URLs, etc

2003-07-23 Thread Dave Robison

At 09:01 AM 7/23/2003 -0700, you wrote:
> >PS Have u checked out
www.union.org ? what
is that all about ??
> 
> Sorry, it eludes me. Can someone else help?
-Allan
I noticed something similar when Michael Fields let their domain
registration lapse. Someone else can then grab the URL registration.
There are folks who will grab any working URL, transfer it over to
another website, then get paid based on the hits. Of course, folks log in
expecting the old website so they get an instant number of hits, hence
instant money. Instant money, that's always the problem.
Along those lines, the earlier discussion of matter w/o spirit reminds of
a quote by Gandhi
Gandhi's Seven Deadly Sins
· Wealth without Work 
· Pleasure without Conscience 
· Science without Humanity 
· Knowledge without Character 
· Politics without Principle 
· Commerce without Morality 
· Worship without Sacrifice 

As to the controversy regarding purges, I support Allan. The list
deteriorates if some folks can't keep their discussions polite. That
means an occasional action by the authority figure. Sorry we can't all
behave as adults, but's that how it is sometimes.



David Robison
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email Etiquette

2003-07-14 Thread Dave Robison

Greg,
We know you feel frustrated because your message is not being 
heard.
But that is no reason to call another person names nor to threaten a
lawsuit.
Let's all please maintain a level of civility that encourages the frank
exchange of ideas and facts.



David Robison
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radionics, voodoo

2003-07-14 Thread Dave Robison

Graeme, can you elaborate?
Now, as I have said,i think people
are mistaking subtle energies and 
forces for life forces, i.e. Life Forces, the bio in
"biodynamics". 
They aren't the same thing and I reckon you and the other radio guys

know that, or ought to if you don't. 


David Robison
Stellar Processes
1033 SW Yamhill Suite 405
Portland, OR 97205
(503) 827-8336
www.ezsim.com
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Merla's spray

2003-05-29 Thread Dave Robison

Merla--
What a task! Now you see why farmers have developed stirring machines.
Some comments:
I went to my BC cache and it was
teeming with creatures--very young earthworms and rolly-polly
bugs,
Probably not a good way to store. The critters may be disrupting things.
Better to store in an earthenware pot in peat. 
I dropped the bucket
on the ground 39 times.
Dunno about this one, would be better to rig up a sling and do the
lemniscate motion as others have described.
Do you think it would
be O.K. to use the aerator and our Bitti-O-Later to stir with? 
Seems like it would do a much better job of aerating the
microorganisms.  Is the
ritual  vortex stirring more important than the aerating and
mixing?
It's about potentising not just aeration, so no. One can build a
mechanical stirring machine or a flowform. To stir a whole barrel, I have
tied the paddle to a roof beam in order to stir up a vortex. It's work
for sure.



David Robison
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OT: World of Weeds

2003-03-13 Thread Dave Robison

Off topic: David Quammen is one of my favorite nature
writers. I was glad to see this article posted, on the dismal topic of
how we are destroying the natural world.
http://www.well.com/user/davidu/weeds.html


David Robison


On topic: physical and etheric bodies of plants15

2003-03-10 Thread Dave Robison

At 12:00 PM 3/9/2003 -0500, Christy wrote:
So a really basic question (s)
-
The etheric body of a plant is its own, along with the physical body, but
it
has no astral body (otherwise it would have mobility and what else?

Organs. Little bits of the outside captured inside the physical body.

Like when the developing embryo forms an invagitation, then rolls in a
bit of the outside skin. That first capture becomes the neural tube, the
beginnings of the nervous system. From that grows all the sensory organs
and brain -- that which has the ability to reflect the outer world
because it starts by capturing a bit of it. The organs develop as astral
centers, internalizing some of the outside -- while for plants, all that
astral stuff stays outside. Then because the animal has it's own astral
centers, it can be mobile.
So, the
astral body that hovers around it does that belong to the
plant?
Yes, tho I think it is more of a group astral. It reaches into the plant
for flowering/ fruiting processes but the plant is always reaching for
it. Think of those hollow center diagrams where the plants reaches toward
the focal point but never gets there.



David Robison
Stellar Processes
1033 SW Yamhill Suite 405
Portland, OR 97205
(503) 827-8336
www.ezsim.com


BD content

2003-03-10 Thread Dave Robison

At 12:00 PM 3/8/2003 -0500, you wrote:
I'm serious: get out the scanner
and send up a page or two of bd stuff you find of interest or would like
to discuss. Copyright law offers a fair amount of leniency for
educational use of printed materials, so you don't have an
excuse.
Drown us in content and keep the archives interesting for the next
guy.
I posted two new articles of a more advanced level at
www.oregonbd.org.
-- Form Gestures of Animals and Planetary Processes in the Preparations.
Go to "the BD Community" page for essays by various group
members. 


David Robison


Re: BDNOW digest 1403

2003-02-25 Thread Dave Robison

At 12:00 PM 2/25/2003 -0500, flylo wrote:
Subject: Mildred Cowger
I was looking thru SSE yearbook at tomatoes and ran across 
"Mildred Cowger's Belgium" and mentions she was a Master 
Biodynamic Gardener. 
running Google, I can find some Belgium Cherry tomatoes 
developed by the late M Cowger, as well as a 1996 column in the 
JPI magazine Mildred Cowger: A Life Of Service (B. Weiting, H. 
Eubanks, W. Via)
I don't know if it's a book review or a column about her. 
Any more information about her or her work?
Yes, that's Mildred. She was a feisty Quaker lady who was one of the
founders of the Oregon BD group. Mildred learned BD from the Phil and
Evelyn Greg, who lived in Oregon at the time. After they left, Mildred
continued with what she had learned and taught the rest of us. Beth's
article is her memorial. The tomato is a variety she selected and grew
for years. It's available from Turtle Tree or SSE.


David Robison
Stellar Processes
1033 SW Yamhill Suite 405
Portland, OR 97205
(503) 827-8336
www.ezsim.com


OT: DU munitions

2003-02-21 Thread Dave Robison

Is the server down? I haven't received any emails from you
lately.
Off topic: here is a link on depleted uranium from Yes! magazine
http://www.futurenet.org/25environmentandhealth/rokke.htm


David Robison


Erbe preps

2003-02-13 Thread Dave Robison

At 12:02 PM 2/13/2003 -0500, SStorch wrote:
This fall we will make every effort
to make the Hugo 
Erbe clay preparation.  
Can you tell us more? What about his other preps? We are still waiting
for the book to come on Erbe.


David Robison


BD

2003-02-12 Thread Dave Robison

At 12:04 PM 2/12/2003 -0500, roger wrote:
When I first talked about BD with a
good friend of mine, he looked at me with the now-familiar 'steer caught
in the headlights' look, laughed and said "You can't be serious,
falling for something like that. Cow shit buried in a cow horn after
dancing backwards round a campfire in the light of the silvery moon with
a feather up your backside!" 
It's funny how folks react to perceived "superstitious
nonsense". Truly, BD is a fantastic claim. However, the
"alternative conceptual model" behind Steiner contains a
consistent and logical philosophy if you dig into it. The amazing part is
the statement that we can manipulate material stuff is a way that manages
subtle energies, which then in turn influence the material world. That
would be superstition if there were not experimental evidence that it
works.


David Robison

mushroom compost

2003-02-12 Thread Dave Robison

At 12:04 PM 2/12/2003 -0500, flylo wrote:
We have a mushroom plant nearby
that practically gives away it's 
spent mushroom compost to gardeners
I had a paper on mushroom compost from the Vancouver, BC group, can look
for it there's interest. The gist was that it's "dead" humus,
having been subjected to a monoculture process, it needs exposure to
sun/air/preps to become enlivened again. Best use is a surface mulch, if
you can pile it up with preps for a month or two before use even better.
My experience is that is high-cellulose, low-lignin so it disappears in a
year without leaving much humus. I've not heard of arsenic but, unless
they are organic, they often apply lots of systemic insecticide against
mushroom fly and fungus gnats. I would be wary.


David Robison


Oregon BD

2003-02-11 Thread Dave Robison

Theres another new posting for more advanced practioners
---
"Planetary Processes in the Preparations" based on
Lievegoed
from
www.oregonbd.org
select the "Community Page", then the article


David Robison


Oregon BD

2003-02-10 Thread Dave Robison

In response to the lot, 'Introduction to Biodynamics' is
posted at
www.oregonbd.org
Select the "Introductory Class" from the menu to left.
Best to go thru the menu so you have all the frames.
There are download buttons now at the ends of each chapter. These deliver
a .doc file so you don't have to wrestle with html pages.
New posting for more advanced practioners ---
I have added a paper on "Form Gestures of Animals" on the
"BD Community Page". I found Shad's book on the subject very
useful to understand the three-fold form which gets kind of glossed over
in BD because it applies to animal bodies more than plants. Also found it
helpful to elaborate on horns versus antlers. As roger said:
But when I read (in David's course
notes) about the process by which it becomes so, I laughed with chronic
disbelief - how, I thought, could anyone be taken in by such patent
cosmic clap-trap? 
Hee hee. Me too. So roger, can you explain about 
Since 'discovering'
within myself the ability I have to detect energy flows, that
understanding has grown in depth.
Also what's this about alfalfa being 509? Without doubt it is an
important herb, but what do you do? Do you prepare it?
Other news -- we had a weekend meeting with Ruth Zinniker to discuss prep
making. She is probably the "oldest" prep maker in terms of
being in the "chain of transmission" from the original
lectures. She is a very practical person and basically just told us to
keep doing it and stay off the head trips. She wouldn't let us just sit
around talking; we had to go out and do some chores with her! Ruth has
some reluctance about flow forms, feels they have the lemniscate but not
enough vortex. Hence they tend to bring in whatever the natural forces
are and fail to gather the farmer's individuality. She likes stirring
machines better because they have a strong vortex; she was interested to
hear about Steve's egg-shaped machine. Ruth stirs for her farm by hand in
a 50-gal barrel, so maybe 25 acres worth each time. So spraying occurs
over several days each time.



David Robison
Stellar Processes
1033 SW Yamhill Suite 405
Portland, OR 97205
(503) 827-8336
www.ezsim.com


Intro class

2003-02-10 Thread Dave Robison


It's an option off
http://oregonbd.org/class
Be careful when you download it. I suggest you use Microsoft Internet
Explorer even if normally you use another browser (such as Netscape, like
I do) because MIE will keep the images in their right places after you
save the files, and there are a lot of images.
Actually, we added a download button a the end of each chapter that will
give you a .doc file. It's a real hassle to try and download the html
pages with interspersed graphics. 


David Robison
Stellar Processes
1033 SW Yamhill Suite 405
Portland, OR 97205
(503) 827-8336
www.ezsim.com


books

2003-02-07 Thread Dave Robison

At 12:00 PM 2/7/2003 -0500, roger wrote:
'Introduction to Biodynamics',
Class of 2001. In my opinion this is the finest and easiest to read and
understand book about BD in existence today. That it has not been
published is a real shame because it means it's only available to people
with an internet connection.
Thanks. OTOH, this way it's free, it can be (and is) updated all the time
and I don't have the burden of tying up capital in boxes of unsold books.
For those without a connection, I hope they can find a public library, a
friend or some other way to get connected.
The idea was to put down all the stuff I wish someone had told me. I too
am deeply disappointed by the reluctance of the traditional
"names" to explain their knowledge. I have been re-reading some
of their old articles -- I know they have that level of understanding.
But why is the explanation not publicly shared anywhere? If anyone has
gone thru a formal training program like Emerson College, I would be
curious to know if they feel like they got the explanation. I think the
expectation is that it takes several years to get it all across.
Consequently, the "names" don't feel they can teach enough in
just an article or two. It also seems to me that there is a bias against
internet technology. I agree it would be better to communicate
face-to-face but here is a tool that permits dispersed, rural populations
to share in a process; it seems crazy not to take advantage of it. O
well.


