Re: Northern Star Planting Calendar

[Allan Balliett]

I've been looking over the JPI website and can't find where to order
the calendar, nor the Stella Natura calendar I usually get. (I
normally just buy mine from Allan so maybe I haven't been paying
sufficient attention.)


The flip side of the  'keeping your agreements with your pocketbook' 
thing is that during the last two group buys I was stuck with about 
20 percent of the copies ordered. People requested copies which were 
ordered, but they never sent the funds. This really hurts with a 
calendar. With the maria thun books, it eventually worked out.

Just send email to wanda at the jpi email address and ask her about 
the calendars or, better yet, call with a charge card. I wouldn't 
rely on the JPI web booklist staying up to date.

Thanks, Martha

-Allan

Re: Files, Photos, Attachments

[Allan Balliett]

Allan, as much as I dislike the Yahoogroups, (and I own/moderate
a couple of them), they do have a good section for Files and
Photos. Ithere any way members of BDNOW can post pictures, or
send notices without having to attach mail to email? I rarely will
even open attached mail anymore unless someone sends in a prior
notice that they're sending a photo or something I need to open.


Noone in their right mind will open an attachment that is sent to a 
newsgroup. For this reason, information intended for the group is 
often undelivered because noone reads the attachment. Everyone knows 
that the most recent virus is exactly the one that your virus 
detector won't find. etc

If you have something that you deem necessary to share with the 
group, I'm happy to publish it to the web for you. As you know, I'm 
too grouchy to support chatty publishing, so make sure your items for 
publication are educational and not just show-and-tell.

Thanks

-Allan

Re: Files, Photos, Attachments

[flylo]

I was thinking about the great Xcel weed chart sent in a couple of 
years ago, and some other things like the flyers to announce 
upcoming seminars. 

Re: VIDEO/DISCUSSION Groups was Re: Search for results of Elaine'stesting of bd preps

[ron poitras]

Hello Allan:
I've assembled what I can for our Video Discussion group - outline follows.
I can get (rent) many of the videos from Bullfrog films for a reasonably
good price (8 films $200 including shipping) as long as I don't charge a
fee. (We were not planning on charging anything anyway, but will ask for
donations). Two videos that I can't get are: "Life in theSoil" & "The Big
Country". Do you have these ? Are they worthwhile showing? Can I borrow them
from you? I've looked in the BD archives but couldn't find any of the
publicity materials you used. Is that available? We will end up owning the
Emilia Hazelip video which you or others can use beginning in February.
Thanks for instigating this Allan.

Ron Poitras


Human Scale Sustainable Agriculture

A video and discussion group
  Inspired by the book GARDENING FOR THE FUTURE
 (Howard Shapiro, John Harrison, Bantam Books, 2000)

To be held at the
Blue Hill Library
Monday night, 7:00 beginning January 13, 2003


Presented by the Hancock County BUY LOCAL, EAT FRESH Program

FREE…No Charge!!!

Event Details:

January 13 Video: World Gardener

Bill Mollison is a practical visionary. Over the last twenty years he has
developed a method of sustainable agriculture called permaculture.
Permaculture weaves together annual and perennial plants, animals, soils and
water management and human needs into a functioning ecosystem. This video
covers the application of permaculture techniques in four different
bioregions. "The next best thing to taking a class with Mollison himself",
says Earthworks Magazine.

January 20 Video: The Close to Nature Garden

"The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the
cultivation and perfection of human beings," Masanobu Fukuoka writes in his
book the One Straw Revolution. Fukuoka has spent the last 30 years
perfecting his agricultural techniques on his fertile farm in Japan. He is
that rare combination of inspiring philosopher and astonishingly effective
farmer.  Fukuoka approach to agricultural problems always begins with the
question, "how about not doing such and such"? in contrast to most
agricultural thinking which presupposes that we can improve upon nature. "An
excellent film", says Rodale Press.

January 27 Video: The Synergistic Garden

"An educational video on no-till synergistic gardening developed by french
gardener Emilia Hazelip. It describes step by step the process she has
developed to create an ecological agriculture based on Fukuoka's  book One
Straw Revolution.

