, peas, grains, cucumbers, squashes, lentils, corn, capsicums, rice, soya, tomatoes, zucchini, strawberries and fruit trees.

It then moves into an earth sign until Tueday 18th at 01:42. Earth signs are favourable for root plants.  These included all plants whose roots we harvest: carrots, parsnips, radishes, beetroot, celeriac, swedes, potatoes, onions and garlic.

For the rest of Tuesday and Wednesday it is in an air sign.  Air signs are favourable for flower plants.  These include all the plants which are grown for their flowers, and where we want a long flowering time: garden flowers, medicinal and preparation flowers, bulbs and broccoli.

Crops that can be sown during this month are globe artichokes, asparagus, beet root, carrots, coriander, cucumbers, parsnips, peas, potatoes, radishes, rocket, spinach, spring onions, sweades, turnips, winter squashes and pumpkins. Crops that can be transplanted are basil (with protection), broccoli, cabbage, capsicum (with protection), cauliflower, celery, Chinese greens, corn, eggplant (with protection),  flowers, leeks, lettuce and salad greens, onions, parsley, silver beet, tomatoes (with protection) and zucchini and summer squashes.

For more information about our Biodynamic Notes, visit About our Biodynamic Notes

-Gardening Notes are compiled using Brian Keats Antipodean Astro Calendar; Maria Thun's Gardening for Life;  Biodynamic Agriculture Australia's Biodynamic Resource Manual; Peter Cundall's The Practical Australian Gardener; and the experiences and farm practices on Transition Farm

For more information about the Antipodean Astro Calendar, Biodynamic Planting and research and more visit Brian Keats' website at http://astro-calendar.com/index.htm

For more information about Biodynamics and to purchase biodynamic preparations visit Biodynamic Australia at http://www.biodynamics.net.au/

Thyme - The Eagle of the Herbs

Each week, I walk through our garden and notice which herb calls my attention.  You may have noticed that our garden is a "messy" garden - food spills into flowers surounded by fruit trees and at their feet herbs.  It is a cacaphony of fragrance, colour, shape, structure, vibration which feeds the body and the soul.  This is the classic permaculture design, based on the premise of confusion to predators and drawing on the attributes of companion planting, soil building and fodder for the beneficial insects and animals.  As I witnessed the first of the thyme blossoms to open, and saw the bees flock to them, this week, thyme kept calling me.

In our vegetable mandalas, thyme is planted throughout the outer circle. It is drought resistant and does not require pampering.  We grow various varieties and they all spread to form a mat, which keeps other weeds at bay and covers the ground, providing a natural ground cover that cools the soil in summer - another wonderful reason to plant it on the edges of the garden and let it grow.

I have not found any plant or tree that is adversely affected by thyme, and so it is throughout our garden, especially under fruit trees.  Bees love thyme.  Greek thyme honey is prized all over the world for its wonderful flavour (McIntyre, 214).  In this regard, thyme is highly valuable as a garden companion.  It blooms in spring, about the time of the fruit trees that require the bees for cross-pollination.

In the vegetable garden too, without bees, we would be hand pollinating zucchini, pumpkins, potatoes, eggplant and melons, to name just a few of the vegetables that require pollination.  All through the year, bees are an important member of the garden and should be encouraged to come and linger.

Thyme is also said to help repel cabbage moth when planted near cabbages.  I wish I could offer personal results of this claim but alas, it has not dramatically reduced the moths from landing on the cabbage in our garden.

Thyme (thymus vulgaris) comes from the Greek thumus, meaning ‘courage’ and  'to fumigate'.  Because of the plant's strengthening and energizing properties, thyme was a symbol of action, bravery and courage.  In the age of chivalry, women embroidered a bee hovering over a sprig of thyme on articles to give to their knights. The Greeks burned it on their altars when making sacrifices to the gods, and it was made into incense to drive away infections and insects.  The Egyptians used thyme for embalming.

The Romans slept on thyme to cure melancholy while in other traditions thyme has been used to quell nightmares and ensure a pleasant night sleep (Cunningham, 210), as well as convulsions, vertigo and ringing in the ears.  Made into soup it cures shyness. Thyme's aroma was inhaled to strengthen the brain and increase longevity (McIntyre, 214).

