BIODYNAMICS
Dr. Lakshmi Sridharan
Part I: Biodynamics: The sun,
the moon, and the rose gardening:
The Vedic Culture:
The Vedas, the scriptures of
the Hindus, cover a wide variety of subjects--philosophy, astronomy, science,
politics, religion, agronomy, horticulture, etc.
The Vedic concept of the
ancient Hindus strongly believes that the cosmic energy shapes and sustains
life on earth. The positions of the
sun, the moon and all the other planets with relation to each other, regulate
the physiological activities of all living creatures. The nine planets are represented as gods in all the Hindu
temples. (In addition to the seven planets recognized by the astronomers, we
have two more planets. The nine planets together constitute the nava grahas.). Whenever, we, the Hindus are in the temple,
we circle around the nava grahas nine times to invoke the blessings of
the nine planets for a healthy, happy life for all creatures on earth, not just
for ourselves. We also invoke the
blessings of the natural elements, earth, fire, water, and air for the
continuity of life on earth, for fertility and prosperity. In the second week
of January, we, the south Indians celebrate harvest festival to offer special
prayers and thanks to the sun, the earth, and the animals for a bountiful
harvest. In the heat of the summer, on
a full moon day, we have a colorful celebration to honor the moon. (Girls and boys in India are often named
after the moon god, Chandra and the sun god, Surya. Some of you perhaps have
heard of the late Nobel Laureate, the Astrophysicist, Dr. Chandra Sekhar and
the Chandra observatory named after him.)
The concept of Biodynamics:
The late anthroposophist,
Rudolf Steiner is the guru of biodynamics. Introduced in 1922, the
concept of biodynamics reaffirms the Vedic concept of the ancient Hindus by
recognizing the role of cosmic energies that create and maintain life.
Anthroposophy is a path of knowledge, to guide the Spiritual in the human being
to the Spiritual in the universe. The path that leads into Anthroposophy
consists firstly, in changing the direction of one's will; secondly, in
experiencing super-sensible knowledge; lastly, in participating in the destiny
of one's time to a point where it becomes one's personal destiny. Steiner was a philosopher, a theologian, an
educator, an authority on Goethe, an agricultural expert, an architect, and
what not. Steiner’s approach to growing plants is spiritualistic.
The term, biodynamic has it
origin in Greek, bios means life and dynamis means energy. Hence, biodynamic gardening refers to
working with the energies that create and maintain life. While gardeners are aware of the importance
of solar energy, the energy derived from the sun, in sustaining plant life, not
many gardeners know that cosmic energy, the energy of all the planets influence
the physiological activities of a plant.
Because of the differences in these contributing energies, planting your
rose one day will be totally different from planting it another day. In fact,
planting during certain days of the moon cycle is important.
The Cosmic Influence on Plant
Growth:
Understanding the Cosmic
Rhythms is crucial to biodynamic gardening.
The light of the sun, moon,
planets, and stars reaches the plants in regular
Rhythms. Each contributes to
the life, growth, and form of the plant. By
understanding the gesture and
effect of each rhythm, you can time your ground preparation, sowing,
cultivating, and harvesting to the advantage of the crops you are raising.
Gardening according to Moon
phases:
The
Moon affects plant growth through its pull on water. Plants contain a huge percentage
of water in their make up, and they respond to the tidal pulls of the Moon.
There are two types of influence that the moon has on planting. The first is
the phase the moon is in, increasing or decreasing in light, when the pull of
lunar gravity effects root and leaf growth. Just as the moon pulls the ocean
tides, it also pulls the smaller bodies of water, causing moisture to rise
closer to the surface during the waxing (increasing) moon, or drawing the roots
down in the waning (decreasing) moon. Generally, the best time to plant is just
before the New Moon and during the waxing phase. The waning Moon through to the
balsamic phase is clean-up time -- weed out dying plants or overgrown beds,
rake paths, trim, and burn or compost debris. However, some plants do better
when started during certain Moon phases. For instance, during the New Moon,
plant flowers, shrubs, trees and such garden vegetables as lettuce, chard,
spinach and others whose primary value is in their above-ground parts. As the
Moon grows full, it draws the plants up, enhancing their growth.
