Since mildew seems to be the issue most important to vintners at the research gathering in Dornach at the 100 year agriculture course I've been looking to see what folk have said.
Glen in his inspirational work Equisetum and Fungus: "The universal ‘hope’ for BD fungal control is Equisetum, however very mixed results are reported. Some people say it works well and others say it has no effect. It is used for ALL fungus, rots as well as powdery mildew and rusts, without any discrimination of the very different causes of these problems (p 2) ... ‘excess vitality’, means excessive life and growth forces which come about from an overly active Etheric activity, carried in the excessive water, coming initially from the soil, but supported by a moist atmosphere... (p4)"
Glen quotes RS: "With growth the influence of the earth diminishes and the extra-terrestrial influence becomes stronger and stronger, unfolding especially in the blossoms (see drawing, red). What develops here is a kind of external astralizing of the blossom, which then leads to the formation of fruit. If this process, which ought to occur in the normal course of the world processes, takes place below , it can only insert itself into the water, and we have what I have just called “dysentery of the earth.”
But we can also have another situation: What takes place when a plant develops properly — the blossom unfolding always a little above the earth's surface — can develop right on the earth's surface (see drawing below, red). Then fungi arise; this is the basis for fungus formation.
And now you will begin to guess that, if fungi arise from such a special astralizing process, the same process must take place from below upward when, as in human diphtheria, this remarkable astralization occurs in the human head. This is actually the case. Hence you find in diphtheria the tendency to fungoid formations. It is most important to consider this tendency to fungaloid formations in diphtheria, and it will also show you that a truly occult process is taking place there. Everything external is really only a sign that irregular astral currents, from the metabolism towards the head, are prevailing within the human being."
Here we see fungal problems being described from a different direction. Not as a result of too strong an Etheric activity, but coming from too strong an astral activity. The solution is also different. Not equisetum but Cinnabar.
And RS again on nematodes: "Now I am going to tread on very thin ice and take an example very near home. I am going to talk about the nematode of the beetroot. The outer signs of this disease are a swelling of root fibers and limpness of the leaves in the morning. Now we must clearly realise the following facts: The leaves, the middle part of the plant which undergo these changes, absorb cosmic influences that come from the surrounding air, whereas the roots absorb the forces which have entered into the earth and are reflected upwards into the plant. What, then, takes place when the nematode occurs? It is this: The process of absorption which should actually reside in the region of the leaves has been pressed downwards and embraces the roots."
Equisetum “reconnects the Astral and Ego entities with the organism again” “Equisetum appears to guide the Ego and astral entities into the anabolic life processes”, “Equisetum thus directs the light-like qualities of the neuro-sensory pole into the anabolic etheric area.” ... The ‘modern BD’ image of Astral Above and Etheric Below, would interpret this passage to mean— Equisetum will draw the Astral from above more strongly, into the overly exuberant Etheric coming from below."
It may indeed be this simple, however the medical view presents a more complicated story than this. A closer reading of this passage shows all the energetic activities described are taking place within the metabolic region, with the astral and etheric balancing being within the kidney itself, and not primarily between the Head and the Belly. Also the end result of Equisetum is to stimulate the expansive Etheric activity, and it is the strong Etheric in the metabolism that would push off any nerve sense intrusion from the head. So would not strengthening the Etheric make the fungal problem worse? So questions arise.
... the spring ‘evening shoot’ is highest in Sulphur and causes the astrality to move outwards, while the summer ‘’morning shoots’ help the astrality incarnate. Given we have two forms of fungal problems one from too much astrality and the other from too little, we have a hint the Sulphur rich spring shoots will be good for dry hot fungus, while the summer shoots will be useful for the lecture 6 , high moisture fungal rots.
If the ‘external’ stimuli comes from the World Astrality, which can again be chemical toxicities, or the physical realities of too much Light and Heat, and too little water, then we have a different situation. This is the circumstance for Powdery Mildew type fungus, especially the varieties we find on Grapes. There are Powdery Mildews that appear under the ‘moist’ circumstances, and respond to the first remedy, cucurbits and the like, however the grapes have something else going on, that Equisetum appears to be only partially effective on.
Enzo also has ideas to share. Interesting that both these researchers have looked at the Equisetum sporangia vision of 508.
The orientation of the rows from north to south exposes the vines to temperature changes, the influence of the forces of heat and cold, so the vines will tend to “cover up” with an external fungi: powdery mildew. Orienting the rows from east to west, the forces of sunrise and sunset acting greatly which stimulates the movement of internal processes. These metabolic processes and lymphatic circulation enhance the development of internal fungi: downy mildew. 'GROWING FRUIT ACCORDING TO HOMEODYNAMIC AGRICULTURE' p48
It is preferable to use sweet chestnut (Jupiter, external light) in cases of susceptibility to powdery mildew and botrytis, or acacia (Venus, internal light) in the case of susceptibility to downy mildew. p49
Section "Nine row module for the prevention of powdery mildew" from p49
Section "Nine row module for the prevention of downy mildew" from p 50
Other suggestions for vines in general are to be found in his volume 'CULTIVATING VINES WITH THE HOMEODYNAMIC METHOD'
Mildew
Re: Mildew
JPI / S Lundy have made a good job of diagnosis and prescription in their latest posting. Thanks team
Re: Mildew
Glen has now auto-narrated his essay on the fungus problem, if you learn better that way.