Basic Steps:

• Put preparation in a 5-gallon bucket, half full of water

• Stir, first in one direction and then the other repeatedly for one hour

• Apply using a brush or non-chemical sprayer on up to one acre

• Use within 12 hours of making

Ideally:

• Stir and apply when the moon is in an earth sign, celestial or sidereal calendar (Taurus, Virgo Capricorn)

• Stirred in the evening

• Waning moon

• Use rainwater for the solution

• Water is not cold

• Use a glazed ceramic or glass container

• Stir with a hand or stick

What it is and how it’s made:

BD500 is an energized humus derived from cow manure. Ideally, the source manure is from a lactating cow.  That manure is placed into a horn from a female cow and buried in a hole over the winter about 18 inches underground. During that time a large spectrum of the cosmos is imbued into the manure and the manure itself is transformed by way of the forces that are strongest within the earth in the winter.

There’s a reason that the earth takes it’s in-breath and the phloem brings the life forces of the tree into the earth for a season. The BD500 is dug up in the spring and it’s contents carefully stored. It no longer smells like manure. It smells earthy and healthy and feels like great compost.

How to Stir:

It doesn’t take much of this raw material to treat an acre of land (or a small garden area).  One unit is approximately what would fit in your fist when closed and that preparation is then stirred in about 2.5 gallons of water (half of your standard hardware store bucket)  Ideally the water is warm rainwater, but well water would also work. Try to avoid municipal tap water but if you must use it, let it sit out overnight or even for a few days so that the chemicals have a chance to evaporate. Ideally the vessel you stir in will be one of natural material like ceramic (not metal) but the plastic bucket works. (Don’t let perfection be the enemy of the good!) The stirring takes place for one hour and can be done with a stick or, as many prefer, with your hand/arm.

What you are doing is making a homeopathic solution from the preparation.  The idea here is energetics… that less might actually be more. You are also putting something of yourself into this solution through your dedication for an hour. I like to turn off my phone and avoid even listening to music. I listen to nature and do this under an open sky if possible. I may sing or pray but always, I think about my intentions with the land, with my garden and animals. I think about the entire farm organism and how everything is interconnected. 

It is important to stir in a particular way so that the material is properly integrated into the water. Rudolf Steiner who developed this preparation and method emphasized that the person would stir around the periphery of the bucket meaning around the outside edge.  The stirrer will move their hand or stick in a counterclockwise motion until a vortex is created.  I let the vortex roll for a while before putting my hand back into the water and starting to stir in a clockwise direction. At first the vortex is destroyed and chaos is introduced but as you continue to stir you are now creating a vortex in the other direction.

How to Apply:

When you are done you can use either a bundle of grasses, a cedar tree branch or a large bristled brush to dip into the bucket and sprinkle over the area you want to treat.  You could also use a back or tank pump sprayer but not too fine a mist.  You want droplets to fall on the ground. You do not need to saturate the ground, a little goes a long way. I think a good way to describe the technique is the way someone would bless a crowd of people with holy water.

If you have any questions, contact farm@darkhollowbiodynamic.com

www.darkhollowbiodynamic.com

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