Thyme is an herb of Venus - soothing, calming, cleansing and gently expulsive.  The energy of the herb is heating, the taste pungent and the actions antispasmodic and carminative (Frawley and Lad, 216).  A strong infusion of thyme poured into the bath water helps to ensure that all the sorrows and ills of the past are removed from the person (Cunningham, 210).

Thyme makes an excellent remedy, especially for children, for coughs whether they are caused by nerves, anxiety or an infection such as bronchitis, pneumonia or pleurisy.  Its relaxant effect on the bronchial tubes relieves asthma and whooping cough, while its expectorant action is useful for shifting phlegm - particularly useful for dry, hacking coughs (McIntyre, 214).

Thyme also relaxes the digestive system, enhances appetite, digestion and stimulates the liver (McIntyre, 57).  In South America they say that a good broth resurrects the dead.   A wonderful warming stock can be made by gently simmering carrots, onion and celery (with or without chicken necks and bones) with cloves and thyme.  The traditional chicken stock has been called "penicillin" for its healing attributes.  Adding thyme to that brew, helps to throw off fever and chills, strengthens and invigorates the body, re-ignites the digestive system and relaxes and soothes the body.  With medicine that amazing, why look for anything else?

As a culinary herb, thyme is widely used and extremely versatile. Thyme is a main component of Herbes de Provence, a blend that also includes marjoram, rosemary, summer savory, lavender flowers and other dried herbs. Thyme is also typically included in the traditional bouquet garni, a bundle of herbs and aromatics used in making stocks and sauces. In its dried form, thyme is also a component of the basic sachet d'epices, which is also used to add flavour and aroma to stocks. Thyme and lemon thyme are both frequent additions to sauces and salad dressing.

Thyme has the quality of the eagle, soaring highest amongst mountain peaks in the half-light before dawn.  It is for those who have suffered much, who feel they have come to the end of their strength and have reached their lowest point.  Thyme gives strength and courage to hold on until things improve (Cunningham, 81).

Thyme Healing Bath - from Deb Soule This is a wonderful bath when you are grieving or feeling deep sadness stirring inside, or when you just need to throw off chills and lethargy. Take 1-2 cups of dried thyme or 2-3 cups of fresh and pour 3-4 quarts of boiling water over the leaves and flowers and steep, covered for fifteen minutes.  Strain and add to your warm bathwater and soak for twenty minutes.  Do this every night for twenty nights when you are in active stages of grieving.

Syrup of Thyme for cough 225 grams fresh thyme 900 ml spring water Pour the boiling water over thyme and its flowers (if available) placed in a saucepan, and close the vessel.  Let stand in a warm place for twelve hours.  Strain and measure liquid.  To every pint, add 1kg white sugar, melted and scummed.  Stir over low heat until it is well mixed. Dose: 1 x 5ml spoon every three hours

-Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs by Scott Cunningham, The Yoga of Herbs by Dr David Frawley and Vincent Lad, The Complete Floral Healer by Anne McIntyre, Carrots Love Tomatoes by Louise Riotte, The Roots of Healing by Deb Soule

Our gardening notes are posted before each Wednesday for the week. View this weeks at  Biodynamic Gardening Notes for 5 - 11 October.

Biodynamic Gardening Notes 5 - 11 October

With the apple trees blooming, now is a good time to ensure that the trees you have to pollinate each other are in bloom at the same time.  This allows the bees to gather the pollen from the blossoms on one tree and bring it to the other tree's blossom, cross pollinating the flower and allowing it to create it's fruit, which in turn creates it's seed. The moon continues to descend this week - the earth breathes in and draws growth forces back down below the soil surface.  Activities for the week could include making and spreading compost, transplanting seedlings and trees, taking and planting cuttings, cultivating soil and spraying horn manure preparation 500 with manure concentrate and horn clay.

"The biodynamic preparations, based on mineral, plant and animal substances, are used to support the life in the soil, enhancing all bacterial, fungal and mineral processes valued in the farming system.

