Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner: The Agriculture Course of 1924 and Biodynamic Agriculture

Rudolf Steiner was born in a still-standing house in the Austro-Hungarian village of Murakirály, now the Croatian village of Donji Kraljevec. He was the child of Southern Austrian Railway employee Johannes Steiner (June 23, 1829 – 1910), who married housemaid Franziska Blie (May 8, 1834 – 1918) despite their disapproving employers within the Spanish-Austro-Hungarian noble House of Hoyos. He was the educational product of:

• Home-schooling;
• Local schools;
• Technology Institute of Vienna;
• University of Rostock.

His literary, philosophical, and scientific super-achievements were responsible for his:

• Editing Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s (August 28, 1749 – March 22, 1832) philosophical and scientific writings;
• Leading the German language-speaking branch of Annie Besant’s (October 1, 1847 – September 20, 1933) Theosophical Society;
• Organizing the Anthroposophical Society.  

Specialists in back-stories to biodynamics agree on enduring legacies from the last 12 years in Dr. Steiner’s life. They begin with 1913, the founding date of Die Anthroposophische Gesellschaft (“The Anthroposophical Society”). They find in the society’s organization (and reorganization in 1923) the structure necessary to realize Dr. Steiner’s triple intentions:

• Recognition of Europe -- not Theosophism’s Adyar in south Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India -- as geo-spiritual headquarters;
• Rejection of Theosophism’s presentation of Jiddu Krishnamurti (May 12, 1895 – February 17, 1986) as Christ reincarnated;
• Resolution to experience directly the spiritual world through inner development and Western paths.

They focus upon the culmination of the society’s pursuit of inner development in Dr. Steiner’s practical lecture series of 1924.

The lectures of June 7 - 16, 1924 accommodate participants from:

• Austria: 9;
• France: 2;
• Germany: 61;
• Poland: 30;
• Sweden: 2;
• Switzerland: 7.

Their hosting by Count Karl (1869 – 1928), Countess Johanna (1879 - 1966), and sons Wolfgang (1899 - ?) and Alexander (1905 - ?) at Keyserlingk landholdings in Koberwitz, Silesia, Germany -- now Kobierzyce, Lower Silesia, Poland -- account for their preservation. They address:

• Animal foot-and-mouth diseases and sterility;
• New, short-lived barley, lucerne, oats, rye, and wheat strains;
• Plant diseases.

They appeal to cultivators and scientists even though declared professions involve:

• Agriculture: 38;
• Art: 2;
• Education: 3;
• Engineering: 2;
• Medicine: 4;
• Ministry: 9;
• Science: 3.

They are available as Agriculture: A Course of Eight Lectures.

Lecture 1 advances the effects of:

• Lime -- when encouraged by moisture levels  -- upon plant growth and reproduction;
• Silica -- when facilitated by seasonal warmth  -- upon plant edibility and nutritiousness.

Lecture 2 advises the inclusion of:

• Clay to ease upward flows through soils;
• Lime to ensure downward flows through soils;
• On-site manure to liven mineral-filled soils with dark, fresh, nutrient-rich, organic-derived humus;
• Silica-rich sand to promote root growth.

Lecture 3 advocates the above- and below-ground presences of:

• Carbon to assure structure;
• Hydrogen to guarantee decomposition and recomposition;
• Oxygen to promote life;
• Sulfur to serve moisture.

It attributes to bean-, legume-, and pea-family members critical roles in the adequate movement of nitrogen through organisms and soils.

Lecture 4 counsels over-wintering underground a compost-filled cow horn 2.46 – 4.92 feet (3/4 – 1-1/2 meters) for:

• Immersing into a half-bucket of warm springtime water;
• Stirring edges ½ hour one direction, ½ the opposite;
• Syringe-spraying manure-treated, plowed fields.

It describes likewise summering underground a quartz powder-filled cow horn for:

• Digging up in autumn;
• Immersing a pea- or pinhead-sized amount in a water-filled bucket ½ hour one direction, ½ the opposite;
• Spraying vegetables.

Lecture 5 enriches composts and manures by over-wintering:

• Chamomile head-filled cattle intestines in humus-rich, snow-covered, sun-lit soils;
• Dandelion head-filled bovine mesentery;
• Oak bark-filled domestic animal skull in rain-/snow-pooled soils;
• Stinging nettle-filled peat 1 year;
• Yarrow inflorescence-filled deer bladder.

It indiscriminately prescribes warm water-diluted valerian blossom extract.

Lecture 6 identifies for pest-controlling within 4 years burning and scattering the ashes of:

• Field mice when Venus is in Scorpio;
• Sugar-beet nematodes when the Sun is in Taurus;
• Weeds.  

Lecture 7 indicates the reserving -- for monitoring pests and quality-controlling above- and below-ground interactions -- on farms of:

• Coniferous forests for birds;
• Shrubs (especially hazelnut) for mammals;
• Wet meadows for mushrooms and toadstools;
• Woodlands for insects.

Lecture 8 recommends:

• Carrots and flaxseed for healthy calves;
• Clovers and pulses for increased milk production.

