Healing Ponds Farm
UnverifiedFarm Stand
Diversified Family Farm since 2011
Biodynamic
Certified Naturally Grown
USDA Certified Organic
100% Grass-Fed
Free-Range
No Antibiotics
Regenerative
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Eggs
Pasture-Raised EggsDuck EggsFresh EggsHatching Eggs
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Meat & Poultry
Heritage PorkPasture-Raised ChickenPasture-Raised TurkeyHeritage TurkeyPasture-Raised DuckBaconGoatGrass-Fed BeefPasture-Raised BeefWhole ChickenWhole Turkey
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Dairy
Raw MilkGrass-Fed MilkGrass-Fed ButterGrass-Fed YogurtGoat MilkButtermilkCheeseCreamKefirMolasses
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Produce
CarrotsCeleryGarlicOnionsPotatoes
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Fruit & Berries
Blackberries
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Herbs
RosemaryThyme
Photos
Practices
composting
heritage breeds
permaculture
raw/unpasteurized
biodynamic
pasture-raised
Not verified by Bhumi. This farm's practices have not been independently verified. Product claims are based on publicly available information and have not been confirmed.
About Healing Ponds Farm
Healing Ponds Farm is going biodynamic. For starters, that means compost. More particularly, it means Preparation 500. WHAT’S BIODYNAMIC COMPOST?Friendly Haven Farmdescribes it like this: "Biodynamic Preparations" Chart, compiled by Paul Dolan Vineyards (clickable) Biodynamic compost revolves around “preparations” – mixtures you concoct, then apply to your land, to increase fertility and make your garden healthier. It can renew depleted soils in places where soil fertility is fast disappearing, a truly valuable way to work against “one of the most significant global environmental problems” of the world: i.e., desertification. Closer to home, it can enrich your garden too, enormously. There are at least 9 different preparations used in biodynamic compost (want to seethe list?), but most recently, the one we’ve been getting our hands dirty with at Healing Ponds Farm is Preparation 500. PREPARATION 500Preparation 500 is “cow horn manure compost.” Here’s how it works: You get your hands on some cow horns, stuff them with fresh manure from a pastured, lactating cow, bury them under some good topsoil (16 to 18 inches deep), and dig them up 6 months later. The horns can be collected for reuse – they’ll break down after a while, but you can use them several times before that happens. As for the compost, it’ll turn into a calcium-rich humus. Want to see this in action? Here’s a video from Backyard Biodynamics, demonstrating how to stuff and bury your horns. After you’ve dug them up again, you empty out the compost, dilute it (mixing 25g in each 3.5 gallons water for every acre of land), then spray the solution on the soil. A real-time moon tracker, for your reference. (This moon is clickable.) Timing matters. Wait for a descending (waning) moon to stuff and bury the horns, sometime between November and February. As for spraying, it’s best to do it every spring and fall, in the afternoon. And the benefits? According to the Biodynamic Association of India, these include: By the way, click that link (above) if you want to learn more about how to do this. The Biodynamic Association of India has a lot of great info and instructions on their Preparation 500 page. HOW DO YOU KNOW IT WORKS?Friendly Haven Farm cites the following: And, from the Biodynamic Association of India again, Have fun making your own Preparation 500, and if you do, please come back and tell us how it goes! 4 thoughts on “Preparation 500” Why does the phase of the moon matter? Especially if they are underground for 6 months…I’m not understanding the logic behind it. thanks My understanding is that biodynamics involves a cross-over between science and spirit. It’s a little bit mystical, in other words. That said, there is a scientific basis for taking the phase of the moon into account when farming. Here’s a quote from The Regenerative Leadership Institute: “The Moon plays a central role in biodynamic farming. It is an established scientific fact that the phases of the Moon influence the ocean tides here on Earth. Farmers who embrace biodynamic farming also believe the moon exerts a similar influence on the growth of plants. They coordinate when they plant seeds to coincide with the correct Moon phases during each growing season.” You can read more from this article here:http://www.permaculture.me/biodynamic-farming Thanks for reading, hope that helps! I see. Thanks for the reply that is helpful. It seems like it would be so easy to test these methods by burying different batches at different moon cycles and seeing if there were differences in yields and this information could be used by biodynamic farmers worldwide. But that is definitely a science based approach and maybe the goal of biodynamic farming isn’t to maximize yields, but rather for the farmer to have a more mystical connection to nature and the world. Maybe understanding why or even if it worked would be counterproductive to that goal. Wow, yes. I think those thoughts and questions are
