What is Biodynamic Gardening and Farming?
Biodynamic farming is a method of special organic farming that calls for treatment of farms as individual and unified organisms.
By Donovan Baldwin
In the agriculture industry, biodynamic farming is fast becoming an important technique. It is a method of special organic farming that calls for treatment of farms as individual and unified organisms. It emphasizes balance in the holistic interrelationship and development of plants, animals, and soil in a self-nourishing system even without external outputs. This is possible given the usual loss of nutrients in the soil due to continuous and heavy farming.
Biodynamic farming is considered a pioneering, yet modern, ecological farming technique. It has a lot in common with many other organic farming approaches.
Modern biodynamic farming emphasizes the use of compost, and manure, without the use of artificial chemicals usually applied on soil, and on plants, to increase production. Among the methods that are unique to biodynamic farming approach is the use of fermented mineral and herbal preparations like compost additives, natural field sprays, and the use of astronomical planting and sowing calendar.
In essence, biodynamic farming as well as gardening looks at the soil and the farm as a whole like living organisms. This regards maintenance and furtherance of the soil life as an important and basic necessity if soil is intended to be preserved for many generations. The technique regards the farm as true to its essential nature if it could be conceived as a kind of entity in itself. The technique starts with the ideal concept of necessary self-contained structure of the farm and the necessary works to further the life of soil.
Maintaining soil life is important in the protection of soil from erosion. It is also necessary in the creation, improvement, and augmentation of the significant humus content. There would be fine, crumbly, and fertile soil structure containing necessary organic colloids. Thus, this leads to production of quality crops, which leads to better feed for many types of livestock and better for consumption by people.
In biodynamic farming, manure and compost are considered the most valuable forms of fertilizers. Such materials contain organic matter where soil bacteria as well as earthworms could be fed. Doing so would eventually help revitalize the soil. Manure and compost also have colloids that absorb moisture as well as mineral solutions to form a crumbly structure, eventually eliminating erosion. Careful storage of manure within heaps covered with soil could help prevent or reduce loss of nitrogen in the soil.
Biodynamic compost preparations could play an important role in the unified approach to agriculture. Such materials are made of several medicinal herbs that undergo a long and tedious process of fermentation to enrich the soil in growth-stimulating substances. At the same time, the technique and strategy of appropriate crop rotation is very necessary in preserving soil fertility. As a general rule, soil-exhausting crops like potatoes, corn, cabbage, and cauliflower should alternate along with soil-restoring crops like legumes.
At the same time, biodynamic farming also calls for planting of deep-rooting crops alternating planting of shallow-rooting ones. Crops that are requiring manure must alternate with plants that could do without it.
What is Biodynamic Gardening and Farming?
Page Updated 7:54 PM Thursday 1/28/2016