February 3 Videos: Garden Song and Getting the Most from Your Garden

Garden Song provides a portrait of the late Allan Chadwick, inventor of the
biodynamic, french intensive raised bed method of gardening. Allan Chadwick
spent 50 years in the garden - digging, planting and watching. This film
provides a portrait of a dynamic human being.
Getting the Most from Your Garden demonstrates what a number of people have
accomplished using  raised bed methods. Included are visits to some
exquisite gardens, including those created by Peter Chan, Leandre and
Gretchen Poisson, and John Jeavons.

February 10 Life in the Soil

You will never look at soil in quite the same way again after seeing this
amazing film. An award winning  Japanese film. Using time-lapse photography.
Composting and the formation of soil are presented in the context of the
exquisite Japanese countryside. In english.

February 17 Video: The Big Country

Alex Podolinsky brought Rudolf Steiner's insights to agriculture in
Australia in 1950's. This film explores the results of this big picture
farmer-researcher's efforts to transform farming down under.

February 24 Video: Beyond Organic - The vision of Fairview Gardens

Fairview Gardens is an urban farm located in Goleta California in the middle
of some very expensive real estate. Managed for the past twenty years by
Michael Abelman this 12 acre organic farm has become a model of sustainable
food production and community involvement, and an inspiration to thousands
of people from around the world.  This film tells the story of this farms
uphill battle to survive in the face of rapid suburban development.

March 3 Video: My Father's Garden

This emotionally charged documentary explores the use and misuse of
technology on the American farm. In less than fifty years the face of
agriculture has been utterly transformed by synthetic chemicals and the
relentless pursuit of efficiency at all cost.  The film profiles two
farmers, different in all the details, yet united by their common goal of
producing healthy food. It captures all of the elements of the crisis and
promise of agriculture and rural life.

March 10 Video: Deconstructing Supper

A leading chef investigates food safety in the age of GMO's and industrial
agriculture. From North America to Great Britain to India and back chef
Bishop shares fascinating conversations and mouthwatering feasts with
farmers and activists. An around the world trip for all those who may be
wondering

Re: rainrot experience

[Will Winter]

"RAIN ROT"

I am glad to hear your equine vet was not pressuring you towards anti-fungal
creams, powders or, worse yet, oral medications for the "rain rot" condition
of the skin.

If it is indeed a fungal infection, I  would recommend TOPICAL APPLICATIONS
OF AN  HERBAL  SOLUTION for helping with pain, itching and the sharp
shooting tingles horses sometimes get from a skin break. This will also
speed the short term healing, lessen the chance of secondary bacterial
infections as well as prevent unsightly hair follicle damage. Anything good
for RINGWORM will work for rain rot. Again, avoid harsh chemicals even if
they are herbal.

I would eschew gooey ointments and salves as well and go with something like
OXXY-PHYTE BALM that Jerry Brunetti sells (Agri-Dynamics 610-250-9280).
Keep this stuff handy in the barn and stable.  You will have good results
with HOMEOPATHY as well.

More importantly, I would consider a HOLISTIC approach and delve into the
reason the immune system is letting invaders into the skin. Minor infections
are like the "early warning" signal that something can be wrong on a deeper
level. 

If you are not giving a VITAMIN-MINERAL MIX supplement be sure to do so.
Also look at the FATTY ACID intake of the feed. Check for MOLD in the hay or
grain as well. Make sure your horses can find pasture/woodland WEEDS for
self-worming. How is your well water (mercury, lead, arsenic, PCBs)?  Avoid
the insane plethora of VACCINES being foisted onto horses these days.
Over-vaccination is the root of most immune problems these days.

Best wishes,

WGW 

Re: Files, Photos, Attachments

[Di Handley]

Kia ora

For some of us in rural New Zealand there is a real problem with access to
the internet.  Any big emails are just very hard to download and can clog up
your system.  I'm told that electric fencing exaggerates the problem.  I
appreciate the fact that BDNow is easily accessible.