The application of these preparations is the basis of biodynamic practice.  Each preparation works as an organ of the farm or home garden. Each also has a specific role in stimulating bacterial and fungal activity, making trace elements and minerals available to the plants.  Combined, they also work in making the soil and atmosphere more sensitive to cosmic rhythms, connecting the Earth to the life-forces of the cosmos. " (Biodynamic Resource Manual, 10)

Regular applications of Preparation 500 will encourage strong humus formation, all soil bacteria and soil fungi, rhizobial activity on all legumes, phosphate solubilising bacteria, increase earthworm activity, absorption and retention of water and development of deep rooting systems.  This works in any soil type.

Horn Manure preparation 500 is applied at 85 grams/hectare, stirring 1 hour in 34 litres of high quality water using the vortex stirring method.  This is then applied to the whole garden or farm area in droplet form during the late afternoon. (Biodymanic Resource Manual, 10-11).  The optimal day to apply preparation 500 is when there is a synthesis of a descending, waning moon in an earth sign. If this complete synthesis is not possible, try to work with as many variables as possible.

Dr Rudolf Steiner stated that the biodynamic method of agriculture should be made available "as quickly as possible to the largest areas of the entire earth, for the earth's healing." (Pearce, 3) Many people fear that they might not be doing something "properly" and so they do not start.  Having a go at applying 500 is a great start.  I truly believe that with time and practice, a better understanding of the "correct" process grows.  But this experience is only gained through trying.  There is no harm that can be done, it can only help.

On Wednesday 5, the moon is in a fire sign until 15:44 when it moves into an earth sign.  Warmth or fire signs are favourable for fruit plants.  These include all plants whose seed fruit we harvest: beans, peas, grains, cucumbers, squashes, lentils, corn, capsicums, rice, soya, tomatoes, zucchini, strawberries and fruit trees.

It stays in an earth sign until Friday 7. Earth signs are favourable for root plants.  These included all plants whose roots we harvest: carrots, parsnips, radishes, beetroot, celeriac, swedes, potatoes, onions and garlic.

On Saturday, there is a planetary trine favorable in an air sign.  On Sunday and Monday until 12:44, the moon is in an air sign.  Air signs are favourable for flower plants.  These include all the plants which are grown for their flowers, and where we want a long flowering time: garden flowers, medicinal and preparation flowers, bulbs and broccoli.

For the rest of Monday and Tuesday the moon is in a water sign. Water signs are favourable for leaf plants.  These include all the plants whose leaves we harvest: cabbages, cauliflower, parsley, coriander, lettuce, spinach, bok choy, silver beet, asparagus and fennel.

Wednesday, 12th is the full moon, the apogee of the moon (when the moon is the furthest from the earth) and when the moon and Saturn are in opposition to each other.  The cycle occurs every 27.5 days.  "The Moon forces bring in the calcium processes which are connected to propagation and growth.  The Saturn forces bring in the silica processes which connect form and structure.  The balancing effect of these two influences streaming into the earth produces very strong plants from seed sown at this time.  Tests have shown the 48 hours leading up to this event is optimal time that overrides even the ascending, descending and moon in constellations for best planting time." (Biodynamic Resource Manual, 54)

Essentially then, if you have not planted any seed yet, gather what you want for summer harvest, make a site plan for your garden, amend the garden and get it ready for planting on Monday or Tuesday of this week.  Apply combined soil preparation or preparation 500 on Tuesday late afternoon and follow it with an application of 501 on Wednesday morning.  If you spend your weekend preparing your garden and the first days of the week planting it, you could be eating all summer from your own home plot.

Crops that can be sown during this month are globe artichokes, asparagus, beet root, carrots, coriander, cucumbers, parsnips, peas, potatoes, radishes, rocket, spinach, spring onions, sweades, turnips, winter squashes and pumpkins. Crops that can be transplanted are basil (with protection), broccoli, cabbage, capsicum (with protection), cauliflower, celery, Chinese greens, corn, eggplant (with protection),  flowers, leeks, lettuce and salad greens, onions, parsley, silver beet, tomatoes (with protection) and zucchini and summer squashes.

This is a great week to amend soil and transplant seedlings to reap the rewards of the summer harvest.