The effects of the Moon
Signs, the twelve Zodiac signs (the twelve constellations, the groups of
stars), further complicate this. The
moon makes a complete circle of the Zodiac signs once a month, passing through
each sign lasting from 1.5 to 3 days.
The moon acts like a satellite receiving the forces of constellations,
transmitting the forces to the Earth and affecting various parts of plant. Its influence on the four natural elements,
Earth, air, fire and water
are variable when it passes through the zodiac signs. When the moon passes over
Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius, the days are warm. The warm days are good for
fruit and seed formation. Taurus, Virgo,
and Capricorn promote root growth, hence good for vegetative propagation of
roses. When the moon passes over
Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius, it favors development of flowers, substance and
color through its influence over the air.
When the moon passes through Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces, it promotes
vegetative growth because of its influence over water. Sow rose seeds, select air/light or flower
days (Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius), and harvest them on warm/seed days for
better shelf life and viability.
The Solar Energy:
Sunlight supports and
sustains all plant life including roses.
It is the cheapest source of light energy available for plant growth.
Light regulates various developmental and physiological processes:
photosynthesis, pigment formation, flower induction, seed germination,
etc. The vegetative and reproductive
phases of a plant respond differently to the quantity and quality of light that
it receives.
Sunlight is a continuous
electromagnetic spectrum of radiation.
Planet Earth receives only a very small fraction of this vast
spectrum. The radiations in this
spectrum travel in waves. The distance
between the crest of waves is wavelength.
The radiation of each wavelength has a characteristic amount of energy
associated with it - the shorter the wavelength higher is the energy. The light absorbing pigment, the chlorophyll
has maximum absorption at wavelengths, 700 nm and 680 nm., hence the
photosynthetic efficiency peaks at these wavelengths. The phytochromes in the leaves are photosensitive. They are responsible
for the induction of flowering. The
phytochrome, P 660 absorbs light in the red region of the
spectrum (660 nm) while the P735 absorbs light in the far-red
region of the spectrum (735 nm). The P 660 and P735 are
inter-convertible. The inter conversion controls flowering. For further
details, refer to my article “ Let there be light”
Biodynamics is a science of
life forces, a recognition of the basic principles at work in nature, and an
approach to gardening that takes these principles into account to bring about a
balance and healing. It is a new
approach to science, which integrates precise observation of natural phenomena,
clear thinking, and knowledge of the spirit.
Vitalizing the Soil: The
Power of Healing.
A biodynamic gardener feels
the pulse of Nature. Working with
Nature, not against Nature is the very essence of biodynamics. Be perceptive to the changing moods of
Nature as dictated by the cosmic energy emanating from the sun, the moon and
all the other planets as explained in Part I of this article. Careful observations of nature during sun
shine, darkness of the night, storm, snow, drought -- in shade and full sun, in
wet and dry areas, on different soils, will yield a more fluid grasp of the
elements, earth, water, fire and air. (The ancient Hindus have added one more
element, time to the other four elements recognized by the western
civilization) By doing so, a gardener
eventually learns to "read" the language of Nature. A gardener, then, can be creative, bringing
new emphasis and balance through specific actions. In addition, as a biodynamic
gardener, you will learn to revere life that comes in different sizes, shapes,
and forms. You will recognize the
integrated relationship between plant, animal and soil.
The Life of a Soil:
Soil to a biodynamic gardener
is a living breathing entity, teaming with infinite number of microflora
(bacteria, fungi, algae, mycorrhizae, etc.) and fauna (earthworms, and
protozoa). The vitality of a living breathing soil supports and affects the
quality and health of the plants that grow in it. Therefore, one of the
fundamental efforts is to build up stable humus in our soil through
composting. Vegetable waste, manure,
leaves, food scraps, all contain precious vitality, which can be held and put
to use for building up the soil if they are handled wisely.
