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market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] Horsetail

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  • From: Allan Balliett <igg AT igg.com>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Horsetail
  • Date: Fri, 27 May 2005 21:51:28 -0400

Equisetum is a very important part of the BioDynamic farm, and is used to make one of the BD "homeopathic" treatments for the land.

Selling it to BD practitioners may be the way to go, Nan -

Robert - BD 508 is made from Equisetum Arvense, not the variety that Nan is growing. The distinction is very important because arvense has much for of the silica that is the 'active ingredient' of the prep.

Here's more info on the use of equisetum in the gardden, from a personal paper of Steve Diver's:

A distinguishing feature of biodynamic farming is the use of nine homeopathic preparations described by Steiner for the purpose of enhancing soil quality and stimulating plant life. They consist of mineral, plant, or animal manure extracts, usually fermented and applied in small proportions to compost, manures, the soil, or directly onto plants, after dilution and stirring procedures called dynamizations.
The original biodynamic preparations are numbered 500-508. The 500 preparation (horn-manure) is made from cow manure and is used as a soil spray to stimulate root growth and humus formation. The 501(horn-silica) is made from powdered quartz and applied as a foliar spray to stimulate and regulate growth. The next six preparations, 502-507, are used in making compost. Preparation 508 is prepared from silica-rich horsetail plant (Equisetum arvense) and is used as a foliar spray to suppress fungal diseases in plants.
? No. 502 Yarrow blossoms (Achillea millefolium)
? No. 503 Chamomile blossoms (Chamomilla officinalis)
? No. 504 Stinging nettle (whole plant in full bloom) (Urtica dioca)
? No. 505 Oak bark (Quercus robur)
? No. 506 Dandelion flowers (Taraxacum officinale)
? No. 507 Valerian flowers (Valeriana officinalis)
In addition, several of the biodynamic preparations double as herbal teas. The following is a brief introduction to their use.
Horsetail tea is extracted from the common horsetail (Equisetum arvense), a plant especially rich in silica. Horsetail is best seen as a prophylactic (disease-preventing, not disease-curing) spray with a mild fungus-repressing effect. During the months when green plants are not readily available, you can prepare an extract by covering dry plants with water and allowing them to ferment in a sunny place for about ten days. Dried equisetem, available through the Josephine Porter Institute for Applied Biodynamics (2) in Woolwine, Virginia, can also be used to make horsetail tea.
***If you want to learn MORE about BIODYNAMICS, just ask me and I'll enroll you in BD Now!, the on-line BD discussion group. -Allan




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