For more information about our Biodynamic Notes, visit About our Biodynamic Notes

-Gardening Notes are compiled using Brian Keats Antipodean Astro Calendar; Maria Thun's Gardening for Life;  Biodynamic Agriculture Australia's Biodynamic Resource Manual; Peter Cundall's The Practical Australian Gardener; Norrie Pearce's A Bio-dynamic Farmer's Handbook; and the experiences and farm practices on Transition Farm

For more information about the Antipodean Astro Calendar, Biodynamic Planting and research and more visit Brian Keats' website at http://astro-calendar.com/index.htm

For more information about Biodynamics and to purchase biodynamic preparations visit Biodynamic Australia at http://www.biodynamics.net.au/

Planting for the Summer Share

It is October - planting for summer harvest is in full swing. Here is a walk around the farm in photos from the greenhouse, to the cold frame, to the fields...the beginning glimpses of what we are planting for the summer share boxes-

Many of the varieties that we are growing are heirloom.  Heirloom plants are those that are openly pollinated.  Given their full life cycle, they will produce seed.  This is not the case with F1 hybrids and genetically altered seed, which have been hand pollinated and produce sterile seed.  Not only does growing heirloom varieties protect the biodiversity of seeds, on a global scale, but also fans of heirlooms will argue that many of the best tasting crops come from heirloom plants.  In many cases, hybridizers have chosen properties like disease resistance and heavy yields over flavour when they are making new varieities.

We have tilled in our autumn cover crops and are preparing the soil for planting.  Other crops that will be sown in the next few weeks are beans, corn, cucumbers, lettuce, melons, pumpkins, spinach, spring onions, and zucchini. We are excited about the soil warming up and the spring growth. The soil looks and smells wonderful, healthy and full of life. We are also excited about the response that we have had to the beginning of the CSA.

Basil - Sacred Plant of India

Next to the Lotus, basil is perhaps the most sacred plant of India.  Basil is revered for its ability to open the heart and the mind, to engender love and devotion, and to strengthen faith, compassion and clarity.  In India, basil is grown in domestic courtyards for three months and then worshiped with rice, flowers and lighted lamps (McIntrye, 165).

Basil gives the protection of the divine by clearing the aura and strengthening the immune system.  A plant of basil should be kept in every house for its purifying influences.  Basil absorbs positive ions, energizes negative ions, and liberates ozone from the sun's rays (Frawley/Lad, 103).

There are many varieties of Ocimum basilicum, as well as several related species or species hybrids also called basil. The type used in Italian food is typically called sweet basil, as opposed to Thai basil (O. basilicum var. thyrsiflora), lemon basil (O. × citriodorum) and holy basil or tulsi  (Ocimum tenuiflorum). There are also various cultivars of Ocimum basilicum like 'Dark Opal' with its pure purple leaves.

Basil is a favorite tonic for melancholy and low spirits, and it has potent antispasmodic properties, making it useful for relieving headaches (Gladstar, 106).  Basil may be taken as a beverage with honey to promote clarity of the mind.  In Ayurveda, its taste is pungent and its energy is heating.  It is an effective diaphoretic and febrifuge in most cold, flu and lung problems.  It also improves colonic absorption and strengthens the nerve tissue, increasing memory (Frawley/Lad, 103).

As a garden companion, basil helps tomatoes to overcome both insects and disease, also improving growth and flavour.  It repels mosquitoes and flies, and when laid over tomatoes in a serving bowl will deter fruit flies.  Since the growing conditions are also similar to sweet peppers, plant the two together (Riotte, 29).

Anyone who has grown basil in the garden can attest to the delight the plant provides.  It is incredibly aromatic and a casual bump when weeding or walking through the garden is enough to send the fragrance alight.  With the various varieties come a range of colours from deep green to deep purple, making it a lovely garden plant.

And then there is the taste...from Italian pesto, to Thai green curry to grilled fish with lemon basil. It is a very versatile culinary herb.

Our basil plants are still in the greenhouse, right beside the tomatoes, growing stronger and getting ready for their imminent planting.  Most basil is considered a tender annual- the leaves turn black with a frost, so we wait until late October to put it into the garden.  As I nurture this sacred plant, rubbing it each time I am in the greenhouse just to smell the delicious fragrance, I am ever mindful of the incredible vibrations these plants bring with them.

And so, as we all await the summer and copious amounts of basil, I offer you...