David Robison


tree paste

2003-02-07 Thread Dave Robison

At 12:00 PM 2/7/2003 -0500, Allan wrote:
Someone remind me: where does
'water glass,' or whatever it was, fit into this recipe? (Instead of
sand?? instead of equisetum) AND, is 'water glass' a
liquid?
Sodium silicate Na2SiO3. It's a reasonably soluble silicon compound,
available as aqueous solution from chemical supply places. 


David Robison


Subject: Peace Seeds

2003-02-06 Thread Dave Robison


Does anyone know if Alan Kapuler is still running Peace Seeds, 
and if he or the company has email or a web
address?
I think you want
http://www.abundantlifeseed.org/index.htm
Note they have some BD seeds!


David Robison
Stellar Processes
1033 SW Yamhill Suite 405
Portland, OR 97205
(503) 827-8336
www.ezsim.com


OT: biodiesel

2003-02-05 Thread Dave Robison

I guess biodiesel is off topic. For those interested, there is a pretty
active list group at "Alternative Energy List"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
also check
http://www.homepower.com/
The oil isn't burned directly as fuel, but goes thru a process of
esterification that involves treatment with harsh chemicals. So don't
expect anything subtle to survive. Also don't expect the "subtle
energy" to show up as physical energy. 
Emtergy or net energy analysis is part of the question. If it takes more
energy to produce than you get from combustion, the fuel isn't worth it.
Conventional ag is a good example -- the amount of fossil fuel invested
isn't matched by the output. OTOH, natural farming can be very
beneficial. Plants are a low-tech solar collector, the question becomes
what energy does it take to gather, transport, process the biomass.
Nebraska's Small Farm Energy Project (including BD farmer Bob Steffen,
grower of the super-good oats) did some great work in that 
area.


David Robison


compost tea

2003-02-04 Thread Dave Robison

At 12:04 PM 2/4/2003 -0500, Merla wrote:
This is my year for my own BC &
500 AND for 24 hr aerobic compost tea.
Exactly in what proportion do you combine them? 

Allan's post answered your questions very well. Compost tea has been used
by BD farmers for a long time and no one bothered to get all technical
about feeding the culture. Allan's explanation was very good; we just
don't yet know if "brewed" compost tea is needed. Thanks,
Allan, for articulating the issue. 

Also a post from Ms.
Berkley, possibly on the regulation committee on
the NOSB standards in the Compost Tea list/serve files states that CT
is
considered raw manure.  I thought that was not being enforced 
this
year.  Am I asking this on the wrong list/serve or can someone
answer?
I don't want to have my OG certification denied.

I'm not current in this area, I thought the decision was that if the
compost was acceptable (ie. met all the requirements for number of
turnings, temperature etc) then you could apply it as you wish. There may
be some requirement for a minimum time period between application and
harvest. More to the point, why bother with getting certified? I believe
small growers are exempted from the certification requirement. What do
other folks do?


David Robison


radioactives

2003-02-03 Thread Dave Robison

At 12:03 PM 2/3/2003 -0500, Jane wrote:
I
just found out tonight when our smoke alarm kept beeping after
changing
the battery & then taking it down from the ceiling, that it contains
a small
part with the old radioactive symbol on it and warnings about it
containing
radioactive material, which if needing repair should be sent to the
company.

Yep. Very small amounts of americium, a radioactive isotope that emits
alpha particles. Alpha particles are large and get absorbed by anything
they bump into, so they don't radiate very far. They last just long
enough to knock some electrons off any air borne particles, hence
ionizing the particles. The detector is actually detecting the increased
ionization and interpreting that as smoke. The photoelectric kind look
for increased turbidity or scattering in the air as evidence of smoke.
The ionization ones are cheap to produce and have been widely used as a
result of fire/safety codes. Ironic case of one good idea resulting in
unanticipated consequences.
How is it
possible that such things can be manufactured for use in the
home?
Cause the govt has decreed that they are safe, ie) minimal risk. Just as
they have selected nuclear irradiated meat for our school lunch
program.
Does
anyone know anything about these things? Are our landfills,
incinerators & backyards full of these things decaying and
leaking
radioactivity along with all the other pollutants?

yep. But along with psuedo-endocrine plasticizers, halogenated
hydrocarbons, mercury, etc in the landfill, who would notice?
Alan says
Now
we are hearing that many of the shells dropped in yugoslovia and
Afghanistan were radioacitve, made of old
plutonoium
as others pointed out, it's actually old uranium. Plutonium is fissile,
so the govt doesn't let go of it, it's too useful for weapons of mass
destruction (we'll keep ours). Uranium has several isotopes, only one if
directly fissile. So the govt separates the one and are left with a big
pile of the other isotopes. What to do with the big pile? Some can be
irradiated into plutonium, but there's much more left over. A metal twice
as heavy as lead -- hey, this would make great bullets. So the military
developed depleted U munitions. Great for armor piercing. Of course, the
isotopes of uranium are still radioactive, just less so than the fissile
one. And these bullets get vaporized when they hit and the radioactive
vapor causes cancer in the lung. But, hey, that's somebody else's
problem.



David Robison


preps

2003-01-31 Thread Dave Robison

Roger, thanks for bringing up an interesting
thread.
At 12:02 PM 1/31/2003 -0500, Roger wrote:
1. Did Steiner really intend
BD502-507 to be used solely in compost manufacture?

That's how he introduced it in the lectures, Pfieffer and others used it
for seed baths etc.
2. Did he identify
equisetum as BD508 or was it someone else?

I dont think he gave the numbers
3. Is there a
'missing' BD509? If so, what might it and its purpose be?

not from RS, some give horn clay that number
Someone told me once,
or I have read it and forgotten where, that the preps are not numbered
sequentially but that 502-508 actually fall between 500 and 501. That is,
the 'sequence' could be 500, 502, 503, 504, 505, 506, 507, 508, 
501.

sort of, in that 500 is the earthly pole, 501 the cosmic pole and the
preps arranged in between, tho not in that numeric order. SStorch
response is very good. also see the table in chapter 4 of the intro class
at
www.oregonbd.org
and Glen's material at http://rimu.orcon.net.nz/garuda/books/index.html 
Note that RS introduced the preps as polar pairs, eg) 502 and 503 are the first discussed and stand at opposite ends of the polarity, they are not necessary closer to 500 just because they have a smaller numbers and sequential order.
The plant growth cycle is divisible into nine stages - mature seed, cotyledons, buds, leaves, calyx, petals, pistils, fruit, immature seed.
There are at least twelve major building blocks of life - eg calcium, magnesium, potassium, sulphur, nitrogen, carbon, hydrogen, phosphorus, silicon, sodium, chlorine, manganese.
There are also trace elements and other minerals that life needs - eg copper, mercury, iron, silver, tin, zinc, lead, aluminium.

others, such as Haushe(sp?), have tied elements to the 12-fold zodiac, but it's not the same thing
Now if we look at the preps we find that some of these are represented and the plant stages fit conveniently as well.
500 - horn manure - calcium - (balances soil, encourages microbial life)
502 - yarrow - sulphur - copper - (seed)
503 - chamomile - oxygen - mercury - (cotyledons)
504 - nettle - nitrogen - iron - (bud)  
505 - oak bark - carbon - silver - (leaves)
506 - dandelion - hydrogen - tin - (calyx)  
507 - valerian - phosphorus - lead - (petals)
508 - equisetum - silica -  (pistils, stamen)
(509)  - ?? - ?? - (fruit)
501 - horn silica - light energy - (seed)

No, this is your interpretation. The plant stages and operations are quite different. A good reference is Livegood's "plantetary influences on the preps", the primary source for the table listed in Chapter 4 of the intro class. I should post a summary. I do have a draft article covering Konig on the animal sheaths that will be posted soon (it's being reviewed now)
Also note that RS did NOT include equisituem as a compost prep. He listed it as a remedy for fungus type disease, as he said to "push back" the etheric from the outside when etheric was too diffuse. BTW, oak bark is described as doing something similar but as "pulling back" the etheric to the center.
Livegood and Konig both discuss the prep in the compost pile as providing the same sort of cosmic focal points that animals do with their organs
Given the exactitude of scientists it seems unlikely that Steiner numbered his preparations in the order they 'came off the shelf' 
I think thats just what he did

Let us now enter the realm of fantasy. Let us suppose Steiner had a device which enabled him to measure the amount of 'standing' energy held in things and that at some time pre-superphosphate era he had measured the soil and come up with an amount I shall call X enertrons. 
this is pure speculation
Peter says
Perhaps the two preparations matured in cows horns relate to the winter Sun
and its digestive activity and the summer Sun and its ripening capacity.
Perhaps these two were given as a duality.
Quite so
Steve says
  I have been adding the 500 and 501 for over a year and like the 
results.  The 508 adds great fungal activity to the compost. 
Cool! Neat to see folks developing their own approach. No doubt there's more than one way. I'm not clear on the equisitum, I would think it needs to be on the outer skin.
Allan, the same site lists one of Will Brinton's reports on results of compost tea on grapes. I would think that Allan York would know of it. Perhaps he meant the results for aerated tea weren't in yet. As I recollect, Will's directions for the tea were to put compost in a bucket of water, place by the barn door and stir each time the farmer walked by. So it's aerobic but not aerated. 


David Robison
Stellar Processes
1033 SW Yamhill Suite 405
Portland, OR 97205
(503) 827-8336
www.ezsim.com


BD Now! Audio Files

2003-01-16 Thread Dave Robison


I haven't noticed a lot of interest in the audio files that are posted at
www.ibiblio.org/biodynamics
Case in point: I made a call for other people's tapes and have received
to replies.
Let me know, ok? We'll count lurkers in this poll
also.
Allan, a couple of points. 
1) I'm surprised that you are tying up your own computer. I guess that's
setting up Real files. It doesn't tie up to do the streaming does it? If
so. then maybe you can find a non-profit server to host? It seems like a
lot to ask of you.
2) Thanks for providing this valuable service. I'm really glad the
resource is available. And having said that -- I haven't used it myself.
I listened to a bit of some tapes but didn't want to take the time to
listen to the whole thing. I work at my computer but somehow don't find
it conducive to listen to, even for music. And audio lectures are a
demanding media, you can't just let it pass by like video or jump
forward/backward like text, you have to be involved to actually listen.
So even tho I think this is a great resource, I'm not likely to be using
it much. When I go into research mode and find a relevant tape, I would
want to listen once and take some notes. That would be about it. I would
probably not listen again tho I might reference the source material.

BTW, I have it in mind to tape some future events, just don't have any
ready at the moment.
3) On the lurker thing -- I'm not sure I get it. I don't always post on
every subject and there are many times I wish others were as judicial. We
get a lot of  unneeded shlock on this list, in addition to comments
that I highly value. That's freedom of expression, can't have one w/o the
other. Overall, this is a great group, what's the problem? 


