Alicia Gauld

Hi Carol ~ I'm 43 & live with my 2 children on 100acres in the Australian bush. I look after animals, orchard & gardens. It's not easy, especially tasks where my strength is frustrating, but then I swallow my pride & ask a neighbour for support. I have the big dog, she's fantastic! What to do if she is barking? Yes, you get to know the bark....& I know my property like the back of my hand. (I would NEVER get out my gun, it would take far too long....!), but it is helpful to know karate! (also helps with confidence) They wouldn't know what hit them!! Goodluck, it's worth every moment.

My son & I are designing a greenhouse (he likes geodesic), with a rocket stove firebath & bench for seedlings & seating. Simple but many functions!

Hi. If you look at plants that are high in silica they are the opposite of fleshy & leafy, they're hardened, sometimes pointed & quite resilient. They can do okay without much water. Using a high silica plant to balance out a fleshier plant that can be prone to mildew, fungi from over watering or too much rain is useful. BD 501 has also worked for me like this.
Great discussion!

Hi. There's a world wide shortage of cow horns due to favouring of polled cattle breeds, which resulted in studies into various different objects & organs etc. that may turn the manure into BD 500. The closest they could get was a hoof...Some years back now. Maybe some one else has the reference??
Here's a start www.biodynamic.org.nz/P500_imp_hns_res_rep.pdf

Hi. I agree, one must be an opportunist as a farmer/gardener. Sometimes it's ideal conditions, sometimes not. My observation is simply that there is more moisture around full moon on leaf days, so it makes sense to make use of this time. Our own observations are important as we're all in such variable & different unique locales.
I personally use the morning & afternoon rhythm for shaping my day, eg. sow in the morn, transplant in the noon. The calendars are a great resource to begin basing your observations on.

Goodluck everyone!

Hi Portia,
I've taught BD to school kids. Keeping it simple is the way to go. Making a compost heap together was the most fun! Using the compost preps via barrel compost to aid decomposition after sheet mulching ties the two in nicely (BD & permaculture). We were lucky enough to have rotations in our school chicken pen so after rotation we could also use it there. BD 500 & 501 are a bit tricky due to the timing for these sprays, but doable.
Hope you had some success!

Hi. I've used tree paste with success over the years...good for deterring rabbits & wallabies (in our neck of the woods!). We add casuarina to ours as it's high in silica much like equisetum which is normally added as well as compost preps &/or BD 500, which suggests it's also a fungal deterrant. I've done it thick by hand, but best results are stain & spray. Don't forget those pruning wounds...
Happy pasting.

Hi. Experiments with animals have immediate results. Paddocks sprayed with BD 500 are like magnets to cows. I've seen this over 15yrs of BD. Demeter Australia's magazine 'Biodynamic Growing' publishes case studies & growing experiments regularly.
Goodluck!

Thankyou & goodluck at the conference Adam!

Hi. I've made & used barrel compost. Test it yourself (through observation as farmers & scientists do). Is it moist? Does it break easily? Smell sweet? Does it slip between your fingers like clay? Then it's colloidal & good to use...on compost or as a seed bath (for the best cabbages ever!) or after you've slashed green manure/weeds/sheet mulched. Try it on half & not the other half (control).
Goodluck!