Culture and Horticulture: The Classic Guide to Biodynamic and Organic Gardening
416
Culture and Horticulture: The Classic Guide to Biodynamic and Organic Gardening
416eBook
Related collections and offers
Overview
With interest in natural, sustainable, organic and local food at an all-time high, people are looking beyond their farmers markets and CSA cooperatives to hyperlocal ways of growing healthy, delicious produce in urban gardens and their own backyards. Culture and Horticulture details time-tested methods that are as effective today as they were hundreds of years ago. On the practical front, the book works as a manual for creating and maintaining a bountiful harvest. It explains how to build the soil to maintain fertility; how to produce compost; how to plant, sow, and tend the various fruit and vegetable plants; how to rotate crops and practice companion planting; how to set up a favorable microclimate; how to deal with so-called weeds and pests; how to harvest at the right time; and finally how to store vegetables and herbs. Special emphasis is given to the art and science of composting, the compost being the "heart" of any self-sufficient garden and a model for the cycle of life, death, and rebirth.
At the same time the reader is introduced to the wider aspects of horticulture, to its historical, philosophical, and cosmological contexts and social relevance. Gardening is a cultural activity, shaped by peoples' thoughts, wishes, and needs as well as by their cultural traditions. The author, an anthropologist by profession who has investigated the gardening practices of indigenous people throughout the world and worked for many years on biodynamic farms and in his own food garden, will introduce the reader to Rudolf Steiner's vision of the garden as an organic unit, embedded in the context of terrestrial and cosmic forces. Storl explains the importance of cosmic rhythms (solar, lunar, and planetary), the role of biodynamic herbal preparations as "medicines" for the garden organism, and the so-called "etheric" and "astral" forces. The book presents a vision of the garden as seen through the eyes of "Goethean science," a magical place where alchemical transformations of material substances take place.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781583945681 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | North Atlantic Books |
| Publication date: | 02/19/2013 |
| Sold by: | Penguin Random House Publisher Services |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 416 |
| File size: | 7 MB |
About the Author
Table of Contents
Illustrations xii
Foreword Larry Berger xvii
Acknowledgments xix
Part I History and Philosophy 1
Introduction to Part I 3
Chapter 1 Historical Sketch 13
The Newer Agriculture 22
Chapter 2 Voices of Concern and Reform 25
History of the Modern Organic Movement 28
Chapter 3 The Pioneers of Organic Agriculture 31
Sir Albert Howard 31
Rudolf Steiner 34
Biodynamic vs. Organic 36
Chapter 4 Basic Concepts 39
The Four Elements 39
Processes: Sal, Mercurius, Sulfur 47
Microcosm-Macrocosm 49
Imaginative Perception 53
The Spheres, or Planes 55
Chapter 5 Transmutation, Destruction, and Creation of Matter 65
Chapter 6 Goetheanistic Science 75
Goethean Methodology and Epistemology 76
The Primal Plant, or Ur-Plant 80
Chapter 7 Evolution 87
Plant Evolution 96
Chapter 8 Heredity 107
Establishment Genetics 111
Who Is Right? 113
Conclusion 118
Part II Practical Aspects of Gardening 123
Introduction to Part II 125
Chapter 9 Terrestrial Factors: Soil 127
The Phenomenology of Soil 129
How Is Soil Created? 133
The Soil as a Living Organ of the Earth Organism 135
Earthworms 138
How to Care for the Soil 139
Chapter 10 Nutrients and Fertilizer 145
The Major Elements Involved in Plant Growth 151
The Magnificent Three: NPK 154
Chapter 11 Cosmic Influences 159
Basic Geocentric Astronomy 161
Dimensions of Time and Space 165
Time and Cosmic Rhythms 166
Forms and Shapes 171
Practical Application 176
Chapter 12 Atmospheric Factors 183
Magical Weather Control 186
Working with the Microclimate: Practical Aspects 188
Light and Warmth 188
Frosts 189
Air and Wind 191
Water 192
Dry Weather Gardening 193
Mulching and Ground Covers 196
Chapter 13 Composts and Liquid Manures 197
Compost Ingredients 199
When, Where, and How to Set Up the Compost 203
Special Composts and Manures 205
The Sacred Cow 207
Liquid Manures 209
The Composting Process 210
Human Wastes 215
Humus 217
Chapter 14 Companion Planting, Crop Rotation, and Weeds 219
A Few Good Companion Plant Combinations 223
Intercropping 225
Crop Rotation 225
Families of Cultivated Vegetable Plants 227
Other Plant Families Commonly Found in Food and Herb Gardens 234
Lesser Known Vegetables and Garden Crops 234
Weeds 237
Chapter 15 Insects and Other Beasties 241
A Glimpse at History 242
What Is an Insect? 245
Beneficial Insects 252
Practical Application 254
Fungus, Virus and Bacteria 257
Chapter 16 The Garden Calendar 259
Chapter 17 Teas, Preparations, and Biotic Substances 271
How the Preparations Are Made 272
How Can One Explain the Preparations? 276
A Closer Look at the Herbs in the Preparations 276
Other Herbal Preparations 285
Chapter 18 Biodynamic Cooking, Nutrition, and Food Preparation 287
Freshness 290
Processing 291
Cooking 294
Good Food Habits 296
Seasoning 296
Storage 297
Chapter 19 Seeds and Tools 299
Seeds 299
Seed Selection 300
Seed Storage 301
Germination Test 301
Seed Viability 302
Hybrids 302
Pollination 303
Collecting Seed from Annuals, Biennials, and Perennials 304
Other Means of Propagation 304
Gardening Tools 305
The Tools One Needs for Successful Gardening 305
Tool Care 308
Chapter 20 Social Implications 309
The Loss of the Sacred Land 311
The Land of Cockaigne 314
Small, Decentralized, and Local Is Beautiful 316
Reclaiming Our Garden 319
Appendix I Winter Gardening in Oregon 323
Appendix II A Summary of the Agricultural Lectures of Rudolf Steiner 327
Notes 335
Bibliography 375
Index 385
About the Author 396