David Robison


Copper sulfate

2003-01-02 Thread Dave Robison

Steve--
What are you trying to do? What is the desired influence? What is your
source?
Copper sulfate is a potent algaecide and I assume would have injurious
effects on other microbes. Obviously it affects fungi, presumably even
the beneficial ones. I'm not keen about using it as a spray -- I use a
minimal bit on peaches because otherwise peach leaf curl is fatal
in  our climate. But I'm always leery and wonder what I might be
doing to the soil. I guess it's considered "organic" on the
theory that it occurs in nature, but that's not a good argument to me. I
can think of other toxics that occur in nature.
Cu is an antagonist to Zn and prevents biological absorption when present
as a trace mineral. Of course, Cu and Zn metals are not the same as the
ion salts so the action of metal filings may be different. 

hey, an unrequieted answer, going
through old mails...  Get some copper dust 
and zinc dust, the metal filings, place on a large log, end grain, and
beat 
with a hammer, early morning is best.  Place filings in your
stirring barrel 
when stiring bc, 500, 501 or 508, this will bring in the desired
influence in 
the proper way...sstorch


David Robison


Science article on BD

2002-12-23 Thread Dave Robison

For those interested in objective science reporting 
see
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/296/5573/1694?ijkey=Fh/EYrZtSiFKc&keytype=ref&siteid=sci
European researchers examined several ag systems including BD.
"Organic" and BD are pretty similar in yield, lower than
conventional ag, but with less inputs so that profits are comparable.
What is interesting is the pronounced difference between BD and
"organic" regarding soil microbiota. Both have better organic
structure due to use of compost but BD shows some dramatic differences in
the bio-activity level of the soil. The lower yields are a disappointment
-- one could wish they had tested for food quality rather than just
quantity. I also wonder if the BD practices could have been improved,
given that they report Phytophtora blight on the
"organic" and BD potatoes contributed to lower yield. In
contrast, grain yield was 90% of conventional



David Robison


nettles, trees ,etc

2002-12-19 Thread Dave Robison

A lot of good questions!
flylo wrote:
Nettles! I was lamenting my nettles
a few years ago, and now I'm 
not sure, but I think I should be happy to see them appear. I saw a 

photo on the
www.oregonbd.org
site of a wheelbarrow full of nettles 
being turned with a shovel before sending off to the compost bins. 
Can I just pluck all my nettles and toss them into the compost or 
should they be aerated, treated with something or other, or what? 
Nettles are a wonderful ,powerful herb. Just by growing they provide a balance to the surrounding area, increasing the outer planet, "higher" type formative forces. Traditionally, they are related to Mars and a balance for iron in the soil. They are a potable green in the early spring, medicinal herb or tea plant, as others pointed out. They are a great addition to the compost pile, used fresh as a source of N. The pile doesn't need any treatment other than the normal, ie) aeration, Pfieffer starter, BD preps or whatever you normally do with your pile. The pictures mentioned show using a lot of chopped nettles in making the BC prep.
Thanks to Woody for the great answer on tree practices. Merla raises the question we always get, "if organic gardening is good enough, why mess with all this other BD stuff?". Indeed, I think the way organic gardening is practiced these days meets a good 75% of what RS was trying to advocate. But it doesn't get to the whole thing, as Woody explains. Organic practices such a dormant spray aren't necessarily wrong, (tho  a strong fungicide like lime sulfur is not organic and can be damaging to microbials.) Tree paste/spray is more trouble to make up and apply but feeds in a way harsh chemicals do not. There is also a question of do you need these sprays? Tent caterpillars can be controlled with manual pruning, mites etc with natural predators/ ecodiversity, fungus with CT. It depends on the tree varieties and many other factors.  But the bottom line is that, as BD practioners, we do believe that we are doing something more than merely growing with organic practices. 


David Robison


Re: BDNOW digest 1339

2002-12-16 Thread Dave Robison

At 12:04 PM 12/16/2002 -0500, Patti
wrote:

My brain and butt had both caved in by the time we reached the
glossary in the back.  Must return there soon as likely many of the
puzzlers will be put into placeMaybe the Oregon folks could have made
that part of the course available in the beginning or better still, on an
ad lib basis for the occasional doofus stumbling through.


Hmm. We can certainly add a footnote letting folks know the glossary
exists, sounds like you would have liked some hypertext popup boxes with
definitions. Have to think about that. We are planning some rewrite and
new articles during the winter slow time so stay tuned.



David Robison


web?

2002-12-02 Thread Dave Robison


PS
If there are any webdesigners on the list who'd like to help get all the
BD-related files I have that should be linked to
www.gardeningforthefuture.com,
please contact me off-line at [EMAIL PROTECTED] - AB
What do you need help-wise? I will be off on a yoga retreat for a few
weeks, but usually have time during the "dead week" between
Xmas and New Years.
And I'm sending wishes for your foot as well. 


David Robison


What is Willard Water?

2002-11-26 Thread Dave Robison

The e-group has posted a book describing Willard water. It's
mostly anecdotal information of folks' experiences. Reports of good
results to heal burns, restore animal health,etc. What makes me think of
501 is one story of inducing premature fruiting in corn plants. They
can't say exactly what it is, a form of re-structured water best used in
1:1000 dilution rate. Influence of silicates and polycylic compounds from
lignite (fossil humus). I have no experience myself one way or another.
If anyone is interested I can send the book as an e-file. Also an
unrelated paper by Coates that shows Schauberger's design for vortex
pipes. Or you can join the group yourself at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Mr_Tracys_Corner/
Barry, who participates on this group, discusses magnetic devices
to restructure water at
http://www.subtleenergies.com/



David Robison


What is Willard Water?

2002-11-25 Thread Dave Robison

Good question. I've been following various discussions on
the subject on an "alternate health" e-group. It is a
proprietary catalyst type water, derived by a geologist originally. Seems
to have silicate in it, perhaps in a potenized form like 501. See
http://www.dr-willardswater.com/whatis.html

A gallon would go a long way since you add just a small amount to regular water to use. A number of on-line alternative herb/ag stores carry it.


David Robison
Stellar Processes
1033 SW Yamhill Suite 405
Portland, OR 97205
(503) 827-8336
www.ezsim.com


video/discussion

2002-11-15 Thread Dave Robison

At 12:05 PM 11/15/2002 -0500, Allen wrote:
What we want, Dave, is to get many,
many people interested in biodynamically grown food because of it's
quality and it's superior taste and the restorative nature of this sort
of agriculture. What we want to do is alert people to HOW LITTLE federal
organic standards are actually providing them, if theyk, lie we, believe
that food is your best medicine and your truest connection to the
universe.
I get it. Yes yes yes.


David Robison
Stellar Processes
1033 SW Yamhill Suite 405
Portland, OR 97205
(503) 827-8336
www.ezsim.com


Video/Discussion

2002-11-14 Thread Dave Robison

At 12:03 PM 11/13/2002 -0500, Allen wrote:
It would be great if others have
similar programs and we could get some synergy going with our
materials.
Also, as I'm sure most already know, there is a "market" for
web-based education in this country and around the world. If we had a
short web-based educational program, 
Just a sec. We already did that. The oregonbd.org site has our six week
intro course posted in its entirety -- and it's free. I tried to include
summaries of the various points of view, it's based on experiences from a
human-interface class, we are slowing adding second-level material.
Comments for others have always been welcome. What more do you
want?


David Robison


OFF: conspiracy

2002-11-01 Thread Dave Robison

This off-topic thread is a bummer.
I just saw Michael Moore's "Bowling for Columbine", a
black-humor documentary asking why Americans are so violent. You have to
laugh to keep from crying. Moore's point is that our culture is unique in
emphasizing fear. No wonder we go off the deep end. 
But the real irony is that even us disaffected counter-culture types play
into the same game, painting a grim picture can calling it
"realism". It's time we stopped contributing. Don't give your
power to negative vibes.
Oh, and go see the movie if you have the chance.


David Robison


equisetum

2002-10-14 Thread Dave Robison

At 12:04 PM 10/13/2002 -0400, Allen wrote:
There's a good photo display of
hyemale at
http://members.eunet.at/m.matus/e_berkley.html
Gee, Allen. No wonder you had trouble identifying the plants. I did
recognize a couple of the homo sapiens but found it rather difficult to
focus on plant characteristics.  :)


David Robison


equisetum

2002-10-14 Thread Dave Robison

At 12:04 PM 10/13/2002 -0400, Allen wrote:
I remain pretty confused about
identifying the varities of equisetum. As far as I can determing, both
Hymale and Arvense appear in BOTH forms, the bush 'pine tree' and the
leaveless 'snake grass' or 'joint-grass.' Chadwick says that arvense is
the only equisetum that has joints that end with a brown edge. Photos of
hymale on the web show it to have a brown edge to the
segments.
See pictures below
http://plants.usda.gov/cgi_bin/topics.cgi
It shows pictures and distribution map for the various species.
I believe hymale is the naked stem species. 
I've not heard the "brown edge" criterion before -- the
criterion I've heard is that it be the vegetative, as opposed to the
spore bearing stalk. And that comes from RS lectures. praetens seems to
be the only species close enough to be confused and it might be close
enough for use anyway.
For a more detailed botanical keying system see
http://hua.huh.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/Flora/flora.pl?FLORA_ID=12395
BTW, it may be too late to harvest now. At least we always
try to harvest before summer solstice. You can order dried herb from JPI.
But given that it grows in every state, it should be possible to find a
local source.
I know what equisetum does (anti fungal wise). The interesting part is
how and why (in fact the how and why for all the preps). And that leads
to some deep thoughts about subtle natures. 


David Robison


equisetum

2002-10-11 Thread Dave Robison

At 12:03 PM 10/11/2002 -0400, Sharon wrote:
 Equisetium arvense is the
recommended one for biodynamics, we had the other
hymale growing in our garden and did an experiment, with fermenting it.
The
hymale did not have the strong potent smell as does the arvense, although
it
is similar. it seems worth the trouble to get the arvense to me.
:)Sharon
Hymale is the naked stem we call "joint-grass". It has no
leaves and the spore cone is on the end of the stalk. So it's pretty
different. Of course, I don't really know how different the various
members of the equisetum family might be for prep making. All have high
silica and sort of micro-teeth like scales in their outer surface. Which
is why they were used as "scouring rush". 
I don't feel I fully understand why equisetum is what it is. I used to
think that the tea was contributing Si but now I think it is much more
subtle than that. I sent in a post a while back about JPI's analysis
showing that the tea has a high S content. And the plant itself can be
described as a Ca plant. RS describes it as "pushing back"
excessive etheric force, as opposed to "drawing in" higher
formative forces, as done by the Si in 501. Or the "pulling in"
of etheric forces as done by the oak bark /skull prep. This sort of
connects with Ca and sort of connects with having a purely vegetative
stalk. And S is the important catalyst for bringing in higher formative
forces. I also note that RS described equisetum in a different context
from the other preps. It's separated from the 500/501 axis, separate from
the compost pile preps, and included in his discussion of lunar/water
aspects connected with remedies for "disease". All makes it a
very interesting subject.


David Robison
Stellar Processes
1033 SW Yamhill Suite 405
Portland, OR 97205
(503) 827-8336
www.ezsim.com


equisetum

2002-10-10 Thread Dave Robison

At 12:03 PM 10/10/2002 -0400, Daniel wrote:
Could some one please list or point
me in the direction of instructions on
making equisetum tea.  My understanding is that there are two types
of
equisetum, can you use either?
There are many species -- E. arvense or field horsetail is the one
indicated. Other species occur, wood horsetail (E. sylvaticum) or giant
horsetail (E. telmateia), for example. Related E. pratense
is found in New England, upper Midwest, Canada, Alaska.
We have always said to use plants with the feathery but non-spore
bearing fronds (dimorphic). Easy to distinguish from the many other
species that have spore cones and leaves occurring together
(monomorphic). See the pictures at
www.oregonbd.org
Intro class #4. Best to harvest in late spring,before summer solstice.  Arvense and pratense are both common North American species and there are also frequent natural hybrids. We have assumed these are basically the same as E arvense as long as the fronds do not have the spore cases on them. Don't use species with spore cones on the end of the same stalk as the leaves and you should be ok.
This is one remedy that needs no preparation. Boil the tea well for 20 minutes or so to make sure the good stuff dissolves. You can use fresh or let it ferment -- Kolisko recommended the fermented tea. Dilute about 1:10 to use. 


