I am trying to make our place more Bio-Dynamic and better in every way that I can. I could just ask the above question, but it's more fun to tell it as a story...
My husband doesn't believe in Bio-Dynamics, but he has given in a lot over the years and I try to involve him in every way I can. He makes the holes when I inoculate the compost pile with the preps and he dug the holes for the horns. Over the years he has conceded to do things by the calendar. He does everything in the orchard, but I want to upgrade our orchard practice. We are nature lovers. We prefer nature rather than the look of a farm. Our cabin is surrounded by the most beautiful stand of snowberries and Oregon grape that have been outstanding through this long fall we have had up to now. When the heavy snow comes, they are mashed down under the snow. The orchard is on a wild meadow. We did not plow the whole acre. We merely dug big holes and put compost in them. We've had this orchard for 15 years. The orchard contains wild grasses, lots of St. Johnswort, pearly everlasting, red clover, serviceberry, some wild shrubs that I can't name and other wild plants. Herb cuts down any softwood tree seedlings that appear, but the two vine maple shrubs only gets bigger when you cut them down. We mow around the fruit trees and put straw around them. We've never fertilized. I put tree paste on some trees that had lichen on them. We have 40 heritage apples--pears, plums, cherries, buartnuts, walnuts, filberts, oaks (I wanted more walnuts, but Herb wanted oaks and they are infinitesimal.) We have 24 boxes of apples in the root cellar now and they are delicious. The heritage apple trees bear every other year. Really, our orchard needs help though. I will have lots of BC and 500 this year. I am planning to put some around the drip line of the trees. I also read with interest the BD Now email about Pfeiffer clay/manure/sand...clay/manure spray...tree paste...and asked on the compost_tea list/serve about CT sprays for tent caterpillars and cedar apple rust rather than using dormant oil and lime sulfur. Elaine suggested Beauveria (Mycotrol) and SP-1 bacterial inoculum from Agri-Energy or the beneficial spore-former inoculum from Holmes Environmental. Now, of course, I have brought all this up to my husband and his response is "What's wrong with dormant oil and dormant oil & lime sulfur?" All I can say is that I want to be more Bio-Dynamic. Can someone tell me what exactly is wrong with dormant oil and/or dormant oil and lime sulfur so I can make a good case for his changing his practice? He is mainly a hunter and a wooden boat builder, not a farmer, but he has the pride of traditional manhood that I dare not insult. I need his labor and want him to continue taking the responsibility for the orchard. He has a lot of other good qualities even though he isn't a BD farmer. If he gets mad and gives up the orchard, I can't do as well as he's done without the Bio-Dynamics. I can't bear to prune and he is an excellent harvester. I plan the garden and initiate most things, raise and plant the seedlings for the garden and do all the Bio-Dynamics. I have a wonderful garden helper who is much better than I am--a virgo, who prepares the garden beds and does the three cold frames for our 150 tomato plants. Yes, I am a traditional Southern female who is transplanted to the West and I am lucky to have such good help. Thanks a bunch, Merla