A compost pile, to a
biodynamic gardener is a pile of black gold, the humus. The soil microorganisms release the
nutrients (carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, etc. from the green
waste, from dead and decaying fauna) to enrich the soil, convert the nutrients
to a soluble form for a root absorption, also kill invasive pathogenic fungi in
the root zone. An indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers is not acceptable to
a biodynamic gardener. Contrary to the
opinion held by gardeners with absolutely no background in biology, the rose,
the soil, and the soil microorganisms know the difference between chemical
fertilizers and rich humus. A
Biodynamic gardener applies the principles of biology in gardening. Chemical
fertilizers impoverish the soil by killing the beneficial microflora and fauna;
the initial rise in the yield declines eventually in course of time. The Nature, the master architect has
designed the roots to seek the nutrients in a soil. When you apply chemical fertilizers, you do not challenge the
roots to seek the nutrients. Repeated
uses of chemical fertilizers inhibit root proliferation. You may have heard of the principle of use
and disuse formulated by the famous evolutionary biologist, Lamarck. (I can even explain it in terms of operon
mode of gene regulation proposed by the famous geneticists, Jacob and Monod, if
you is interested!)
The liquid manure (tea) is a
dynamic preparation for vitalizing the soil as well as the plant life. The following flowers serve as a source of
nutrients, vitality, and even as bactericide, fungicide or a pesticide:
Yarrow blossoms (Achillea
millefolium)
Chamomile blossoms (Chamomilla
officinalis)
Stinging nettle (whole plant
in full bloom) (Urtica dioca)
Oak bark (Quercus robur)
Dandelion flowers (Taraxacum
officinale)
Valerian flowers (Valeriana
officinalis)
Biodynamic preparations are
intended to moderate and regulate biological processes as well as enhance and
strengthen the life (etheric) forces on the garden. The preparations are used
in homeopathic quantities, meaning they produce an effect in extremely diluted
amounts. As an example, just 1/16th ounce (level teaspoon) of each compost
preparation is added to seven- to ten-ton piles of compost.
The liquid tea prepared from
the silica-rich horsetail plant (Equisetum arvense) is used as a foliar
spray to suppress fungal diseases in plants.
Apply the liquid tea prepared from alfalfa pellets which is rich in
nitrogen, unspecified growth hormones, vitamin, etc. to the soil when the roses
are growing vigorously. Two of the preparations are used directly in the field,
one on the earth before planting, to stimulate soil life, and one on the leaves
of growing plants to enhance their capacity to receive the light. Instead of indiscriminate distribution of
vast quantities of compost and organic materials over the soil, the correct
disposition of specific quantities of specific qualities of organics maximizes
plants’ potential more effectively.
Crop rotation and proper
inter cropping also contribute to a healthier biodynamic yield. A crop rotation is not possible in rose
beds. However inter cropping and
companion planting will certainly revitalize the soil as roses deplete the soil
by robbing away the essential nutrients.
Choose small aromatic herbs (family: Labiatae) and legumes (family:
Papilionaceae) that will not compete aggressively with roses for nutrition,
space or light. For further details on inter-cropping and companion planting
refer to my articles.
The keynote to success in
vitalizing the soil is reverence for Mother Earth --use her resources
intelligently without abusing her.
Biodynamic gardening is good for the Earth, the roses and the gardeners.
Reference:
Singania,
P. K. 1999, Biodynamic, Cosmic Energy,
Radionic in Biological Agriculture (Roses), Rose Annual published by the Rose
federation of India
Sridharan, L. M., 1995, Microorganisms, Roses, and
Rosarians, Rose Annual, p68
Sridharan,
L. M., 1996, Indigofera Leaf Extract to Control Insect Pests, The Rose
Leaf, August
Sridharan,
L. 1996, Companion Plants in the Rose Garden, The Criterion, Summer Edition,
Sridharan, L. M., 1995, Let There Be Light (photosynthesis, photorespiration and
photoperiodism), The Rose Leaf, September
Biodynamic
Farming & Compost Preparation
Alternative Farming Systems Guide
Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA)
P.O. Box 3657
Fayetteville, AR 72702
Phone: 1-800-346-9140 --- FAX: (501) 442-9842
http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/biodynamic.html
Wildfeuer, S,
What is Biodynamics, http://www.angelic-organics.com/intern/biodynamics.html
You
may also contact:
Biodynamic
Farming & Gardening Association
P.O.
Box 550, Kimberton, PA 19442
voice:
(610) 935-7797
fax:
(610) 983-3196
Permission is granted by Dr. Lakshmi Sridharan to post
this article on MRS web site