David Robison


Re: BDNOW digest 1272

2002-10-08 Thread Dave Robison

At 12:03 PM 10/8/2002 -0400, Allan wrote:
>>Elaine revealed the
> >results of testing some BD preps earlier in the year. I'll leave
it
> >to attendees who actually had a chance to attend the
presentation to
> >fill in the details.

OK, Allan, we are all waiting


David Robison


Forward: Questions on preps

2002-09-30 Thread Dave Robison

Forwarded re) prep making
Subject: Re: Forward: Questions on
preps
From: "walivia" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
This is all very interesting.  Certainly more communication between
prep makers is in order.
We have dehydrated intestine and I believe a mesentery too, in the fall,
and rehydrated and stuffed them in the spring to hang.  Don Tipping
is who took the organs to dry.  We blew the intestine up like we do
the bladder to facilitate drying which as I remember went very
well.  We'd need to check our records for our results.
It is illogical to butcher in the spring because you'd be feeding your
cows the most expensive feed (hay) for the littlest weight gain during
the winter and then slaughtering your animals just when you have the
greatest abundance of the most nutritious and cheapest feed, spring
pasture.  We wouldn't be interested in supplying an animal in the
spring for that reason on a regular basis.  Every now and then we
slaughter an animal in the spring if they are weak and old or lame and it
seems the humane thing to do.  Generally I would think animals in
their prime would be better for the preps. 
If my memory serves me correctly Steiner talks about using the inner
membrane of the mesentery which we have interpreted to make sure the
inside is facing the dandelion.  Splitting the mesentery would be
worth trying.
I'm not sure what dictates how much fat is on a mesentery  We have
seen some variability on our cows from very little to small
amounts.  I recall some of the mesenteries we used to get from
Mildred's butcher were quite fatty.  I would guess that it
might have to do first with feed.  Are the cows being grain
fed?  Ours are not.   The second factor is perhaps the
breed.  Different breeds tend to produce different amounts of fat in
the meat, I know.  I would be very surprised if artificial
insemination had anything to do with it.
Wali
---
Wali Via <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>

My comment is that we have preferred to use fresh organs rather than
dried, and certainly not frozen ones. So it sounds like we could try
Cheryl's suggestion using dried organs in the spring. As for the fat,
these animals would be considered lean -- at least leaner than feed lot
beef.


David Robison


new prep pics

2002-09-30 Thread Dave Robison

At 12:03 PM 9/28/2002 -0400, Cheryl wrote:
 
I was interested in your peeling the
mesentary - taking the fat off it.  WE have been getting fatter and
fatter mesentarys and were wondering how to deal with it.  I was
curious as to why they were so fat - as the ones we used to get  in
NZ when I first learnt prep making were not nearly so fat. You could pick
one up and see through it - I think Peter Proctor has a picture in
"Grasp the Nettle".
I was wondering if it was the breed of cows, or the Artificial
Insemination - all from one  type?
 
I will forward these questions to others in the group for further
opinions; I don't know that I have the answers. The cows are grass-fed
from Wintergreen Farm. I will check with Wali for breed and whether
AI.
There are 2 layers of membrane, with the fat in the middle. We try to
squeeze it out while retaining the membranes intact. It's not
easy.
We have
also begun hanging our mesentarys for the summer in cages to keep the
birds off, as in the notes of Steiners Lectures Steiner actually says to
hang the bladders, mesentarys, and sausages of chamomile!  It has
worked really well with the 506, as the hanging seems to melt the fat off
and we get a lovely composted dandelion stuffing after they have been
through the winter burying.
 
I have heard of this too. We might try it next year. 
We somehow failed to take pictures of the skull/oak bark prep. Maybe
everyone's reaction to how gruesome it is. We are planning to try
Malcolm's idea next year -- that the oak bark should come from small
twigs rather than the rind of the tree trunk. Then one has to plan ahead
to collect the twig bark early in the year. 
Do you
use a piece of pipe to stuff the chamomile into the sausages?
We use a bit of plastic ag pipe (1" diam) and slide the piece of
intestine up onto it, and then with a piece of thin bamboo, stuff the
chamomile flowers into the intestine till it is full.  I will see if
I can get my pictures on line so you can see!  It makes it really
easy to fill and we keep the flowers dry.

Or a funnel, we have done something similar.


David Robison
Stellar Processes
1033 SW Yamhill Suite 405
Portland, OR 97205
(503) 827-8336
www.ezsim.com


new prep pics

2002-09-27 Thread Dave Robison

New pictures that is, not new preps. 
Take a look at the process during recent fall prep making.
Posted at
www.oregonbd.org
Select the BD Community page and then the Prep Making page


David Robison


BDA conf

2002-09-25 Thread Dave Robison

BDA has mailed the conference brochure but the info hasn't been posted to
the web. Here's some info:
BDA National Conference Our Animals & Their Plight. Kingdom of Nature
or Industrial Production: How do we keep and treat our domestic animals.

November 8-10, 2002. The national biodynamics conference will be at the
Eugene, OR Waldorf School. Featured speakers include:

Siegward Elas, anthroposophic physician. 
Hugh Cortney, dedicated prep maker of Josephine Porter Institute.
Gloria & Stephen Decater, operate Live Power CSA farm in
Mendocino, Ca.
Trauger Groh, biodynamic farmer and author of Farms of Tomorrow
Revisited, proponent of CSA approach.
Additional workshop speakers: Gunther Hauk, Alan York, Beth Wieting,
Andrew Lorand, Ise Kolbuszowski, Harold Haven, Jim Fullmer, Wali Via and
the Oregon Biodynamic Group. Topics include a variety of workshops on
animal care, prep making, biodynamic principals, anthroposophy,
eurythmy.
Conference fee $125 or $20 per lecture. Biodynamic meals for another $55.
Lodging on your own; limited sleeping bag space. Reduced fees available
for apprentices and interns. For information and to register, contact The
Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association (BDA).
Plenary sessions:
Groh, Gift & sacrifice, what do we owe the animal
Decaters, Living with animals
Elas, Cow Manure and Insect Poisons, importance of animal substances for
plants and humans
Oregon BD group, panel with practitioners
Workshop sessions:
Hauk, large tasks of small animals
York, Animal's role in diversification
Groh, motivation out of spirit -- money and the farm
Courtney, BD ashing
Wieting, Timing -- Steiner's indications for calender
Elas, Earthly and cosmic nutrition -- polar processes in gut and
brain
Lorand, Elemental beings in agriculture
Kolbuszowski, Human nutrition in our time
Countney, making 500
Wieting, Intro to anthroposophy
Hoven, Seed savings and plant breeding
Decaters, working with draft animals
Lorand, BD viticulture
Hauk, Spiritual goals of BD and Waldorf
Fullmer, Farm as living organism
Wieting, BD gardening
Via, Composting for farmers
Kolbuszowski, Euythmry
Lorand, Meditative path of the farmer



David Robison


solar dryers

2002-09-23 Thread Dave Robison

Any thoughts or
pointers? We have the sunshine and I'm keen to add 
value by dehydrating a portion of our produce.
Thanks... Rex
There was a Small Farm Energy Project back in the '70's. Bob Steffen was
part of it. They had some folks using a large air collector, like 10 ft
X20 ft to substitute for propane grain dryers. You used the same fan to
blow heated air thru the grain bin but disconnected the propane burner.
I've though of applying the same idea to a large cabinet dryer that would
then be suitable for drying fruit etc. It's not hard to build a
flat-plate air collector. It makes more sense to me to separate the
components and optimize the heat production. But I don't know of anyone
actually doing this on a large production scale. There are plenty of
small homesteaders using solar dryers, for example,
http://www.humboldt1.com/~michael.welch/extras/fooddeh.pdf
BTW, I just heard that Bob Steffen lost his crop this year due to drought
-- so none of those great BD oats this year.


David Robison


cover crops

2002-09-23 Thread Dave Robison


Dave - Have you found an affordable
source for fava as a cover crop? What about mache? thanks,
-Allan
I've grown my  own seed for years, easy to do for garden scale
plantings. Obviously you need more for a CSA operation. You might buy a
bulk order for the first year and grow it out. Both set copious amounts
of seed. In fact, mache does great as a volunteer crop -- let it seed
once and you will never have to sow it again. I believe Territorial Seed
would sell a pound amount, no doubt other venders as well. 
FAVAs have grown great
for me here, although I've never grown more than a bed of them. I've
actually produced bushels of huge beans from them. They are, however (and
this is ironic, given AC's remarks), suceptibl to fungal attacks. Mine
always got black growing tips in the early spring.

Maybe the temp/humidity there. I grow them as a cool season crop, out by
June. I get some black tips at the end, and some black fly but never been
a serious problem. Using 508 fits. 
Sharon said:
Allen-I have never
been able to grow favas here , maybe  they needed a
special innocculant.I tried several times with seed from Bountiful, as
well
as another place I can't remember. , perhaps fedco. The seed came up
but
just sat there and then died. I'm not used to that in our garden I
thought
it was because it wants an alkaline soil.
I've grown it in Or and CA, where soils tend to be acid.
Never had any problem, never needed an innoculant.  Note that there are
specific varieties of fava, some not cold tolerant at all. Windsor is the
most popular in the trade and it's not my favorite for either cold
tolerance or flavor. Territorial Seed has a good list of
varieties.
 I don't know if a specific innoculant is marketed, I would look for
a vetch innoculant since they are related. The corollary is that if vetch
grows wild in your area, you probably have the bacteria present, just
boost it with compost. I've used garden innoculant in the past, but don't
bother now. BD compost seems to get them the bacteria they need, seems to
be sufficient root nodules. BTW, after compost tea treatment, I had what
appeared to be nodules on poppy plants this year -- dwarf variety of 
papver rhoes was 4-5 feet high. I had no idea they formed symbiotes.
Makes you wonder how many other non-legumes might also be interacting
with the azobacter.

As far as mache, i tried it once
and found it flavorless
so , never grew it again.
I find it a delicious lettuce-flavored green, but with more flavor than
lettuce. Yum. It does become tougher with age, so gather it young and
juicy. Incidentally, it is one of the few plants that actually can grow
in winter (as opposed to sitting there dormant) under cool, low-light
conditions. Great for the rainy Pacific NW.



David Robison
Stellar Processes
1033 SW Yamhill Suite 405
Portland, OR 97205
(503) 827-8336
www.ezsim.com


covers

2002-09-20 Thread Dave Robison

At 12:03 PM 9/19/2002 -0400, Teresa wrote:
Could anyone suggest a cover crop
to shelter this ground and hold it together over the winter? Something to
establish quick, or have I left it too late? Will rye germinate this
late?
I lie rye/vetch because the grass sets a huge amount of root hairs,
adding OM to the soil. Make sure it's annual, not perennial rye, so that
it doesn't get established. Rye grain is ok. My other favorites are
crimson clover (beautiful flower) and fava bean -- both are digested
fairly easily by the soil when you turn them in. And for a cover you can
eat, my favorite salad green is maches (corn salad). Makes a huge amount
of root fiber too.