Pesto - from the Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen

3 packed cups fresh basil leaves (removed from stems) 2 large cloves fresh garlic 1/2 cup pinenuts, walnuts, almonds or a combination 3/4 cup (packed) fresh-grated parsley 3/4 cup fresh-grated parmesan 1/2 cup olive oil 1/4 cup melted butter salt to taste

Combine everything except cheese in a mortar or blender.  Thoroughly work everything into a smooth paste.  Stir in parmesan.  Toss with hot, drained pasta or spoon onto hot gnocchi.

Pesto freezes really well for year round enjoyment.  Make as per recipe above leaving out the cheese.  Freeze in serving sizes.  To use, simply defrost and add to a variety of dishes.

-Family Herbal by Rosemary Gladstar,  The Yoga of Herbs by Vincent Lad, The Complete Floral Healer by Anne McIntyre, Carrots Love Tomatoes by Louise Riotte, The Permaculture Home Garden by Linda Woodrow

View our Gardening Notes for 28 September - 4 October.

Biodynamic Gardening Notes 28 September - 4 October

With the moon at its closest to the earth, its perigee, on Wednesday 28th and in an earth sign during the ascending moon, it may be a great day to experiment planting your root crops. Perigee brings greater moisture to the Earth and a tendency towards fungus growth. As especially carrot and parsnip seed need to be constantly moist to germinate, using this time may make your job of keeping the seed moist easier. On Thursday and Friday, the moon is in an air sign.  On Saturday, Sunday and Monday until 09:16, it is in a water sign.  It then moves into a fire sign until Wednesday 5th at 15:44.

The moon continues its ascent, the earth breaths out, until Monday when it begins to descend, and the earth inhales and draws its growth forces back down below the soil surface.  The ascending moon is favourable for seed sowing.  The descending moon is favourable for plant transplanting.  Both activities are happening in the garden at this time of year.

We are entering into the main planting season for summer harvest.  Crops that can be sown during this month are globe artichokes, asparagus, beet root, carrots, coriander, cucumbers, parsnips, peas, potatoes, radishes, rocket, spinach, spring onions, sweades, turnips, winter squashes and pumpkins. Crops that can be transplanted are basil (with protection), broccoli, cabbage, capsicum (with protection), cauliflower, celery, Chinese greens, eggplant (with protection),  flowers, leeks, lettuce and salad greens, onions, parsley, silver beet, tomatoes (with protection) and zucchini and summer squashes.  Look forward to sowing sweet corn in the next few weeks.

For more information about our Biodynamic Notes, visit About our Biodynamic Notes

-Gardening Notes are compiled using Brian Keats Antipodean Astro Calendar; Maria Thun's Gardening for Life;  Biodynamic Agriculture Australia's Biodynamic Resource Manual; Peter Cundall's The Practical Australian Gardener; and the experiences and farm practices on Transition Farm

For more information about the Antipodean Astro Calendar, Biodynamic Planting and research and more visit Brian Keats' website at http://astro-calendar.com/index.htm

For more information about Biodynamics and to purchase biodynamic preparations visit Biodynamic Australia at http://www.biodynamics.net.au/

Spring Harvest - Summer Planting

We have been asked a few questions about our CSA vegetable box program – and how it differs to some of the other vegetable box programs.

All the food in our box is grown on our farm – it is seasonal, local food – picked within 24 hours of your pick up.

The food has not been transported from farmers across Australia (and abroad) to central markets where it is then boxed again and sent off to households wanting fresh organic produce.

As a culture, we are losing our connection to the cycles of the seasons. CSAs offer us the ability to return to a seasonal diet.

At Transition Farm we grow particular crops that are appropriate for the current season in this region. Often, the biggest difficulty with eating seasonally is that our shopping and cooking practices mirror more chemically and genetically modified produce that is found in the grocery stores (which travel thousands of miles before ending up on your plate), than it does what is available in the local farm during that season.

We hope that we can provide our CSA members with experiences like this one taken with thanks from Forest Eve Farm CSA in Vermont, USA:

"Based on my experience with Forest Eve Farm, I would highly recommend participating in Community Supported Agriculture. Unlike just “buying” food from the supermarket, by having a CSA share I had a vested interest in the success of a farm and was proud to be a part of a community of people that had come together to help feed one another. Each week I was pleasantly surprised by how much food my share yielded! As a result, I had the pleasure of sharing many meals with grateful friends thanks to the hard work of the farmers of Forest Eve Farm." -Ryan 2010 CSA Member, Burlington.