Ka kite

Diana

Re: archives and dandelions

[The Korrows]

> Christy, I was looking at the JPI newsletter backlog when I noticed
> an article you'd written in Spring 01, I think.

Here it is. But please note it was written by Chris- my husband. I know it
is endlessly confusing. Poor thing one time in the news papaer, I got
credited for his garlic crop!!
Of course other articles by him are on line at www.theruralcenter.org
Christy

Dandelion

Millions of dollars are spent every year to eradicate essentially one weed,
the lowly dandelion. Let's think this over for a minute.
There are an ever-increasing number of cases of hypoglycemia and diabetes in
this country. Dandelion is one of the best herbs to use for healing these
inflictions. Its leaves are incredibly nutritious, the root is not only a
powerful medicine, but roasted it is also an excellent coffee substitute.
Its flowers can be made into a delicious wine and they are also a favorite
flower of bees. It builds soil and I have yet to meet a child who hasn't
found joy in blowing its seeds into the wind. It is what I consider a
workhorse of the plant kingdom.
What more could we ask of a plant.
And what is it that we get for our efforts to eradicate it? An uninterrupted
lawn, labor, expense and a toxic environment.
And yet this is considered to be a sign of our intelligence.

Re: ADMIN: Re: NM Sustainable Ag Conference

[kowloon]

Hi Guys,
I have enjoyed the list,but don't have time to keep up with it.
So, please unsubscribe me.
All the best

Sale on LILIPOH subscriptions

[The Korrows]

Hello all,
 
In time for the holidays, LILIPOH magazine is having a sale on 
subscriptions. Sale price is $15.00 for each quarterly subscription (regular 
price is $24.00). It would make a great gift for any person you know who doesn't 
want more 'stuff', but is interested in alternative therapies (such as 
homeopathy and anthroposophically extended medicine), biodynamics, nutrition, 
childhood, spirituality, social issues and more. LILIPOH is an empowering 
publication that paints a picture of truly holistic health in a very practical 
way.
 
Consider buying a subscription for your doctor's office, your library, 
local Waldorf school, or yourself!
Bulk discounts are available for stores, and others who might be interested 
in multiple copies, such as CSA's.
 
Contact me about any possible retail outlets in your area (international 
included).
 
It is easy to subscribe on line at www.lilipoh.com
 
Warmly,
Christy KorrowManaging Editor, LILIPOHP/F 270-864-9345[EMAIL PROTECTED]www.lilipoh.com
 
 
 
 
 

Three Kings Spray Attn Patricia Smith

[Aurora Farm]

Greetings from Aurora, Patricia!

The detailed instructions that came with the kit and articles in the Winter
2001-2002 issue of Applied Biodynamics gave us the HOW, in exquisite detail;
the WHY was less apparent, and the WHAT THEN question not really asked.

It's one of those "you had to have been there" experiences, not easily put
into words.

We'll spare you the details of how we did the spray, except to note that on
Ephinany it was cold and clear as we stirred the preparation out back of the
house, to the north...we trudged the boundaries of Aurora Farm, in places
bushwacking seldom used routes in knee deep snow.  Barbara sprayed and Woody
carried a pail with more of the stirred, precious mixture.

So, what have we noticed?  What phenomena are there that we can ascribe to
the influence of the Three Kings spray?  Parricia asks: "Even if those
experiences are of a subtle or ephemeral nature, please consider sharing
with us."  and calls Three Kings "this interesting supplement to the
biodynamic preparations..."

It's interesting, all right.

1] Doves have come to us this year, for the first time in our 14 year tenure
here.  Always there have been doves in the fir/cedar woods to the northwest
of the property, perhaps half a mile away, but never right here on the 31
acres.  This living, peaceful pair nested in a clump of snowberry and
saskatoon brush next to the small pond behind the workshop, visible from the
kitchen window command center.  There they'd be, swooping and
sailing...never far from that sacred spot that contains, besides the pond,
two round beds, one of St. John's Wort, the other valerian.

2] Other birds we'd not seen before arrived on the scene this spring,
summer, and fallrosey finches and others.