David Robison


solar dryer

2002-09-20 Thread Dave Robison

At 12:03 PM 9/19/2002 -0400, Rex wrote:
Has any listee built and used the
solar dehydrator developed by Lea? 
I'm interested in any feedback on its
performance.
I built the one that was based on a 55 gallon metal drum, encased in
fiberglass. Is that the one you mean? It worked -- sort of. My conclusion
was that it didn't have enuf collector area to generate enuf heat. I
added a small fan to help draw air thru and a bank of light bulbs for
backup heat at night. I would recommend a different design.


David Robison


Religion?

2002-09-04 Thread Dave Robison

At 12:04 PM 9/4/2002 -0400, Patti wrote:

>Dave,
>I have tried to access www.oregonbd.com but just get a message "unable
>to locate server".  Has this site moved?

Oops. My mistake. It's www.oregonbd.org.



David Robison




Prep container

2002-08-29 Thread Dave Robison

At 12:01 PM 8/29/2002 -0400, sharon wrote:

>  . last time i tried 504 there wasn't much left in the ground.
>the worms must have et it.

We make 504 in a piece of earthenware pipe. Likewise, we bury the other 
preps in an earthenware flower pot. Otherwise, it's difficult to find them 
after the soil critters munched on them.

>as to the b.c. it is quite expensive and hard to
>find a clean , small wooden keg,as recomended.

We make a wooden box from scrap lumber, it's not even round. Seems to work 
ok. I have made a "barrel" in the past, rip a bevel on a bunch of wooden 
slats and band them together into a cylinder. Using regular (Doug fir) 
lumber, it's only good for about one season. So hasn't been worth the trouble.

As for the shape question, I've not tried storing the preps in anything 
other than brown glass bottles, but it sounds like an intriguing idea. I 
don't know how decay-resistant gourds are, and I'm not sure about coating 
them with other substances, but sounds like Steve has had good experiences.




David Robison




Egg shaped

2002-08-28 Thread Dave Robison

At 12:00 PM 8/28/2002 -0400, Ron wrote:
>Teresa, or anyone;
>I wondered, in your research if you came across any information on the
>correct proportions of the egg shape - something that one could construct
>something from? Probably the form would be enclosed by a double cube, but
>its the different curvature top and bottom that has be puzzled on how to
>re-create. Any info appreciated.

Here's an interesting link on the mathematics of the form
http://www.anth.org.uk/NCT/path.htm
Interestingly, the egg shape and the vortex can be described with the same 
math, just change the parameters. Cool!



David Robison
Stellar Processes
1033 SW Yamhill Suite 405
Portland, OR 97205
(503) 827-8336
www.ezsim.com




Religion?

2002-08-26 Thread Dave Robison

***> ATTACHMENT AUTOMATICALLY REMOVED! <**



War on Iraq?

2002-08-26 Thread Dave Robison

***> ATTACHMENT AUTOMATICALLY REMOVED! <**



Steiner Books Free Forum

2002-08-26 Thread Dave Robison

***> ATTACHMENT AUTOMATICALLY REMOVED! <**



Storing Preps

2002-08-19 Thread Dave Robison

***> ATTACHMENT AUTOMATICALLY REMOVED! <**



Kolisko's work

2002-08-15 Thread Dave Robison




Kolisko's work

2002-08-13 Thread Dave Robison

At 12:00 PM 8/13/02 -0400, Teresa wrote:
I have a copy of this book but I'm
in the UK so the best would be for me to scan it when I can get to a
scanner for an hour or three.

This is a nice offer but the book is large, with many graphics, including
some chromas in color. So scanning would be a major task. I think it
would be great if someone wants to undertake the task, but it will be a
lot of work.
I have the book too, maybe we could share some of the scanning or
proofing tasks. Anyone else interested in piecing out the work?

==
Dave Robison


wider use of bd remedies

2002-08-13 Thread Dave Robison

Gil, could you elaborate? How can one build/use
this?
The challenge is to identify the
best tree
types. I have a "Phil Callahan PICRAM Antenna" built by Hugh
Sangster. I use this mounted on a fibre glass fishing rod and coupled
with coaxial cable to a digital muli-meter. With this one can see the low
voltage A.C. anomalies.

==
Dave Robison


flies

2002-07-23 Thread Dave Robison

At 12:01 PM 7/23/02 -0400, Michael wrote:
>Dave- immature larvae of syrphid fllies are not aquatic.  Those aquatic
>larvae in your nettles are therefore not syrphid flies.

Tell it to the Ohio State Extension service -- that was a quote from their 
brochure.
I agree that the syrphids I am used to live on plants, collecting aphids -- 
but I am willing to accept that there may be other species.



==
Dave Robison




Rattailed maggot and 501-5x

2002-07-22 Thread Dave Robison

Allan--
On the 501, "x" and "D" are used interchangeably for a 1:10 potentization. 
I don't know where the 20 minutes of stirring comes from, it's Hugh 
Cortney's recommendation from JPI.

On the bugs, Tony wrote:
>They could be rats tail larvae It belongs to one of the
>fly family not sure which one Could be one of your insect predator flies. I
>recall reading in Wolf Storl Book "Culture and Horticulture" that such
>larvae in compost teas is a good sign that they are ready to be used.
>I have them in my brews all the time during the summer months.

Here's a bit from Ohio extension brochure
>Rattailed maggots, known as the larval or immature stage of Syrphid flies, 
>are about 1-1/4 inches long.
>The body portion is about three fourth inch long and the tail portion 
>(breathing tube) one half inch long.
>These maggots are white-colored with the body portion an elongated, oval, 
>cylindrical shape, which is
>wrinkled and semitransparent, protracting into a long breathing tube (tail).
>
>These larvae of the Syrphid fly live in highly polluted water such as 
>livestock lagoons, polluted
>abandoned fish pools, foul pools and streams associated with barnyards, 
>etc. Maggots are able to live in
>the water, if sufficient solids are present as food. The adult flies 
>resemble honey bees in appearance
>and are often seen "hovering" near the ground in the barnyard vicinity. 
>These flies do not bite or sting
>humans, and are considered beneficial because they are predaceous on 
>aphids, etc.

I get these maggots in nettle tea etc altho with a much longer breathing 
tube. They are really gross looking but not harmful, just means it's time 
to get the tea out. As it says above, the adults are beneficials. The same 
maggots show up in the compost pile if there is too much wet, sloppy 
foodstuff -- I get them if I add a lot of apple pomace without sufficient 
aeration/heat. Once again, I don't consider them harmful, they break down 
the material and prepare it for digestion in the pile.

==
Dave Robison




Steiner Books

2002-07-16 Thread Dave Robison



While we are on the subject ...
A lot of Steiner books are on line, see
http://www.elib.com/Steiner/WhatsNew.php3

==
Dave Robison




BD remedies

2002-07-05 Thread Dave Robison

Peter wrote:
>Could some one expand on this intensify the 501 and what determines a root,
>leaf, flower or fruit year? It's new to me.

While we do have material posted on Thun's theory of the four signs applied 
to months, I'm not sure how it is applied to years. I would guess that one 
classifies the "year" according to the month when the prep is 
placed/retrieved. Or then again, it could be the sign when the year starts. 
like at Easter? Comments, Steve?


======
Dave Robison




vinegar

2002-06-18 Thread Dave Robison

Tiny and Virgina--

>Dave - I appreciate that you are probably merely pointing out a legalistic 
>difficulty, but I guess that acetic acid is acetic acid is acetic acid...
>Ironically, any chemist would tell you that, of course, acetic acid is 
>organic!

Yes, I understand that acetic acid is the same. I was responding to the 
quoted article in which the authors described using various strengths and 
also stated that they used "organic" vinegar, ie) derived from foods. I 
question whether 20% organic vinegar is available -- I can only imagine 
glacial acetic acid would be that strong. But maybe there is a source


======
Dave Robison




chickens

2002-06-05 Thread Dave Robison

At 12:04 PM 6/5/02 -0400, you wrote:
>Can anyone direct me toward info on herbal or homeopathic
>treatment of chicken ailments?

I think Heinz Grotski sells an herbal mix for adding to chicken feed. As I 
recall, the rationale is that birds, as creatures of the air, benefit from 
having aromatic herbs in their diet. On free range, they peck up 
supplements on their own but in confined conditions, they need some herbs. 
I belive Heinz's mix includes hedgerow plants, such as willow bark, 
hawthorn, etc, as well as aromatics, such as oregano, mints, etc. Haven't 
used it but it sounds appropriate. Dunno if it addresses your problem.


==========
Dave Robison




horsetail

2002-06-05 Thread Dave Robison

At 12:04 PM 6/5/02 -0400, you wrote:
>I've found a good source of horsetail which I plan to harvest next week.
>Usually I used dried horsetail to make 508 as needed. I'm wondering if
>anyone has every made the tea at harvest, stored and used the tea as need ?
>any concerns with storage/fermentation ?

Kolisko has some beautiful chromas of the tea pre and post fermentation. He 
felt the fermented showed much more potency.
I belive that it is Koepf who recommends using the fermented tea. It is 
described as going until it develops it's "characteristic odor". It reeks! 
At that point, it can be filtered and stored.
One local farmer ferments a large batch which he then uses for the rest of 
the season, including injecting into the irrigation system. I use it both 
fresh, if I need it right away, and fermented, if I have some. It's a lot 
easier to store the dried stuff.


==
Dave Robison




compost tea list

2002-05-24 Thread Dave Robison

I noticed a new compost tea list
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/compostteas
I see Allan is already signed on.

==
Dave Robison


urban manure

2002-05-23 Thread Dave Robison


>Help me here, a serious question 'caue I'm no zoologist: are elephants 
>ruminants? Cud chewing bliss beasts filled with beneficial 
>micro-organisms?  -Allan

No, not a ruminant. (tho I'm no zoologist either) but they have a big gut 
and a strong digestive process. I suppose elephants are closer to pigs 
(Koenig has an animal classification system that places them there) except 
that their diet is more veg and less omni. I belive that in the wild, they 
would eat more like browse. But in the zoo, they get fed nice, high quality 
hay. I didn't mean to say they are equivalent to cows -- nothing else is -- 
but similar. At one point, our local zoo was marketing "ZooDoo" and it was 
pretty good stuff.



==
Dave Robison




Urban manure

2002-05-22 Thread Dave Robison


>For those of us who don't have the benefit of a cow, what do you think is
>the best form of manure to add to a compost pile?

Good question. I've been trying to include this in the gardening class, 
always interested in more ideas. Here are a few:
1) vermiculture. Worms eat their weight daily and give very nutritious poop.
2) Bunnies. I found a local "Adopt a Rabbit" group that has a barnload of 
poop each week. A hot manure but a good one.
3) Horse stable manure. Another hot manure. The problem I've had is the use 
of cedar chips in the bedding. These do not break down well.
4) Commercial cow. Still good stuff even if coming from agribiz. I wouldn't 
turn it down.
5) Zoo doo. Sure. Elephant doo is great stuff, similar to cow. Antelope, 
lamas, etc are similar to sheep or goats. A cooler manure.

Caveats:
1) Commercial animals may have been treated with antibiotics. Not good but 
I would be willing to use the manure in small amounts, figuring that the 
drugs breakdown in the compost pile.

2) "Confront" herbicide. Last year, some organic growers were contaminated 
by this extremely persistent herbicide. Unlike most chemicals, it does NOT 
break down in the compost pile so you wind up with contaminated compost. 
It's used fairly widely in Eastern WA and OR to control Canada thistle. 
Altho the labeling warns against use on compost crops, it's being used on 
hay and straw that then goes in to the trade with no way to track it. So 
you need to assume that any purchased hay or straw can be contaminated. 
Thus ruling out a lot of stable bedding. I don't know if such ag 
commodities are shipped to you. As always, the more you can rely on 
self-produced compost materials, the better.


