December is often seen as a time when a farm is sound asleep for the winter, but the folks around here have been anything but dormant. We've been busy burying cow horns in the ground - 28 of them to be exact!

These horns are used to make the BD 500 prep (a Biodynamic® prep) which relates to carbon in its organic forms. The BD 500 prep is all about the central nervous system and the brain of the farm. Each of the prep materials created in Biodynamic farming is an important part of Rudolf Steiner's philosophy that like a human body, a farm is a single living entity. Each of the Biodynamic preps represents and supports one of the body's systems.

We used organic cow manure from Organic Valley Dairy Farm, whose owners were rather amused by our request to come pick up some fresh, warm manure. Part of the process we follow requires manure from lactating cows. We pack the cow horns with manure and bury them in the ground in November. We will return to dig them up before Easter.

We have one more prep to bury this winter, and that's the BD 502. Another case of someone shaking their heads and chuckling at me - though I think I deserve some credit for resourcefulness.  A neighbor asked to borrow my tractor to load his recently shot elk into his truck. I loaned him the tractor, of course, but then asked him if I could have the elk's bladder. So I found and removed the bladder (here's where being a former surgical nurse comes in especially handy). Once it was removed, I filled the bladder with air and hung it up to dry in the greenhouse where it can also receive the sun's energy. In June, we picked fresh organic yarrow flowers and put them inside the elk bladder. Now it's time to return it to the earth to re-energize.

Following Steiner's philosophy of using the preps to treat the areas of the body that will be represented by that part of the farm, can you guess which system is represented with the elk's bladder? I bet you can. It's the kidneys and bladder, and this prep will help the farm detoxify the soil, providing strong stalks to the plants. The prep also relates to the planet Venus, and to sulfur and potassium that will support the cleaning of the soil.

Other Biodynamic preps and their purposes include:

BD 504: the stinging nettle, protein, and iron are related to the heart and circulation, and the energizing process of the sun as it relates to Mars - all working together to build humus and improve soil, and energize related minerals.

BD 505 - Dandelion flowers, skeleton, and skin represent personality as well as lunar forces.

BD 506 - Valerian flowers relate to liver, endocrine glands, and balanced relationship between the two. Potassium and silica relates to the farm's ability to produce heat and respiration.

Medicinal herbs being used to nourish and heal the very soil that will grow more medicinal herbs. What could be more sustainable, or more representative of the Circle of Life?

In other farm news, it's been a relatively efficient prep-application season, thanks to our new our new 50-gallon sprayer behind our tractor to easily apply our autumn preps. We are enjoying the beautiful cover crops, thanks to a mild fall with only one night at 32 degrees. The cover crops are well-established, and looking good.

The cover crops aren't the only thing growing. So is our compost pile! It's now over 500 feet long. As we harvest root crops, the tops of the plants all go into the pile, along with cuttings as we clean up the fields.

The work we do now will help to ensure the healthiest soil and the most beneficial environment for the seeds we plant in the spring. So while the soil might be resting, the farm crew is not!