Biodynamic Gardening: The Beauty Of Finding Rhythm In Farming
A biodynamic garden is a style of organic farming centered around a holistic approach in which ethics, spirituality, and the broader effects on our ecology take the main stage.
The goal is to see and respect your garden as its own ecosystem — from the health of the soil to the biodiversity of the plants, and the natural cycles of nature.
Rudolf Steiner began the biodynamic gardening movement 1924 with a series of lectures on reorienting gardening around organic, ecological, and ethical aims. Steiner was deeply concerned with the impact industrialization was having on the Earth. So biodynamic gardening, as a tradition, tries to combat the downsides of industrial agriculture.
Biodynamic gardening: key concepts
Healthy soil
For organic gardeners, the soil is of equal importance with the growth it fosters. Healthy soil equals, of course, healthy homegrown food and plants. Use of healthier manure, organic material like wood chips, straw, and leaves will happily help this along. Treat the soil as its own living being, with its own needs — the more alive the soil, the better.
Dr. Zach Bush points out that the Oxford English dictionary literally defines nature as being the exact opposite of humanity. That should tell you all you need to know about how skewed our relationship to nature has been. We need to work on recognizing that we are a part of her. She is for us, and not against us.
The plot itself, layout + structures
The ornamentation of the garden and its surroundings yields and helps manifest the moods and orientation we're seeking in the organic gardening process. Using natural, organic, local elements in the vegetable stands, flower pots, and what-have-you will also help to focus on the garden's true purpose: ecological oneness and spiritual health.
Biodiversity
Changing up the theming of your garden following the seasons or crops you're focusing on is a great way to increase the personal (and organic) touch. It's very fun to do this as it comes time to perform a crop rotation, for example.
Introducing a biodynamic planting calendar
Synchronizing the lunar calendar with your biodynamic planting calendar is a fantastic part of further attuning your garden with the rhythms of nature and the planets around us. Planting crops that thrive under bright moonlight towards the end of the lunar cycle and preparing night blooming plants or flowers during the early parts of the calendar will bring you into deeper contact with the Earth's nervous system.
This results in healthier, more vibrant plants.
The spiritual side
Being mindful of why and how we are gardening is the vital first step to this fun and organic farming method.
With biodynamic gardening, we must approach the garden as its own living organism, one worthy of our respect. To do this properly means allowing the garden to work seamlessly in tandem with the cycles and needs of the natural world around it. We mustn’t make demands of our gardens. We must embrace that it serves as much to let it guide us, as we guide it. (Read Toward Saving The Honeybee for more on this concept; it’s about not taking from the bee, but serving the bee!)
Ad astra per aspera: through difficulty to the stars
Those with an eye out for means to combine sustainable life choices with their spiritual practices might be at a loss for something better than biodynamic gardening. Implementing methods and processes that bring you closer to the soil, yourself, and the patterns of the heavenly bodies. If you’re looking to enmesh yourself deeper with the cycles of nature, check out this guide on lunar manifestations.