It also suggests cultivated beets and turnips as boiled or steamed fodder for fattening farm animals. It warns agriculturists and consumers that:

• Potatoes must be eaten in moderation;
• Tomatoes treat liver diseases, not cancers.

Dr. Steiner’s agriculture course is available in book and on-line formats. Its English-language version offers readers the author’s:

• Action plan for Count Keyserlingk’s Agricultural Experimental Circle;
• Blackboard drawings elucidating above-ground destinations of less distant universal forces from Mercury, Moon, and Venus and below-ground locations of more distant universal forces from Jupiter, Mars, and Saturn;
• Informational sketches customized to each of the 8 lectures;
• Interactions with participants through 4 discussions.

The lectures preserve for posterity the enthusiasm and the expertise of Dr. Steiner, the inventor of biodynamic agriculture. Ninety years later, the relevance of the lectures receives constant and enduring verification in the number of certified practitioners worldwide and in the proliferation of certifying bodies through Demeter International. 

Demeter-International

e.V.Brandschneise 164295 Darmstadt

Germany

Email: info(at)demeter.net

Fax: +49 6155 846911 

Phone:+49 6155 84690 

Website: www.demeter.net

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Rudolf Steiner's childhood home
Donji Kraljevec (formerly Murakirály), Međimurje County, northern Croatia: Croq, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rudolf_Steiner_Geburtshaus,Donji_Kraljevec,_Croatia.JPG

Timber-and-concrete structure, First Goetheanum, serving as world center for anthroposophical movement, was one of 17 buildings designed and supervised by Rudolf Steiner between 1908 and 1925.
Dornach, Solothurn canton, northwestern Switzerland: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_Goetheanum.jpg

Schloss Kobierzyce (Kobierzyce Palace): site of Rudolf Steiner's pioneering lectures on biodynamic agriculture in June 1924
Kobierzyce (German: Koberwitz), Wrocław County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in southwestern Poland: Julo, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kobierzyce-palac.jpg

Goetheanum surroundings: Glass House, timber building with Norwegian slate roof completed in 1914, is oldest extant building designed by Rudolf Steiner.
In research lab set up in Glass House basement in 1919, Ehrenfried Pfeiffer (Feb. 19, 1899-Nov. 30, 1961) and Guenther Wachsmuth (Oct. 4, 1893-March 2, 1963) made compost prep500, which, mixed by Rudolf Steiner in summer 1924, marked birth of biodynamics.
Dornach, Solothurn canton, northwestern Switzerland: Wladyslaw (Taxiarchos228), Free Art License, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dornach_-_Glashaus3.jpg

Biodynamic compost preparations 500 and 501 call for cow horns filled with manure.
Successful mixing of prep500 by Rudolf Steiner in summer 1924 signaled the birth of biodynamics, transitioning from theory to application.
cow horns used for reparations 500 and 501 ("Cornes utilisées pour réaliser les préparations 500 et 501"): Paul Miller, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cow_horns.jpg

blossoming valerian (Valeriana officinalis)
Valerian blossom extract is prevalent in Rudolf Steiner's biodynamic prescriptions.
Natural Bridge & Rockshelter, Wisconsin State Natural Area #105, Sauk County, south central Wisconsin: Joshua Mayer (wackybadger), CC BY-SA 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/wackybadger/11253319416/

Biodynamics differentiates solar system's influences on Earth's plants: moon and near-Earth planets (Mercury, Venus) support and modify sun's influences as they affect aboveground activities of flora.
Planets farther from the sun -- Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn -- affect belowground activities of Earth's flora.
order of solar system planets and three dwarf planets of Ceres (between Mars and Jupiter) and Pluto and Eris (beyond Neptune): NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Solar System Exploration (SSE), Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:UpdatedPlanets2006.jpg

Rudolf Steiner: portrait in 1923, the year before his pioneering agriculture lectures, delivered in summer 1924 at Schloss Kobierzyce (Kobierzyce Palace) in southwestern Poland
The third phase of Rudolf Steiner's formulation of Anthroposophy ("wisdom of the human body") occurred between 1917 and 1923: CC BY SA 3.0, via Anthrowiki @ http://anthrowiki.at/Datei:Steiner1923.jpg.

Biodynamic agriculture's lunar and sidereal rhythms: in monthly lunar trajectory, waxing moon (lune descendante) is ideal for activities such as planting, pruning, transplanting, and repotting.
red = fruit; yellow (fire/warmth element) = flower (air/light element); blue = leaf (water element); brown = root (earth element)
"astrological symbols used in biodynamic agriculture": Leovilok, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rythme_sid%C3%A9ral_Biodynamie.svg

Pioneer biodynamicist Rudolf Steiner emphasized the interplays of near and distant elements in "the household of Nature" and credited the warmth of the earth's atmosphere with effective use of silicious forces emanating from Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars.
Lady Life in The Planet Garden, with circle under planets representing the sun: Anders Sandberg (Arenamontanus), CC BY 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/arenamontanus/3406323591/

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