Beyond Organic Agriculture

Life on Earth comes in four basic forms: plants, animals, fungi, and microorganisms.  Humans could be classified separately from animals, because they have a threefold being, while animals have only fully developed two of these three systems.  However, all parts are designed to work together, governed by the mitigating influence of water over all.  It is water who first dissolved rocks to make soil.  Soil is the material foundation of all life.  Water is also a vehicle for the expression of lunar and other cosmic influences, without which plant growth would be stunted and weak in reproduction. Air is also important for plant growth. They govern the air, regulating its sweetness by releasing oxygen and enlivening it be allowing it to penetrate into the soil.  Finally, the heat and light from the sun come together as the primary energy from which all things live.
            When life is diverse and balanced, the animals will eat plants in the right amount, drop the right amount of manure, and the fungi and microorganisms will decompose it in a constructive, rather than destructive, manner.  Soil will continue to support life and retain water and air.  The elements of the Earth will be in balance.  The calcareous influences will be balanced by the siliceous. The role of the farmer and gardener is to maintain this balance, nothing more.  He is not to think that nature may be manipulated to his own advantage; only by helping nature to fulfill itself can man himself be fulfilled in turn.
            Seeds should be planted in moist, well-drained loose soil.  Care must be taken to choose appropriate habitats looking to local conditions and native plants for guidelines of what can be planted where.  For example, a palm tree cannot be grown in Canada.  The seasons of the Earth must also be taken into consideration when one does gardening. Generally, one will grow things during the warm summer, but in some places winter is the better time to grow some kinds of vegetables.
            The rains and the snow of the Earth constantly rain down. With an eye to the heavens as well, the cycles of water should dictate one’s gardening activities.  After a rain during a waxing moon is a good time to plant as the lunar influence will enhance germination.  Eclipses should be avoided at all costs.  All life goes quiet in respect.
            In the Rainforest, one will find such an astonishing diversity.  It is bewildering to think about.  Much simpler is a human garden.  One can see the crops and the animals.  It is governable, while in the rainforest much is hidden in the trees.  But in order to be most effective, a farm should be planned with the human governing influence in mind.  Daily chores will not go forgotten, but those things that one tends to forget, should be placed along one’s daily walking route.  As well, the topography of the landscape plays a role. The sun shines from east to west, and the south side will get the most light.  When transplanting trees, the same side should always face the south.
            Some plants and other life forms have evolved in such a way so as to be of much use to man.  The medicinal herbs are too numerous to count.  The staple grains are the basis of a diet in many parts of the world. The ubiquitous cow, and the other farm animals, have become domesticated over thousands of years. 
  
  
  
Vegetable selection:
  
            It is said in gardening folklore that one should allow yarrow to grow as a medicinal weed along the borders of one’s garden.  It will increase the aromatic compounds within the plants.  Many of the other herbs may be used advantageously to support plant growth, as well as themselves being a valuable part of the garden.  Marjoram and tarragon, caraway, nettles, oregano, lamb’s quarters, valerian, thyme, and lovage may be used to boost the spirits of almost any nearby plant. Basil favors tomatoes, as does mint, borage, and calendula flowers.  A bit of chamomile helps a wheat field.  Spinach and strawberries and green beans and borage, pumpkins with corn and lamb’s quarters scattered.  Chives, carrots, tomatoes.  Bibb lettuce with spinach in a 4:1 ratio.  Peas/turnips/carrots, placed in the bed beside beets/onions/garlic/sparse chamomile.  To keep out animals a border of wormwood can be planted.  Bees love the nectar from lemon balm.
            The wise and judicious selection of cultivars for compost as well as food value will add mass to one’s compost pile, in whose size, depending on source material, one can readily judge the fertility of most any farm.  Plants such as corn and sorghum, or cereal grasses such as millet and wheat, produce carbon with which to build compost.  This should be incorporated into one’s garden soil with a spade and fork, digging and loosening the soil to the height of one’s knee.  When compost is available, it should be incorporated into the top layer of soil.
            The root plants such as the carrot, onion, or turnip produce a lot of edible food in a small amount of space.  They should be priority crops for a small garden plot. Much loved and expensive luxuries as tomatoes and strawberries should be planted with companions and tended to according to the proper use of a planting calendar.
  
Plants in the universe:
  
            The conjunction or opposition of the planets, the movement of the moon around the earth and through the various constellations, the seasons and night and day itself all interact to produce a balance of forces necessary for plant growth.  This produces certain times where there is a benefit to different parts of a plant, either root or flower, leaf or fruit.  By following the calculations of a properly complex lunar and astrological planting chart, one can know when, according to the weather, to sow and cultivate plants in order to balance their development.  One always strives for a balanced, not overproductive, plant.
            The spraying of biodynamic forces in the form of manure teas and sprays will kick the soil’s intelligence into overdrive.  This will sensitize the plants’ soul to the finer forces of the cosmos, opening the plant to incoming radiations.  If one saves one’s own seeds, and this is a good practice, over generations, these biodynamic seeds will show remarkable changes in plant size and shape and in their edible parts as well.
  
Transmutation:
  
            By using the biodynamic sprays, soil life is supported. The live matter in the soil increases. This allows for strange alchemical process to occur, where transmutation of the elements is no longer an impossibility. Nitrogen may become molybdenum, silica-->calcium, and silver-->gold.
  
Intelligence:
  
            Through the constructive forces in the universe, certain concentrating effects have molded and shaped the Earth into an intelligent system.  Through the water, which is like the Earth’s blood, all life and mineral matter is regulated.  To destroy water is to destroy life itself, and to decrease its possibilities of expression.  Water is easily damaged.  Heat and light will befoul its Earthly organization, and pulverizing it in an unnatural way will cause it to lose life energy as well.  Turbines, pipes, chlorination, and improper flow patterns all destroy water and the plant or animal life it supports.  Spiral and wooden pipes are best, wells should be sealed to air and light and insulated to keep the water cool and dense and therefore energy-rich, and if a medicine is needed, dilutions can produce increased effect. So too can a circular stirring motion impart forces to water to the benefit of the soil and all it supports.
  
Manures:
  
            Sheep manures can enhance flowering, while pig manure, coming from a rooting animal, enhances root development.  “Like cures like” is a homeopathic principle which applies to most situations in nature.  Fermenting the manures in a pail of water and spraying as a manure tea imparts these effects.  For composting, cow manure is the only manure to use.  Poultry manure is useful to enhance breakdown of straw or other debris on the surface.  Cow manure is best for overall plant growth because the cow’s digestive system is so advanced.  Fermented horse manure aids foliage.
  
Starting Seeds
  
            One should start seeds isolated from the harsh vagaries of outdoor weather.  A good germination mix is essential, as well as clean water and adequate light.  Warmth is necessary as well.  All these can be provided with a greenhouse fed by a spring.  One can also use grow lights and melted snow in more urban settings.  Peat moss and compost should be the foundation of any seed-starting soil mix, augmented with trace mineral and macromineral fertilizers, sand, clay, and a pH buffer such as lime or eggshells.  Various other additives can be added to enhance fertility: mycorrhizal fungi spores or bacterium inoculants improve soil life.  Sterile potting mixes do not work as well.