Dear Patti, I see you have gotten a number of other helpful responses. I'll try my two cents along with them as I well remember when I was a beginner.
Not everything you hear is golden. You have to try it out and see what you think. I'm rather an advocate of some avant methods as I have tried the traditional methods, looked for improvements and found some. For example, back when Harvey Lisle recommended to us at one of my early BD conferences here in Blairsville, GA that we really should balance our applications of remedies for the soil with comparable remedies for the atmosphere, sequential spraying was born. Hugh Courtney (JPI) saw that we could make rain happen by sequential spraying if we followed up the horn manure/horn silica polarity with barrel compost (502--507)/horsetail (508). He even added on experimentally a homeopathic milk and honey spray--a nice idea but it didn't show great results. Meanwhile I had been concerned that larger acreage farmers were never going to go to all the trouble of stirring and spraying large acreages. Too much was required, even though results might pay. So I spent several years looking into Galen Hieronymus' method of inducing resonant patterns into the medium (farm ecosystem). At this point I rarely stir and spray BD preps. See my website. Moreover, I found that the long discussed horn clay, intended but not explictively described by Steiner, was the remedy that brought everything together and got great results--all other things being in the groove. I'm growing great corn on nitrogen poor (but minerally rather balanced) land without compost (with the field broadcaster and Steiner's remedies) on nitrogen poor soils. The remedies (preps) set up the conditions for corn to trade its rich root exudates for amino acids and great crop! I can only add that if you attend Jeff Poppen's conference in September you'll learn a LOT more. Hope to see you there. Best, Hugh Lovel >I have just graduated from being a back yard gardener on my little one >acre plot of land to something way over my head. I am in the process of >purchasing 11.5 acres of land in Kentucky (currently growing alfalfa) >and feel overwhelmed for the moment as to where to start in turning this >land into a sustainable farm. For the last five years I've toyed with >the idea of having an organic farm and now that I've come this far I'm >not quite sure where to start to achieve a sustainable farm this size >but I do so want to learn. Are there any organic farmers on this list >from south central Kentucky? > >I've been reading books by Gene Logsdon and Eliot Coleman but most of >this stuff I've never tried. One thing I've learned from my garden is >that plants don't always turn out the same way you read about them. >Although I've had a very successful garden here in Georgia I couldn't >tell you why. Has anyone ever written a book called Organic Farming for >Dummies? > >I've been the posts on this list but you all are way over my head. I >learn best from hands on experience. Is there a first step to learn >about biodynamics? Could anyone tell me how you got started? > >Patti..... Visit our website at: www.unionag.org
