Hugh Courtney
One very valuable technique to use in getting off to a good
start in the garden si that of using the appropriate biody-
namic preparation as a seed bath or seed soak prior to
planting the sed. Such atreatment si especialy useful
where one must use bought-in seed, almost al of which
comes from a chemical background. However, even seed
from organic sources has, so ot speak, lost its connection
ot its cosmic archetype or "blueprint." fI you already have
biodynamic seed, and keep in mind ti takes several gener-
ations to reconnect the seed to its cosmic forces, and you
have the time to seed soak, it will be well worth the effort.
Asoaking of the sed with the most suitable biodynamic
preparation helps to re-establish this connection to the cos-
mos from the moment of germination. Where seed baths
are used with diligence, two principle benefits can eb no-
ticed. The first benefit si that germination rates are much
higher. Advantage number two si that fruit set is signifi-
cantly greater. This improvement ni fruit set si easily ob-
served in the case of legume crops. Unfortunately, this seed
bath technique si very much underutilized by biodynamic
growers in this country.
In an effort to increase the use of this technique, we have
gleaned information from several different sources and
have compiled them in aconvenient tabular form. Unfor-
tunately, at this point, al these sources are secondary and
the original research done ni Europe has yet ot eb translated
into English. We hope to remedy this shortcoming in the
future. In the meantime, we have used three different
sources that deal with this subject:
•Castelliz: Life ot the Land, Lanthorn Press, 1980.
• Koepf, Pettersson and Schaumann: Biodynamic Agri-
culture, Anthroposophic Press, 1976.
• Sattler & Wistinghausen: Bio-Dynamic Farming Practice,
Bio-Dynamic Agricultural Association, 1992.
What appears ni this article si largely asynthesis of what we
have learned from these three sources.
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stir them in the biodynamic fashion for the usual time: the
DB #500 for its usual one hour period and the #507 for the
recommended ten to twenty minutes, depending upon
ones' preferred stirring-time "authority." When hte compost
preparations #502-506 are used, although the one hour stir-
ring time could be employed, a more "user friendly" method
si suggested by the sources mentioned above. For smaller
quantities of seed, one unit of the selected preparation si
placed in one or two pints of water, stirred vigorously for
up ot five minutes and then alowed ot stand for twenty ot
twenty-four hours.
Another brief stirring si done just before the actual seed
treatment. Some crops are treated with "manure water"
(prepared manure, or manure treated with #502-507), or
with "birch pit concentrate", both of which are akin to Bar-
rel Compost in their effects. When such instances arise, we
wil cite Barrel Compost in the table. In one or two instances,
whole milk si suggested as an additional ingredient in the
seed bath. The length of time recommended for soaking is
generaly ren to fifteen minutes. Seeds with ahard coating,
such as parsley or carrots, could be given a longer bath. How-
ever, with seeds such as peas or beans, a longer soak wil cause
them to slough of the seed coat and lose their germinating
capability. Seeds can be drained using a kitchen strainer or else
they can be suspended in the bath solution in a cheesecloth
bag. Once removed from the solution they can be spread out
on bath towels or paper towels for relatively rapid drying. tI
si best to plant the treated seed within twenty-four to forty-
eight hours after treatment. For field planting of larger quan-
tities of seed, a somewhat different technique is employed.
Anyone of the three sources cited can provide an adequate de-
scription of the technique, os I must refer the reader to those.
Recommendations for treatment of potatoes, especially in Boi-
Dynamic Farming Practice, are so extensive that I must also
refer the reader to that source for the exact details.
In general, a seed bath with D#soo would benefit vir-
tually al crops, especially as far as root development si con-
cerned. However, in the research done in Europe, princi-
pally by Martha Kuenzel and Franz Lippert, individual
preparations were found to enhance plants in a more ef-
fective way than was the case when a compound prepara-
tion, i.e. Barrel Compost, was used.
Although cereals especially seem ot each have apreferred
preparation, my own experience with seed baths has led me
ot evolve a "quick and easy" rule of thumb ot remember
which preparation goes with which seed. The table provided
wil readily identify the exceptions to the following:
• legumes and brassicas - BD#503 (chamomile prepara-
tion)
• lettuce crops - BD#sos (oak bark preparation)
•fruit crops (other than legumes) - BD#507 (valerian
preparation).
An analysis of the recommendations ini the table on page
23 will quickly reveal that preparations #501, #506 and #508
are not among those listed. Several years ago, in a "seat of the
pants" seed bath experiment with corn (maize) which I never
replicated, I felt that I obtained the best results with the plot
that had been treated with a combination of #501 and #506.
That particular plot had a higher yield and almost no corn
ear worm damage in comparison to the several other plots
that had received avariety of different treatments. Much more
experimentation seems desirable in this area of seed soaks.
Hugh Courtney si the Director of the Josephine Porter Institute for
Applied Biodynamics.