And the experiment begins!!! I have used and encouraged organic methods to garden and now we are taking it to the next level. By using the moon, the zodiac and additions to the soil, biodynamic farming has attained stunning results. I hope to do the same on my own plot of earth and look forward to sharing the results as I read, learn and do more sowing, transplanting, pruning, cutting and harvesting this coming year.

To start, I sowed flower seeds and planted ranunculi on flower days which fell on Saturday and Sunday. Apparently the solar/lunar aspects and Gemini, Libra, Aquarius or Light constellations are more favorable on these days. It doesn’t have anything to do with the sun sign as much as the Moon’s trajectory through the sky. I added a few crushed eggshells (organic) and used coffee grinds (organic) around each bulbed bloom. Both of these deter slimy, crawly pests, add nutrients and aerate your soil. Used in the compost bin, coffee adds nitrogen to your pile of organic waste that would otherwise be tossed in a landfill.

I am still trying to figure out the calendar and all its notations but I at least determined when to plant what. Thankfully, Maria Thun and her son Matthias have a handy color coded guide for the uninitiated and serious followers alike. The groups of plants are divided into four groups: Root crops, Leaf Plants, Flowers and Fruit. It seems a little wacky but I am willing to give it a try. Not only is there nothing to lose, I feel like I actually have a schedule and it seems a bit more organized and manageable. I am not gardening in one fell sweep as I am used to, exhausted and in pain because of the exertion, but instead everyday, a little.

I planted lettuce and mint on leaf day which was Monday. Make sure you plant mint in a pot or it will spread like wildfire. I decided to plant the lettuce not in the garden below but right outside my kitchen in pots. Leaf days are suitable and supposedly best for sowing and tending herbs, lettuce, all green plants. It seems leaf plants do better if planted during Water constellations such as Pisces, Cancer and Scorpio.  Hopefully the rabbits won’t start chomping on them. Usually, I toss red pepper flakes all around the top of the soil to deter them but I forgot before I took this picture. I used organic soil and bought organic lettuce and chocolate mint. I will be harvesting curiously enough not on a leaf day, but on fruit or flower days as recommended.

It will be interesting to see if the predictions, preference times and concoctions I will be using will work and we can see obvious, positive results. Time will tell. Meanwhile, I am enjoying sharing the interesting procedures that hail from lectures given by Rudolf Steiner back in the early 1900’s. I will be perusing his book of lectures on biodynamics and ecology compiled by Hugh J. Courtney and hopefully get an understanding on this philosophy based on improving the Earth’s soil.