Fallow and Storms

Fallow and Storms Winter fallow, grey day. Clouds press down, a storm predicted this afternoon, tonight, all day tomorrow. Promises of great quantities. Ramon rushes the rain, pruning vines. He will finish today, four weeks of pruning, no need this month to worry about keeping vine cuts dry. (We spray BD 501 when there is… Read more »

Light and Portals

Tomatilla in late afternoon.           Biodynamics is one of the few disciplines that addresses the forces behind what we “see.” It requires more quiet to feel these forces, another consciousness even, balanced with reason. What is it about light that opens these portals? The late afternoon sun shining through the tomatilla skin… Read more »

Pruning and Winter Light

Frosty Fallowness in January                     Pruning and Winter Light January into February is about cutting back old wood. Nevertheless, wings of light unfold, if you let them, and carry you through quiet fallowness. Although we are into the fallow period and do almost no Biodynamic spraying… Read more »

Full Bloom Only Eight Weeks Away?

Lavender is still in its wintering mounds, just beginning to send up growth. Yesterday a friend said, “It’s only eight weeks until your Open House!” Yikes!  I thought. This time of year I always go through the same anxiety: will the lavender be in bloom for the Open House? Right now it is just beginning… Read more »

Scheduling Spring Biodynamic Sprays

Using Thun calendar to schedule sprays on our work calendar. In March and April, I schedule our biodynamic sprays for the season using Maria Thun’s Sowing and Planting Calendar. In the spring we spray the aromatics with horned quartz (“501”) three times on moon sign flower days, once each in Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius. The… Read more »

Fall Biodynamic Spraying: ‘501″

Buckeye butterfly beneath coyote bush         After harvest we spray the crystal spray “501” on the vines and orchard to help prepare for the fruit the next year. This balances cosmic/solar forces with earth forces. We spray three times, once in each of the fruit (fire) astrological signs: Ares, Leo, and Sagittarius…. Read more »