At Fortsbauer Farm soil & plant health is at the forefront of our philosophy on farming. In order to achieve good soil and plant life we farm using Biodynamic Methods as well as the Soil Food Web approach.
What is Biodynamic Farming?
Biodynamic Farming is a form of agriculture that focuses on soil health and food quality. In 1924 Rudolph Steiner gave a series of lectures on agriculture and this is where the Biodynamics was born.
A Biodynamic Farm is an Organic farm, but it goes above and beyond the simple practice of producing food without chemicals. All of the most important practices of a well managed sustainable organic farm such as composting, crop rotation & cover cropping are carried out on the Biodynamic Farm. On top of that, the biodynamic farm is viewed as a ‘whole farm organism’, & a series of preparations are used to nourish the farm and the soil health. The Biodynamic Farmer also uses cosmic rhythms when dealing with the day to day activities on the farm.
Many Organic farmers will farm with what is know as the input substitution method. The Farmer will look to non chemical ways to find substitutes for the chemicals that conventional agriculture uses (NPK - Nitrogen, Phosphorus & Potassium). The Biodynamic farm focuses on the health of the farm and the soil, not simply on the short term gains of a high yielding plant. Through proper composting techniques and with the use of the preparations, the Biodynamic farm as a whole becomes healthier and fully functional as a whole farm ecosystem. Once the Biodynamic farm is fully functional, one can achieve a greater yield on a healthier plant, which will result in better quality food.
the following links are coming soon
For More information regarding the ‘WHOLE FARM ORGANISM’ concept CLICK HERE.
For more information about the BIODYNAMIC PREPARATIONS and how they are used CLICK HERE.
For More information regarding COSMIC RHYTHMS and how they relate to Biodynamic Farming CLICK HERE.
What is the Soil Food Web Approach?
The soil food web is the community of organisms living all or part of their lives in the soil. It describes a complex living system in the soil and how it interacts with the environment, plants, and animals (this definition was taken from Wikipedia).
The Soil Food Web Approach to farming is a scientific way of farming which can be describe simply in the following steps -
1 - Testing the Soil
The farmer looks at the Microbial life in the Soil (those millions of bacteria, fungi, nematodes etc...) to determine the health of the soil.
2 - Compost Tea
A compost tea is produce that will introduce & encourage beneficial organisms to help achieve healthy soil. Compost tea can be made from a variety of recipes, one for example is worm-castings. The worm-castings (or Compost) is/are put into a compost tea brewer where it is aerated for a specified time period (depending on the recipe) causing the beneficial organisms to multiply.
3- Application of the Compost Tea
Once the Compost Tea has finished brewing, the population of the beneficial microbes is at their peek. The Tea is sprayed over the the fields (it can be sprayed over the leaves of your plants or over the ground) resulting in a change in the microbial life of the soil, more beneficial organisms that help promote a healthy soil.
As you have probably realized by now, we are convinced that food grown in a healthy soil is far superior in many ways. It’s makeup is totally different that that of a similar vegetable grown strictly on a diet of Nitrogen, Water and Chemicals (whether these are obtained through chemical or natural means). It is healthier, more nutritious, it’s got real minerals, it’s simply better.
More information about the Soil Food Web is available at the Soil Food Web Website at www.soilfoodweb.com