==
Dave Robison




Re: BD Qs

2002-05-20 Thread Dave Robison

At 12:00 PM 5/18/02 -0400, Hilary wrote:

Subject: seed soaking
Date: Fri, 17 May 2002 11:32:28 -1000
Does anyone have any experience with soaking seeds in prep solutions
before
planting? If so, what is the method you use, and what results do you
get?
And how do you decide which prep(s) to use?
Thanks!
Hilary

I don't have direct experience but here are Seed Baths from Koepf
textbook on-line at
http://www.soilandhealth.org/01aglibrary/010114koepf/bda.html
I have no idea the source or experimental evidence. Gunter
Hauk makes the same recommendations.
MaterialSeedInstructions
Horn
Manure Spinach Stir
prep for 1 hour.
Barrel Compost  Root
crops  1 part BC+ 4
parts rainwater +5 parts milk, leave 24 hours, stir 5 minutes before
use
ValerianBeet,
onion, tomato, potato 1
tablespoon/10 liters, stir 15 minutes
Yarrow  Grain,
grasses  1 portion (1-2 ml) in 3 liters rain
water, stir vigorously 5 minutes, leave 24 hours, stir before use 
Chamomile   Legumes,
radish, brassicas,
tulips  Same as for
yarrow
Nettle  Barley  Same as
for yarrow
Oak
BarkOats,
lettuce, potato, dahlia   Same as for
yarrow 
Also note Hugh Courtney's experiment spraying the dandelion prep on
snowpeas, reported in Applied BD, I posted a summary chart in the
www.oregonbd.org 
class, chapter 4. One of the rare examples of measured results.

Pam asked
Subject: New 501?
Dave Robison!
Last fall you wrote about making new style 501, mixing in local soil,
with Andrew Lorand. Have the Oregon BD Group members started using it
yet? What are the results?
Pam

Not yet, I don't think anyone has started 501 yet. Wali Via will be using
it, you can reach him thru
Wintergreen
Farm

Date: Sat, 18 May 2002
15:23:05 +0800
Subject: Horsetail/Equisetum Arvense
Hello friends,
I have a lot of horsetail coming up. Do I want the single shoot, or do I
wait for the feathery leaves, which are starting to show. Are there
different uses/applications for the shoot versus the leaves?
Thanks,
Pam

You want the stalk with feathery leaves. The straight barren stalk is
what produces the spores. See pictures on the class site, chapter 
4.
======

Dave Robison


flowforms

2002-05-16 Thread Dave Robison

Merla--

The American manufacturer is http://www.flowformsamerica.com
They have a few local dealers, the closest I know of is in Eugene, Oregon
email: "michelle banasch-sanchez" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>

Yes prices seem expensive, but that's not the whole story.
It takes a lot of design knowledge to properly form all the whorls and 
lemniscates, so don't be surprised to pay the artist a royalty. I think you 
do want to check and find out if the design has been optimized by Wilkes or 
Green specifically for prep making. There may be other designs by other 
artists that are really not optimized for stirring.
OTOH, you can make your own and expect that it is good enough. We have a 
local farmer who made his own forms by casting the belly of his pregnant 
partner. Now there's an earthmother approach!

======
Dave Robison




Soap Sheild

2002-05-09 Thread Dave Robison

At 12:01 PM 5/8/02 -0400, you wrote:
>Are you looking for an environmentally superior,
>"all-in-one" fungicide for your garden? 
>  Decomposes! Soap-Shield
>eventually decomposes to form soluble copper and fatty
>acid, both necessary to the growth of plants and soil
>microorganisms.

I'm surprised no one answered. I don't feel like an expert but I will put 
in my opinion.
The fact is that this is a biocide -- and will have some effect on the 
ecosystem and soil web -- amount of effect is unknown.
Generally, we avoid soap sprays because they affect beneficial insects as 
well as problem ones. Copper, as CuSO4, is a fungicide. One could argue 
that Cu is a essential trace element (true) but the concentrations to kill 
fungus are way beyond the trace level needed. CuSO4 has been allowed as an 
"organic" spray on the argument that it is a naturally occurring mineral. I 
don't agree --it's still a biocide, as are many other naturally occurring 
substances. So it sounds like they are trying to give you an all-in-one 
biocide that will kill insects as well as fungi. Usual chemical mindset 
applied to sell "organic" products.
Why would you want to use it? What problem are you experiencing? Decide if 
it's fungus or insect and follow the appropriate strategy rather than apply 
a scattergun where you might not even have a problem.
Is it ok to use Cu? Well, not exactly. It is a fungicide, acts as an 
antagonist to Zn (another necessary trace mineral), will have some effect 
on soil microlife. And having said that, I do use it myself. In our damp 
climate, it is unwise to grow peaches -- they just die from peach leaf 
curl, even disease resistant cultivars. But the fruit is so wonderful, I 
can't resist trying. I have a couple of backyard dwarf trees to which I 
apply Cu spray sparingly, keep covered so the rain wont wash it down to the 
soil and still have to hand prune a lot of disease off. If anyone has any 
better ideas, I would like to hear them. Greg had a method involving 
fertilizing with horse manure compost that I have not been able to try. 
Someone else suggested crab apple blossom essence but didn't explain how it 
is applied.


==
Dave Robison




compost tea

2002-04-28 Thread Dave Robison

Gil--
I'm not a biologist but I don't fully understand the cases you described.

>We have had two serious cases of bacterial poisoning that has been traced 
>back to
>Organic growers.
>
>The first concerned orange juice made from a mixture of organic and 
>conventional
>fruit. Many people were poisoned and a major national brand nearly ruined 
>by it.
>When it was traced back to the grower, it was an organic grower, who was using
>irrigation in an area with almost no rainfall and thus the folia spray had not
>washed off the fruit when it was processed, resulting in the bacteria getting
>into the fresh juice. (The whole orange is crushed, so anything on the 
>skin can
>be mixed in with the juice.)

If there's no rain and presumably not fungal disease on the tree, why spray 
a foliar application? Is it supposed to be foliar fertilizer? Is it 
supposed to provide longer shelf life for the fruit?
What kind of bacteria would make people sick? Salmonella? E. coli? Were 
these present in the compost? Or the tea? My expectation is that well made 
compost should not have such bacteria present. Nor should properly aerobic tea.

>The other was only a few days ago and from the early report it seems to be 
>very
>high bacteria counts in salad vegetables. This occurred in a very up market
>establishment and may cause them to stop using organic product.

What kind of bacteria? I can't imagine that there would be a problem unless 
it was something like salmonella. Was such a bacteria coming from compost? 
Or was it raw manure? As far as I know, the cases we had of dangerous E. 
coli came from raw manure, in some cases from cows ranging in the orchard 
and windfall fruit being harvested from the ground.
This is an important issue because the scare factor from these cases 
resulted in the gov't developing completely unrealistic regulations 
regarding compost turning etc.


==
Dave Robison




Re: BDNOW digest 1114

2002-04-26 Thread Dave Robison

At 12:04 PM 4/26/02 -0400, you wrote:
>From: Allan Balliett <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Subject: Re: Business Opportunity
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; format="flowed"
>
>>Here is a unique opportunity. Paul is looking for a successor to buy out 
>>his BD flower nursery. Someone's chance to acquire a business that is 
>>already profitable and is being asked to expand.
>
>Where is it located, Dave? -Allan

Forest Grove Oregon, about 20 miles outside of Portland.

BTW, Paul grows only flowers but he is the only BD farm near Portland, all 
the other Oregon growers are further away. There are a number of organic 
CSAs nearby, but none are BD. Portland has a vigorous anthropop/Waldolf 
community, some of whom subscribe to get a weekly delivery of BD produce 
trucked up from California! I surely wish we had a BD CSA in the area, tho 
I think Paul has demonstrated that you can make a lot better living with a 
high-value crop like flowers.


==
Dave Robison




Business Opportunity

2002-04-25 Thread Dave Robison


Here is a unique opportunity. Paul is
looking for a successor to buy out his BD flower nursery. Someone's
chance to acquire a business that is already profitable and is being
asked to expand.
+
SUCCESSORS WANTED!
Disability hastens retirement of
company founders for BD farm operation. Profitable cut flower and
wholesale plant propagation business with production contracts and
established customer base is available. Business assets and equipment,
perennial and woody plant stock, production contracts, Website, business
and computer systems, customer base and broker agreements included.
Organic certification is pending. Established contracted customers asking
for many times current production.
Owners are available for necessary transition assistance.  Land
lease, consulting / non-compete agreements and future participation are
negotiable. For details contact:
Paul Sansone, Here & Now Garden, phone 503 357-5774, FAX 503 357-3858
or email:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]. 

======
Dave Robison


Oh my, a farm! and elementals

2002-04-22 Thread Dave Robison

Pam--
Congrats! I know you've been working for this.
Given the lack of equipment, you might consider staying small at the home 
garden level. No doubt there are folks in the neighborhood who would help 
work up a garden plot.
We had good success with our first year's community garden. The gardeners 
were mostly novices, we had no tillage equipment and we didn't want to till 
up the quack grass anyway cause that would just spread it around. So we 
covered with cardboard, sheet mulched with commercial yard-debris compost, 
planted into beds. Crops were slow getting started because the stuff was 
high carbon, but once roots got down to the soil, they did great. This year 
the soil is beautifully friable with almost no weeds. Of course, BD 
treatments helped. Anyway, that's an option for getting started.

Micah--

This sounds so cool! Are you coming to the spring meeting of the Oregon 
group? Can you share pictures?

>I had a friend who used to photograph the etheric creatures, he would focus
>his camera out, so the rocks, trees, whatever, were out of focus, and take
>the picture. When they were developed, they would be full of life, it was
>amazing.  I went out hiking with him once, and I would see something, and he
>would shoot it, and develop it, and it would be just exactly what I saw. No
>trick except the focus change, and the rocks would have rock people, undines
>in rivers, it was wild!


==
Dave Robison




OFF: kid's science project

2002-04-18 Thread Dave Robison

Wait! Don't bother. Yahoo has deactivated this account as an anti-spam 
measure. I guess this is some sort of a science lesson.


==
Dave Robison




OFF: kid's science project

2002-04-18 Thread Dave Robison

 > From: cherrie tinkler
 >
 > Hi:
 > I am a science teacher at an elementary school in Los
 > Angeles,
 > California. A few of my sixth grade students are working
 > on a project
 > for our 2002 Science
 > fair to be held May 8-9, 2002. We are trying to see
 > where, and how fast
 > e-mail can travel in a period of six weeks.
 >
 > We are keeping track of how many e-mails we get back, and
 > what cities,
 > states, and countries they are coming from. We are hoping
 > that you will
 > be willing to
 > help us with our project!
 >
 > There are only 2 simple steps that will help us to track
 > this email:
 >
 > 1. Please send an e-mail to the following address:
 > [EMAIL PROTECTED]
 > In the subject of the e-mail please include your
 > city, state, and
 > country.
 > You do not need to include your name.
 > Please respond only one time.
 >
 > 2. Please forward this e-mail to everyone on your
 > mailing list. We
 > will be keeping track of the number of responses, as well
 > as the
 > locations. Therefore, send them even to people in the
 > same town.
 >
 > In our science project, we are trying to demonstrate how
 > fast and how
 > far information can travel on the Internet in a six week
 > period.
 >
 > If you receive this e-mail after May 1, 2002, please
 > disregard it, since
 > the project will be over.
 >
 > Thank you VERY much for your help!


==
Dave Robison




Fwd: RE: [Gardening Feedback] lunar calendar?

2002-04-16 Thread Dave Robison

FYI. BBC no longer posts the lunar calendar. Guess it was too outrageous 
for them.