We are currently harvesting asparagus, artichokes, beet root, bok choy, broccoli, cauliflower, fennel, lettuce and assorted tender greens, kale, pak choy, silver beet, and spinach- and still enjoying the very last of the over wintered carrots, leeks, lemons and pumpkin.  Mixed with herbs like borage, calendula, chervil, chives, coriander, dill, mint, nettles, parsley, tarragon and thyme, the recipes are wonderful!  Seasonal, local cuisine includes leek, fennel, lemon and asparagus risotto flavoured with lemon thyme; mixed herb and lettuce salad with sprouted fenugreek; steamed artichokes with a tarragon dipping sauce; spinach soup; spring stir fries; Main Ridge goat's cheese and nettle spanakopita; leek, carrot, asparagus and thyme tart...just to mention some of the delights we have been cooking.

We will be seeding the cucumbers, squashes, pumpkins and remaining root vegetables for the summer share in the coming weeks. Another advantage of being part of a CSA is having your say in what we grow. If there are vegetables and herbs that you would like to see in your summer box, please let us know now.

And as the sun crosses the equator heading south, Happy Spring...happy planting!

Biodynamic Gardening Notes 21-27 September

The moon continues to decrease this week with the new moon on Tuesday 27th.  The moon is also ascending, the earth is breathing out.  We see this as growth activity above the soil surface.  Although germination takes place below the ground, it also takes part in this upward striving (Biodynamic Resource Manual, 52). The ascending moon is the time to apply biodynamic preparation 501.  This preparation increases photosynthesis in plants and allows for greater uptake of minerals and trace elements in the soil.  Look for moon in opposition to Saturn or moon in a leaf sign and apply the preparation in early morning.

On Wednesday and Thursday the moon is in an air sign.  On Friday and Saturday, it is in a water sign.  On Sunday and Monday, it is in a fire sign and on Tuesday and Wednesday it is in an earth sign.

Traditional cultures that plant with the waxing and waning of the moon, plant those things that produce below the ground during the waning moon and those things that produce above the ground during the waxing of the moon.  They also reserve the day of the new moon as a no planting day.

Hartmut Spiess, a researcher who spent many years investigating Maria Thun's work hoping to provide endorsements, found that crops across the spectrum, meaning leaf, root, and fruit, all experienced increased yields when planted around the perigee (Keats).  Perigee, the time when the moon is closest to the earth, brings greater moisture and a tendency towards fungus growth (Biodynamic Resource Manual, 53).  The perigree this month occurs at 11:02 on Wed 28th.  Maybe do some experimenting of your own planting seeds at different times and then observing the plant growth and yield.  Labelling the plants or taking notes in a notebook will help you to remember when you planted things and what your observations are.

Hartmut Spiess also noticed improved yields in beans, carrots, and radishes when planted during an ascending moon. Maria Thun recommends sowing seeds during the ascending moon.

We are entering into the main planting season for summer harvest.  Crops that can be planted now are potatoes, winter squashes and pumpkins, cucumbers, peas, lettuce and salad greens, radishes, rocket, spinach, beet root, coriander, parsley, celery, silver beet, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, leeks, onions, spring onions, parsnips and zucchini.  You may be able to transplant tomatoes into the garden giving them some protection.  Look forward to planting sweet corn in the next few weeks.

For more information about our Biodynamic Notes, visit About our Biodynamic Notes

-Biodynamic Notes are compiled using Brian Keats Antipodean Astro Calendar; Maria Thun's Gardening for Life; Biodynamic Agriculture Australia's Biodynamic Resource Manual; Peter Cundall's The Practical Australian Gardener; and the experiences and farm practices on Transition Farm

For more information about the Antipodean Astro Calendar, Biodynamic Planting and research and more visit Brian Keats' website at http://astro-calendar.com/index.htm

For more information about Biodynamics and to purchase biodynamic preparations visit Biodynamic Australia at http://www.biodynamics.net.au/