Biodynamic Compost Preparation 505: Oak Bark
Oak bark of Valley oak Biodynamic Compost Preparation 505: Oak Bark This is one of the plants our ranch grows in abundance. Rudolf Steiner specified the bark of Quercus robur, the common oak in Europe, whose substance of bark is about 77% calcium. In United States, the White oak is often used. Our native White… Read more »
Chamomile (from wikipedia since it didn’t reseed!) This fall I will seed chamomile in our garden. Although it usually reseeds itself, Peter Proctor describing it as “mercurial” because it tends to “pop up” in different places each year (Grasping the Nettle, 74), it didn’t sprout this season. We had added a lot of compost, probably… Read more »
Stinging nettle flourishes in the Irish cemetery of my ancestors. What does it mean that stinging nettle does not grow on our ranch? Obviously, our hot and dry Mediterranean climate does not invite nettle, but energetically, what are we missing? Rudolf Steiner said it is the one Biodynamic preparation plant (504) for which there is no substitute…. Read more »
Dried Lavender
Lavender drying in shed. The lavender chosen for bouquets is dry at last. We hang it in our shed in the dark. Since most of our plants are used for distillation, we dry only one shed full these days, and do not use heat (energy conserving). Then we clean it by shaking out leaves from… Read more »
Still Distilling!
Lavender from labyrinth awaiting distillation. Still Distilling! It goes on forever, it seems! Each morning at dawn I see Donald careening down the path in the “mule” with our two labs in the back (I am writing in my studio!) Ramon picks, Donald distills. Each load takes about 2 1/2 hours. Donald getting a little… Read more »
Dry, with spicy intensity. (no) It is not true that goats will eat anything! In fact, they have quite discriminating palates when it comes to wild plums. Remember those plum blossoms of last February―flowery memories of prohibition in the Napa Valley, when plum orchards replaced vines? The marauding birds, coyotes, and deer seeded these mountain… Read more »
Early morning harvest of Lot Natalie 12 for distillation. Once a fellow lavender grower told me that when people asked him if he would buy their lavender, he replied, Do you really want me to come and cut it back just when it is its most beautiful? Usually the answer was maybe not! But that… Read more »
We are almost 1/3 through distillation this year, and this Saturday, July 7, we invite you to join us. Donald will show you how we distill, and we will have special prices on our Biodynamic organic lavender essential oil and hydrosol. For this day only, our 2009 and 2010 Biodynamic organic essential oil will be 60% off… Read more »
Bog Candle One of the last in the spring wildflower series, the bog candle is just finishing its bloom on the edge of the forest. The first time I saw it, I marveled at its delicate beauty. Then suddenly, I saw it everywhere! An orchid, it blooms on our ranch in June into early July…. Read more »
Sphinx or Hawk moth, about the size of a hummingbird. Perhaps it is the patron moth for a garden of a Jungian analyst (me!)— a sphinx moth! Otherwise unnoticed, she mysteriously shines in the flash of the camera as she searches for nectar from lavender, Lot Goatsong. These moths work primarily at twilight or night…. Read more »
© 2024 Patricia Damery.
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