Introduction

Welcome to your journey into biodynamic farming. Learn what you’ll discover in this course and meet your instructor Thea Maria Carlson.

The Roots of Biodynamics

From the industrial food production of conventional agriculture to the holistic practices of biodynamics, learn the principles and potential of biodynamic growing.

Key Skills You’ll Learn

• Key principles of biodynamics
• Listening to your land
• Understanding the farm as a living organism

Growing Biodiversity

Root crops, leaf crops, flower crops, fruit crops—there’s an abundance of ways to bring balance and health to the land by building biodiversity.

Key Skills You’ll Learn

• Diversifying crops for balance
• Understanding the role of animals
• Creating synergistic plant relationships

Fertility from Within the Farm

In biodynamic farming and gardening, we aspire to generate as much fertility from within our farm or garden as possible, and there are several ways we do this.

Key Skills You’ll Learn

• Mulching techniques
• Crop covering methods
• Effective crop rotation
• Integrating animals for fertility

Biodynamic Composting Preparations

Compost is the heart of a biodynamic farm or garden. Learn the biodynamic preparations that make compost like a herbal remedy for your garden.

Key Skills You’ll Learn

• Understanding the components of biodynamic composting preparations
• Preparing and applying the preparations
• Maintaining healthy, living compost

Biodynamic Spray Preparations

Another way we enhance the health of our soil and plants in biodynamic growing. Learn the rituals and reasoning for this biodynamic practice.

Key Skills You’ll Learn

• Understanding the components of biodynamic spray preparations
• Preparing the spray correctly
• Using and applying the spray effectively

Nature’s Rhythms

From seasons of the year to zodiac signs and lunar cycles, the rhythms of nature can guide us in our planting and harvesting.

Key Skills You’ll Learn

• Working with natural rhythms and cycles
• Creating a biodynamic planting calendar
• Understanding lunar and zodiac influences

Go Get Growing

In this course, we’ve explored the biodynamic principles and practices of relating to the farm or garden as a living organism, increasing biodiversity, bringing plants and animals together, generating fertility from within our farm garden, using the biodynamic compost preparations as well as the biodynamic spray preparations, and cultivating our awareness and working with the rhythms of nature.

I hope that you will take some of these principles and apply them to your gardening and farming. And remember, you don’t need to do everything all at once. You can start with one and build your way up.