Biodynamic farming is a method that views soil, plants, and animals as one self-sustaining ecosystem. The preparations 500–508 are like natural supplements for your soil and plants—encouraging vitality, root strength, disease resistance, and balance in your garden.
🌾 Field Preparations
500: Horn Manure
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Made From: Cow manure fermented inside a cow horn buried over winter.
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Use: Stimulates root growth and enhances soil structure and microbial life.
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When to Apply: Early morning or evening in cool months (autumn/spring).
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How: Stir 1 tsp in 10L warm rainwater for 1 hour, then splash across your veggie patch or beds.
501: Horn Silica
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Made From: Crushed quartz packed in a cow horn and buried over summer.
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Use: Helps with photosynthesis and strengthens plant immunity.
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When to Apply: Morning on sunny days.
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How: Same stirring method as 500, but spray as a fine mist over plants.
🌿 Compost Preparations
These are added to compost heaps—not directly to soil or plants. They help the compost mature into a rich, balanced humus.
502: Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
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Benefit: Enhances potassium, sulfur, and trace element uptake.
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How: Dried yarrow flowers are sewn into stag bladders and hung in the sun, then buried over winter.
503: Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla)
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Benefit: Stabilises nitrogen and enhances soil life.
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How: Chamomile flowers stuffed into cow intestines, buried during winter.
504: Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica)
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Benefit: Activates soil iron and balances other minerals.
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How: Fermented nettle in clay pots buried for a year.
505: Oak Bark (Quercus robur)
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Benefit: Builds resistance to plant diseases.
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How: Crushed oak bark placed in animal skulls and buried near flowing water.
506: Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
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Benefit: Stimulates soil silica and potassium mobility.
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How: Dandelion flowers placed in cow mesentery and buried over winter.
507: Valerian (Valeriana officinalis)
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Benefit: Mobilises phosphorus in the compost and soil.
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How: Juice from valerian flowers sprayed over compost as a mist.
🌦 Special Spray
508: Horsetail (Equisetum arvense)
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Use: Reduces fungal disease pressure (e.g. mildew).
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When: During humid, disease-prone times.
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How: Brewed as a tea (like comfrey or nettle), then sprayed.
🌏 Australian Notes from QPS
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🌞 Best Seasons to Use:
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500 in autumn/winter to boost soil life.
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501 in spring/summer to energise foliage and fruiting.
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🐄 All preparations rely on cow-based materials, linking soil health to animal influence—core to biodynamics.
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❄️ Climate Adjustments: In warmer Australian regions (like VIC or NSW), burying and spraying times may need seasonal tweaks.
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🌿 For Compost Users: Whether hot or cold composting, these preparations speed up decomposition and produce better humus for your seedlings and vegetables.
🪴 Want to Try? Here's the Starter Pack
At Quality Plants & Seedlings, we recommend new biodynamic growers begin with:
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500 (Horn Manure) – for deep-rooted, vibrant veggies
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508 (Horsetail Tea) – for managing fungal issues in wetter months
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507 (Valerian Spray) – for your compost and phosphorus-loving crops like brassicas
🧑🌾 Final Word
You don’t need a huge farm to use biodynamics. Even on small veggie patches or hydroponic grow beds, these preparations help build resilience, taste, and life force in your plants. When your soil is alive, your food is too.
🌱 "Sow with intention, grow with rhythm." – Quality Plants & Seedlings