3] Away beyond, but right in line with pond and orchard, most of a mile away
is Mr. T's hay pile.  Mr T was an eccentric farmer, a neighbor who was known
for doing it his way or not at all.  He'd cut hay from his fields, and when
he couldn't get his asking price, rather than compromise, he'd just pile it
up, first in his huge hay barn, then outside.  This happened year after year
until last year when he died.
The pile that resulted was HUGE...perhaps 100 feet long, the equivalent of 8
bales high and 25 feet wide.  And there was another behind it, almost as
large.  Many thousands of bales.  We'd watched this pile build over the
years, watched the deer feed from the edges, wondered what danger there was
of spontaneous combustion...we could just picture [but didn't dare speak of
it, for fear of calling in the reality] that pile smouldering for months,
the prevalent southerly winds bringing it right to us.  We also wondered,
vaguely, about fungal pathogens or unwanted spores coming our way from the
damp recesses of those amazing piles.  When we heard that Mr. T had died and
that Mr. K, the farmer neighbor to the west, had bought the place, we
wondered if we could pinch a few intact bales for garden mulch, and Mr. K
allowed this.  He also told us he intended to deal with those
piles...unstring the bales, load the stuff into a spreader and repile,
aerating it in the process.  A massive job, but Mr. K figured he had a
market for it among the local organic growers.

Well, we brought in the mulch, probably 20 pickups full, and Lord knows that
the spores and microlife had every opportunity to drift our way as this
months-long process took place.

4) We have on the farm the "Little House" which has served over our l4 years
here as apprenticeship housing, workshop participant housing, and for short
periods has been rented. Not all of these arrangements have been totally
harmonious and we maintain that the land is speaking more loudly regarding
who comes and who lives here. The vibration between humans and land would
seem to be more balanced

5) With what we interpret as Mother Earth vibratiing at a higher level and
the resonance lowered we have noticed the animals and birds
coming much closer than they have previously and birds nesting much closer
to the ground. It would seem that it is now easier to access dimensions not
previously known.

The birds, the hay compost, the renters...what general impulse is at work
here? What's going on?  We've begun to see it as boundary dissolution, a
fading of the protective/defensive barriers we'd erected with our
thoughts...and this lowering of boundaries allows outside influences to
suffuse the land and our work...influences previously barred.

And simultaneously our boundaries melt and we begin to "trust in that ever
present help of the Spirit world"

These are some of the things we have noticed since we applied the 3 Kings
Spray.

In the Light,
Barbara and Woody

   at


Aurora Farm. the only
unsubsidized, family-run seed farm
in North America offering garden seeds
grown using Rudolf Steiner's methods
of spiritual agriculture.  http://www.kootenay.com/~aurora

For Ron: Life in the Soil PR

[Allan Balliett]

According to soil foodweb scientist Elaine Ingham, maximising the
diversity and strength of the life in your soil will suppress pest
and disease-causing  organisms, produce good soil structure, improve
water infiltration, oxygen diffusion, and water-holding capacity,
retain nitrogen and other nutrients such as calcium, iron, potassium,
phosphorus, etc., make nutrients available for plant growth at the
times plants require at the rates plants require, decompose plant
residues rapidly, produce hormones that help plants grow, and consume
pollutants in the soil. This week's video, "Life in the Soil" is an
opportunity to gain insight into the dynamics of healthy soil by
actually viewing the interactions that occur among the many life
forms that live in healthy soil. (More information about Elaine
Ingham and her work is at http://www.soilfoodweb.com)

"The thought-provoiking film, "Life in the Soil," portrays healthy
soil as being a complex, living medium. It depicts in vivid color
what life is like in the soil at the microscopic level. The film's
message is clear: to understand the rationale for sustainable
agriculture, one must grasp the critical importance of Soil. Soil is
a living, fragile medium that must be protected and nurtured to
ensure its long-term productiity and stability. " (From the liner
notes by Dr. John Reganold.)