>From: Ceri Thomas - Interactive <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>To: "'Dave Robison'" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Subject: RE: [Gardening Feedback] lunar calendar?
>Date: Mon, 15 Apr 2002 15:56:32 +0100
>X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.5.2653.19)
>
>Dear Mr Robinson
>
>Thank you for your email.
>
>I am afraid we no longer feature the lunar calendar.
>
>Happy gardening!
>
>The Gardening Interactive Team
>http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening
>

==
Dave Robison




Knapweed

2002-04-04 Thread Dave Robison

At 12:02 PM 4/4/02 -0500, Tony wrote:

Is
Merla's knapweed the same as ours in Britain - Centaurea scabiosa or C.
nigra (also known as Hardheads ?  
Names are confusing.
Spotted knpweed is Centaurea maculosa
"Hardhead" is sometimes used as common name for C.
macrocephalea, one of my favorite garden flowers. well behaved tho it has
thugish cousins.
I have it
occasionally in a rough lawn on an old cinder patch but don't find it at
all invasive (it can easily be mown out).  It is, indeed, attractive
and valuable as the major food-plant of cinnabar moth larvae ('football
jersey' caterpillars). 

Tansy ragwort Senecio spp. is the host for cinnabar moth, at least over
here. 
not to be confused with common tansy Tanacetum vulgare 

======
Dave Robison


Prep Questions!

2002-04-03 Thread Dave Robison

At 12:02 PM 4/3/02 -0500, Robert wrote:

>Greetings, all.
>
>I just finished reviewing the various instructions posted on the list
>over the past year for spraying 500 and 501, preceded by a mix of
>502-507.  But I'm a bit confused - none of the instructions agree with
>one another.

The value of this forum is the diversity of opinions. Of course, that 
richness is the source of confusion too, as there are different ideas.
To start, you might review the "traditional" BD practices (eg. Thun's 
"Gardening for Life"). The idea is to spray 500/evening on the earth, 
501/morning as the crops are maturing. 508 (equisitum) as needed for a 
fungus remedy. You might call these the earth spray and the cosmic spray. 
Thun adds BC as another earth prep.

>For ex., one gent says to spray 500 before sowing - then to wait to
>spray 501 until bloom.  Another says to spray 500 one evening, follwed
>by 501 the next morning.  Which is correct???

Sequential spraying is an idea that seems to have come from Hugh Courtney. 
The idea is to follow earth and cosmic sprays in sequence. It has a good 
feel to keep the forces balanced.
But there may be exceptions. When you first work up the soil and it has no 
plant life, you might do just an earth spray. Or when plants need to 
mature, you might to just a cosmic spray. Depends on what's needed, which 
is why the observant practioner is so important to the whole process.

>Also - I have 502-507 in separate vials, for insertion into a compost
>heap.  But can I make a spray out of these, instead - and, if so, how do
>I do it?

Generally, put the compost preps in the pile, without the container. See 
any of the BD texts for specific instructions. Some suggest that you can 
get the same effect and be able to re-use the preps if you keep them in a 
vial. But that's not the traditional practice and it's hard to find the 
little vials again anyway. The valarian prep at least needs to be sprayed 
all over the whole pile.
Sometimes the compost preps are used to treat seeds as a semi-traditional 
practice. Others have developed homeopathic versions of these preps and 
apply them to plants. But this is not the traditional practice and not all 
accept the new ideas.

>As far as sequence, do I apply the 502-507 mix, followed by the 500 and
>then the 501, with 508 sprayed last?

502-507 go into the compost pile, are not sprayed. 500 and 501 are sprayed 
on the earth or the air over the plants respectively. 508 is traditionally 
used only when you have a fungus problem. Altho others like to use 508 as 
part of the cosmic spray.

>  And where does Horn Clay fit into
>the mix - between the 500 and 501, or after the 501?   HELP

That's one of the new ideas, used in conjunction with 500/501 to moderate 
forces. But it's use is not accepted by all.

I am somewhat surprised that you did not receive instructions. Usually, 
whoever supplies the preps includes an instruction sheet. I suggest that 
you check with the Koepf text 
http://www.soilandhealth.org/01aglibrary/010114koepf/bda.html


==
Dave Robison




Re: BDNOW digest 1086

2002-03-28 Thread Dave Robison

At 12:01 PM 3/28/02 -0500, you wrote:
Does
anyone know where I can buy the 2002 Maria Thun calendar in the US?

Not that it's a substitute but the same info has been posted for free
at
Weekly Lunar Gardening Guide hosted by the BBC in England at
http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/lunar/index.shtml
 
I notice that they are redesigning the site so location may change.
Remember we are eight hours behind their time (seven hours during
daylight savings months).


==
Dave Robison


Merla and the Weed Board

2002-03-25 Thread Dave Robison

Another thought occurred to me. Glen Atkinson has gotten international 
registration for his preps. I believe such registration is automatically 
accepted by US authorities (check with the weed board). Perhaps it would be 
worthwhile to purchase from Glen in NZ. Even tho shipping would be higher, 
you would save on registration expense.

==
Dave Robison




Merla and the Weed Board

2002-03-22 Thread Dave Robison


>Dave, everything's O.K. as long as it isn't purchased.  If I had made the 
>Pfeiffer
>Field Spray myself, then it wouldn't have to be registered.  Here are two 
>emails
>I got from Randy, my nemesis yesterday andtoday.  Here is Title 22,
>Chapter 22-2205 Registration, Chapter 22-2218 Violations, Chapter 22-2219
>Remedies for Violations from Idaho Statutes. Myconclusion is that I will have
>to jump through the hoop.  Hugh Courtney can't afford to.

It sounds logical from a government mindset -- whatever they use has to be 
registered. I wonder if JPI can even provide with sufficient information on 
the ingredients. Like is "dry compost powder" sufficient without lab 
analysis? I doubt it, And I doubt that you can get away with a mere $100. I 
expect a lot more will be required for lab analysis.
Another option to consider -- make your own BC and weed peppers, if there 
is an exception for locally made or non-purchased materials (which I didn't 
see in Chapter 22).


==
Dave Robison




Merla and the Weed Board

2002-03-21 Thread Dave Robison

Merla, perhaps I don't understand the registration issues.
Why do you need registration for preps? If you spray homeopathic treated 
water, why does it need to be certified for OG? Is this because the weed 
board needs to claim it as a pesticide? Does compost tea need to be certified?
Sewage sludge isn't certified because of the danger of heavy metals.
Clopyralid pesticide is a serious problem that just showed up last year. 
The chemical is used in as a pre-emergence herbicide under the name 
"Confront". Usage is restricted to licensed applicators, but that include 
lawn companies. These same companies deposit their grass clippings in local 
compost yards. It turns out that clopyralid is completely persistent -- 
almost immune to composting. So anyone who uses that compost for planting 
mix gets zapped. The problem hit commercial growers last year and was 
documented by local gardeners. I'm not sure the extent to which farmers use 
the chemical, non-organic straw bedding may be affected. One more reason to 
make your own compost on-site and avoid brought-in stuff



======
Dave Robison




Re: BDNOW digest 1078

2002-03-20 Thread Dave Robison

Does anyone have an email address to obtain this report? The NZ website has 
no contact info.

>   Dear Organic Friends,
>
>
>   The Research and Development Group of the Bio Dynamic
>   Farming and Gardening Assn. has just finished a research
>   report
>   Frank van Steensel (M.Ag.Sc., B.Ag/Hort)
>   Research Manager of the Research and Development Group of
>   the Biodynamic Farming and Gardening ass.

======
Dave Robison




Testing Preps?

2002-03-20 Thread Dave Robison

I vote to ask for the tests Elaine specified. Count me in for $10.
I would like to test 500, BC and Pfieffer spray.
I would also be interested in comparing some different versions -- like
how does our Oregon 500 compare to Storch's or Hugh's or JPI's. But given
the high cost of tests, I don't think it's worth it unless we get some
special price reduction.
As for why do it? We don't know what we will find till we try, and we may
not find anything that shows up in her tests. 
As an example of learning what you don't know -- thanks, Hugh, for the
mention of the valerian and horsetail analysis. I was blown away by those
results! And I found it strange that no one else even commented on it.
Here's a Si type effect happening without a lot of SI ( which I always
thought was the explanation) but with S instead. Of course, it's not
quantity that counts. But it makes you think when your assumptions are
challenged. Back to checking what RS actually said, rather than what I
thought he said. BTW, that chemical analysis was done several years ago,
I ran across it in an old copy of JPI's "Applied
Biodynamics".
For Hugh or Bonnie or anyone else in the area, the Oregon group will have
it's spring meeting May 5 to unearth last fall's preps. See
www.oregonbd.org


==
Dave Robison


roadside weed control

2002-03-11 Thread Dave Robison

Merla, you asked about BD weed control. I'm not sure why you have settled 
on your prep material but I am concerned. I think you should start with the 
weed slashing, allepath replanting, etc as others have suggested. This is 
conventional enough that you will not be the subject of so much ridicule by 
the establishment.

My understanding of the Pfeiffer Field spray is that it prepares a green 
crop for digestion in the soil, substituting for an active compost pile. 
This may be helpful if you have a green manure crop and you can't arrange 
to compost it -- at least that is how I've used it in the past. The FS will 
help the soil to digest the material and produce a healthy soil. So why do 
that to the roadside area? Won't you be encouraging more fertility and 
vigorous weed growth? I don't see the point. Just because FS contains 
elements of many of the other preps doesn't mean it should be applied -- 
you may not want to be using fertility enhancing preps at all.

As for the weed peppers, maybe. They can't hurt tho I don't know how 
effective they are without a knowledgeable practitioner involved. That is, 
I don't know how much of the human element needs to be there. But I 
wouldn't emphasize their use -- the establishment is not going to understand.

My concern is that failure to achieve results the first year could be 
damaging to the public's perception of BD. I suggest sticking with 
"conventional" organic techniques and try the BD ideas slowly in order to 
gain an understanding of what's working and why.





==
Dave Robison




Re: BD 508 equesetum

2002-02-27 Thread Dave Robison

Response to a number of posts

1) I gather my own horsetail from the woods. Of course, at a garden scale, 
I only need a few handfulls, so a quart or so of dried herb is plenty. The 
North American species is not E. arevense, the European species, but it is 
very close. You want the species that have vegetative stalks (spore bearing 
stalks are produced separately in the early spring). Harvest the vegetative 
stalks and dry in about  June.

2) RS talks about horsetail 508 as "pushing back" the etheric when it is 
too tenuously dispersed. As opposed to oak bark 505 that "pulls back" the 
etheric. In both cases, this has an anti-fungus effect if the plant is 
suffering from fungal disease. I don't know what it does for a healthy 
plant, or actually for the fungus. Steve's observations are very interesting.

3) I have always thought of the prep as providing Si, but in fact, it's 
more complicated than that. Applied Biodynamics fall 1997 had the following 
table showing chemical analysis of two preps (wish they had data on more)

Concentration of trace minerals, mg/L or ppm
Element Valerian Horsetail
Ca  307 414
Fe  7.4 0.2
Mg  271 186
Mn  2.1 0.9
P   55  1116
K   2650888
Si  12  177
Na  3   2
S   144 560
Zn  5.6 0.1

Isn't this interesting? 508 has some Si as expected, but it's really high 
in P and S, and has fair amounts of Ca and K. Who would have expected that? 
Meanwhile valerian 507 has lots of K. Ghroman describes horsetail as really 
a Ca plant that has a lot of Si to balance out the Ca. So what horsetail 
provides is far more than merely Si.
Courtney and Kolisko point out that horsetail tea should be fermented for 
maximum activity. It gets pretty smelly when you do that, giving off H2S. 
Now we know why.


==
Dave Robison




Re: BDNOW digest 1047

2002-02-18 Thread Dave Robison

At 12:01 PM 2/17/02 -0500, you wrote:
>I'm new to the list. Is there a digest version? I couldn't find instructions
>on this anywhere. . . so when you're updating your info at the bottom of
>messages. . . .
>Thanks

I finally got this to work

email to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

with the following in the body
SET BDNOW MAIL DIGEST



======
Dave Robison




Re: CEC Balancing

2002-01-30 Thread Dave Robison

At 08:23 PM 1/30/02 -0200, you wrote:
>I have glanced the article which was kindly sent
>to me by Dave Robinson or the
>Walter Goldstein's article from Sept Biodynamics
>" Cation Balancing : Is it beneficial or Bogus ?"
>It came to me as a surprise because I had this magazine in
>high respect. To my knowledge they don´t have any one to review
>the articles otherwise they would not allow such a bunch of
>crap like that to be published .

Whoa! Enough with these personal attacks!

Walter is a very careful researcher and author, whom I hold in friendship 
and respect. He is deeply committed to BD and trying hard to gain 
acceptance for it in the world of conventional ag. If you have problems 
with his analysis, I suggest you contact him thru Michael Fields Institute. 
You may disagree with another's article, but please treat other persons 
with common courtesy and respect.

I interpret Walter's article as in no way disagreeing with CEC balancing, 
but as saying there is no evidence for the particular level of Ca that 
Albrecht identified as "ideal". I think if you discussed the matter you 
would find that Walter's position is not as different as you think.

As for Biodynamics magazine, I would be the first to agree that they do a 
poor job of reviewing the articles they publish. But that's another story. 
Those who get the magazine may have noticed my letter in the last issue. I 
have had no response from anyone on the BDA board re) their lack of contact 
with constituents and no response from Heinz on my offer to help with 
reviewing articles. Oh well.



==
Dave Robison




CEC balancing

2002-01-25 Thread Dave Robison

I scanned up Walter Goldstein's article from Sept Biodynamics. If anyone
wants, respond to me personally, ie) you don't have to bother the entire
list.
Etiquette note: we would have a lot less stuff on this list if people
responded with personal notes only to the individual, rather than
broadcasting to the entire list. 


==
Dave Robison


intro class on-line

2002-01-15 Thread Dave Robison

FYI
We have been low-key about announcing it, but we are having a one-day 
intensive workshop, "Introduction to Biodynamics for farmers", on Saturday, 
Jan 26. It's sort of an experiment since I don't feel qualified as a 
farmer, but Wali Via from Wintergreen Farm is helping me with it. Details 
are on the website.

I took this occasion to re-write the introductory course that is posted 
on-line at www.oregonbd.org
It is available to all. Thanks to Glen and Hugh and all the others that 
have contributed.



==========
Dave Robison




Re: SFW!: Sprayers for teas

2002-01-12 Thread Dave Robison

At 01:27 PM 1/12/02 -0500, you wrote:

>Essie - For the garden, I go with a SOLO diagphram sprayer with an 
>adjustable nozzle. -Allan

It occurs to me to wonder about pressure differences. If you are spraying a 
pressurized fluid/compressed air mixture, does it create an explosive 
decompression for the bugs when they emerge? I don't think it's a problem 
or Elaine's users would have observed it.


======
Dave Robison




Re: SFW!: Sprayers for teas

2002-01-12 Thread Dave Robison

At 12:45 PM 1/12/02 -0500, you wrote:
>Thanks, Dave.  Actually, the problem is more compost teas than the 
>preps.  One needs a larger aperture to get the entire microherd out 
>there.  Do the regular sprayers (the $30 types) accomodate that?
>Essie

I'm pretty sure they do. The kind I'm thinking of has an adjustable nozzle 
on the end, you just set it for a largish droplet size. From what Elaine 
said, I don't think there is a problem with the size of microbes, nematodes 
are the largest.


======
Dave Robison




Re: SFW!: Sprayers for teas

2002-01-12 Thread Dave Robison

At 11:25 AM 1/12/02 -0500, you wrote:
>And is there a version that doesn't need a tractor to move it? As a home
>gardener, I need a portable-by-person type.
>Essie

For 500, you can apply using a conifer branch as a wisk broom, large drops 
are ok.
For other sprays that need smaller drops, you can use a conventional hand 
sprayer, like what is used for weed sprays -- of course, you would never 
want to use any pesticides in your BD sprayer. I also use a trombone 
sprayer to reach up into fruit trees. Either is about $30 at your local 
hardware store.


======
Dave Robison




Re: Question for Elaine

2002-01-11 Thread Dave Robison

At 02:18 PM 1/11/02 -0500, you wrote:
>Re:  the horse nettle, I'm looking for a picture/info on Equisetum, as
>opposed to what Dave has correctly sent (the "other" horse nettle is a
>nightshade).

See the intro class at www.oregonbd.org
chapter 4


==========
Dave Robison




No virus. Don't delete this file!

2002-01-11 Thread Dave Robison

This one of those urban myths. The file is not a virus but is a part of
Windows.
Check these things out before sending this kind of message.
At 01:53 PM 1/11/02 -0500, you wrote:
I recently received an
email from a relative that informed me that he may have sent me a virus.
As I don't remember receiving an attached file from him I was skeptical
but when I followed his directions I found that I did indeed have it in
my hard drive. Yesterday I sent his instructions for finding and deleting
the virus to people I knew I had written to recently and this morning
received one response saying that he too had the virus, but didn't
remember receiving an attached file from me. I've never heard of a virus
being transmitted without an attachment but as I sent a couple of emails
to this list I thought I would send my cousins remedy anyway. 
Sorry for any inconvienience, here is his letter; 
Hey
All- 

I got a letter from someone on
my mailing list saying they had a virus which was probably passed on to
me and anyone on my mailing list, ergo...You!!  I did indeed have
it, so I assume you're cursed also.  Its easy to remove and is
supposed to be dormant for 2 weeks so here's directions on how to remove
it before its a problem: 
1.)  mash the
"start" button on desktop

2.)  go to "find or
search" button 
3.) in "search for files or
folders" type insulfnbk.exe

4.) make sure your "c"
drive (hard drive) is where its looking

5.) it has a black, ugly icon
which you'll see, Don't Open
It!!! 
6.)  right click on the
file and then choose "delete file" thereby sending it to the
recycle bin 
7.)  empty recycle bin, now
you're ok 
8.) let everyone else in your
address book know too as evidently they got it if you
do 

RB 


==
Dave Robison


Re: Question for Elaine

2002-01-11 Thread Dave Robison

At 12:48 PM 1/11/02 -0500, you wrote:
>Speaking of horse nettle - can anyone send me a picture of this plant,
>or a link to a site that would have pictures?

Solanum carolinense Carolina horsenettle; horse nettle; ball  nightshade
Solanum elaeagnifolium silverleaf nightshade; silverleaved nightshade;
   white horse nettle; bull nettle; oliveleaf nightshade
search at http://www.vth.colostate.edu/poisonous_plants/report/search.cfm

Why would you want them?


==
Dave Robison




Re: Soil Foodweb Questions?

2002-01-09 Thread Dave Robison



Regarding the backyard scale, aquarium bubbler compost brewer,
what is the current research regarding how that compost tea compares to 
commercially brewed tea?
We have heard that commercial brewers must take care to sterilize the walls 
and surfaces between batches. Why is that? Why do the surfaces serve as 
inoculation sites for "bad" organisms? What are the problems with 
surface-dwelling organisms?
==
Dave Robison




Re: Hydoponic BD 2

2002-01-09 Thread Dave Robison

At 10:07 PM 1/8/02 -0500, you wrote:

>As I understand it, plants are basically a thermo engine, using warm leaves
>evaporating moisture to create the "sucking" to pull up the nutrients
>absorbed by the cooler roots.  The greater the temperature difference (delta
>T) between roots and leaves, the more sucking there is.

Sort of, but there is more to the "energy" than simple thermo. The energy 
flux is not simply due to temp difference.

>The more nutrients
>the plant can ingest, the healthier the plant.

BD says there is more to it

>A brix reading of the plant
>seems to bare this out. The higher the brix, the healthier the plant seems
>to be...the healthier the plant the more "umph" its product have ( fruit,
>flowerettes, leaves, etc). It seems that the higher the health level of the
>plant is, the less disease, parasites etc. it has.

Not necessarily, you can have carbo compounds that signal an unhealthy 
condition and attract pests, you can have overly lush growth that is ripe 
for pests.

>Most plants seem to have the greatest spurts of growth in Springtime when
>soil is still relkatively cool and the Sun is warming the young leaves.

BD says there is more to it



>Herein lies my interest in what BD may do. Since the procedure above is not
>chemical in nature, rather it utilizes the normal thermo dynamic process.

OK, but there is more to the plant growth process than just thermo

>Someone suggested or perhaps they miss understood the procedure I described
>thinking it was a hydroponic system. I of course was open to discuss this
>twist on the cold ag system I was familiar with and the concept of blending
>it with hydroponics.

Sounds like you are familiar with use of cold water, say seawater,  in 
pipelines to cool tropical soil and permit the growing of temperate crops, 
such as lettuce. That's a way to establish a temperate ecosystem in another 
climate, it could be done using BD principles in the soil beds. I expect 
you would find some differences, Grohman makes the point that etheric 
forces extend further out of the soil in tropical latitudes.
Better read up on BD first.


==
Dave Robison




Re: Albrecht System and plant brix testing

2002-01-07 Thread Dave Robison

At 12:11 PM 1/5/02 +0800, you wrote:
>William Albrecht in his Albrecht Papers addresses the mineral ratios
>and needs of soils.  The most predominant mineral proportion in soil is the
>Calcium to Magnesium ratio.  This should be about 9 to 1.  If you test your
>soil through a reputable lab, make sure they give you the Calcium and
>Magnesium base saturation levels.  Calcium should be about 68% and
>Magnesium should be about 13.5%.

That example is 5 to 1. My recollection is Albrecht said 7 to 1 is the 
ideal. 9 to 1 is high.


======
Dave Robison




BD system

2002-01-02 Thread Dave Robison

At 04:48 PM 12/31/01 -0800, you wrote:
A 
NUX = heightened sense of smell = MCS..
Makes sense!
Thanks Allen!
Don't know much about homeopathy - but seems to work for many.
I want to know why!  Maybe too scientific minded - I tend to toss
the
mysticism - and want concrete evidence!  Just flipping around sites
BD
(all new to me) seems riddled with nebulous assumptions and 
mystical
elements.  Am I wrong?  
Yeah, me too. Recognize that BD is one aspect (the agricultural part) of
a very complete conceptual model developed by Steiner. Other aspects
relate to Waldorf education, Eurythmy dance/music therapy, medical
treatments, etc. 
You can take the system as an alternative conceptual model -- a way to
explain our observations about the natural world. In that sense, it is
neither to be proved or disproved -- the question is whether it is
useful. Does it explain things? Is conceptual system consistent? Does it
lead to new understandings of how plants behave? Does it lead to remedies
when you observe something off? And BD does all that, once you learn the
system. In that system elementals or nature spirits can be thought of a
poetic means for us to imagine how life is manifesting. 
  But elementals,
prayers to the deities, moon phases?  Tho I try to be open
minded,
my base line is skepticism!
The next part of is more difficult to believe and that is that any of
this stuff actually works. For that, there is a body of documented
experiments.
I tried to cover this stuff in a rational way on the BD Intro at
www.oregonbd.org


==
Dave Robison


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