This series on human-scale sustainable agriculture, inspired by
Howard Shapiro's groundbreaking  book, GARDENING FOR THE FUTURE OF
THE EARTH, continues at the Blue Ridge Center in Purcellville, VA
(www.brces.org), Thursday evenings at 7pm. We're in the trailer again
this week. the program is presented by the Blue Ridge Center
internship program. Call or email Allan Balliett to reserve a chair:
540 668 6165 or [EMAIL PROTECTED]

SERIES SCHEDULE
April 25 - Rudolf Steiner and Biodynamic Agriculture - Video: Alex
Podolinsky in Australia

May 2 - Alan Chadwick and French Intensive Biodynamic Gardening -
Video: Garden Song

May 9 - John Jeavons - Biointensive Gardening - Video: Circle of Plenty

May 16 - Masanobu Fukuoka - One Straw Revolution/Nature Gardening -
Video: The Close to Nature Garden

May 23 - Bill Mollison - Permaculture - Video: World Gardener

May 30 - Elaine Ingham - The Soil Foodweb - Video: Life in the Soil

--

Plan now to attend the 2002 Mid-Atlantic Biodynamic Food and Farming
Conference October 4-6 at the Blue Ridge Center, 2002 in Neersville,
VA. Featured  speakers include Howard Shapiro, Glen Atkinson, Elaine
Ingham, Hugh Lovel, Hugh Courtney, James Demeo, Jerry Brunetti, Will
Winter, and, of course, Mark Shepard. For more info, see
www.gardeningforthefuture.com (under preparation) or contact Allan
Balliett at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or 540 668 6165

Re: Files, Photos, Attachments

[Allan Balliett]

Thank you, Diana! You are the perfect reader that we do not want to 
exclude in our carelessness!!

Remember, folks: trim all of your messages so that they will 
communicate and not choke!!

-Allan



Any big emails are just very hard to download and can clog up your system.

Re: VIDEO/DISCUSSION Groups was Re: Search for results of Elaine'stesting of bd preps

[Allan Balliett]

This is awesome, Ron! And so very gratifying!!

I can help you with Life in the Soil. JPI can help you with THE BIG COUNTRY.

People LOVE "THE BIG COUNTRY," so I recommend that you show it. 
Somewhere I have the soil profile videos that AP was selling through 
the USA BDA some time ago. They would make a great component for 
assuring that the BIG COUNTRY night was memorably weird to those new 
to ecological farming and super rewarding to old timers.

Good work, Ron!!

-Allan

Re: Three Kings Spray Attn Patricia Smith

[Prkrjake]

Barbara and Woody,
Thank you and bless you for this sumptuous gorgeous sharing regarding 3 kings.
This is my first year doing preps only since October, and I am itching for the 3 kings prep making as well as application.

I came home about 2 weeks ago, and noticed all this activity on the ground at the base of a 50 year old Magnolia tree in my front yard which had been sprayed 1-2 weeks previous and set up as a broadcaster, on the ground were starlings, all over the ground, and then I norticed activity in the tree, every branch was full of these beautiful gold speckled birds!! And a pair of Mourning doves flew to the ground as I sat awe-struck..simply awe-struck and deeply grateful...
I have lived in this house for 2 years and never had this occurred..
Thank you BD wisdom.

Yours, In Deep Profound Gratitude,
Jane Parker

Re: current environmental concern is fertilizer falling from thesky

[Peter Michael Bacchus]

Title: FW: current environmental concern is fertilizer falling from the sky



Massey University has some researchers working on 
this question. I am trying to have the Bio Dynamic preparations / remedies 
included as a parameter in further work.
Regards,
Peter.

  - Original Message - 
  From: 
  Jane 
  Sherry 
  To: Bdnow ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] 
  Sent: Saturday, November 30, 2002 4:16 
  AM
  Subject: FW: current environmental 
  concern is fertilizer falling from thesky
  It never rains but it poursAfter acid rain 
  and the greenhouse effect, the currentenvironmental concern is fertilizer 
  falling from the sky. SimonHadlington reports on how excess nitrogen could 
  change ourecosystemhttp://news.independent.co.uk/world/environment/story.jsp?story=3 
   
  46638