Biodynamic Plant Growth Achievements
The Significant Moments
1982
Began working with potentised 500 and 501
Broccoli came to head , was then forced back to leaf, then to head again. Providing four subsidiary heads of 5 inch across for each. The center stalk began to rot and smell badly so the trial stopped.
It was also noticed white butterfly damage was minimal
A tamarillo was planted under the eve of the house to avoid the frost, however it would not ripen in the season available. Several sprays of potentised 501 were applied. Abnormal leaf differentiation was experienced on three different occasions and the tamarillos were ripened before the frost in subsequent seasons
Began taking potentised 500 &501 personally.
1983
A half acre of potatoes were grown using only potentised 500 & 501. No Phytophera Infestans was experienced.
1988
Began working with the other BD preps in a potentised form.
Lettuce were grown through the winter on wet clay without slug damage.
Brassica were grown through the summer without slug or white butterfly damage.
1989
A project was established to have a hanging basket of 4 ‘Dizzy Lizzies’ always flowering.
This was achieved. As part of the project I would move the plants from being in leaf and no flowers to full flower and back again at will and individually. Showing where the spray landed is where it effected
First time I treated a human to move a mouse out of their house.
1990
Bird spray was applied to part of a ripening Loquat tree. The sprayed fruit ripened quicker than the rest, yet the birds left them alone and ate the other loquat on the rest of the tree.
Crickets were moved away from the house. Any in the sprayed area did not make a noise.
Rats moved away from the house and replaced by native rats who lived in the garden.
Chased ants around a caravan finally moving them out with broad band spraying.
1991
Flowering Spray on beans produced three times the flowers and fruit than the control.
1992
Apple trials showing control of Black Spot and Codlin Moth. But not simultaneously.
Worked with Nqatarawa Wines on Flowering, and Ripening. Over six varieties the worst we achieved was a 15% increase in yield.
Phylloxera was reversed, so the new vines effected were indistinguishable from the healthy ones. Our treatments stopped and the vines reverted.
Neutralised the smell of four dogs in kennels next to a packing shed with one spray of BD preps a week.
Cattle farmer talked of clover leaves the size of bottle tops after spraying Etherics 1000
1993
Sprayed the EDRI factory and surrounding land for possums and rats using BD preps through a motorised backpack sprayer. The resident rats left the next day as did the possums and neither were seen around the area for three months.
During a warm June spell a rose began to mildly shoot. Warmth and flowering sprays were applied and within a month a flower bud was ready to open in July. Only the part of the plants sprayed responded. It took three or so months for the rest of the plant to catch. The following summer those plants flowered the most they had done in the locals memory.
1996
Sprayed every second paddock of a BOP dairy farm with Etherics 1000 at varying rate. The grass growth in the strip were significantly different to each other. Clover density and size were very indicative.
501 comp was also applied to the paddocks. After each grazing in one of the sprayed paddocks the milk vat levels increased by 10%. There was significant amounts of grass left after each grazing in the sprayed paddocks while the unsprayed paddocks were eaten out by mid way through the grazing period. This farm went from the worst farm in the district in June to being one of the best by November. Grant Patton worked on the soil science and nutrition and the credit for this is his.
1997
Made a compost garden at Pukehina. Bought lettuces in a punnets. Sprayed them with ‘Pest protection’ for slugs. 95% of the seedlings survived and were eaten slug free. I got 40 organic seedlings from a friend and planted them in the garden with no Pest Protection and they were all eaten by slugs. Re planted with punnets sprayed with PP and all were protected.
1998
Kale flowering trial. Three kale all from the same punnet planted next to each other in a triangle. One is sprayed with flowering spray. Two with Leafing spray. Flowering plant flowers, other done. After a time one of the leaf plants are sprayed with flowering and it flowers, other one does not flower for two seasons. A fourth kale plant did not flower for three seasons before dying.
1 ha of Echinancea Purpurea was grown in very low lying land near Edgecumbe. Fungal diseases experienced in nearby paddocks did not occur. Weights and potency were adequate.
1999
Rats moved away from the house for periods of three months before a resident cat arrived.
2000
Rabbits off beans, and tomatoes flowering with the same spray in Pittsburgh USA . Pictures at the website
Capsicums bought to fruiting and full size with no rots, in March after nothing all season. This was done twice.
Pumpkins kept stored on top of each other in the weather under bush till October the following year. The neighbours pumpkins, when stored perfectly, rotted in two months. This was a bad growing season.
Passionfruit flowering controlled.
Commercial glasshouse beans grown with flowering spray routinely
First experiments using ‘ intention’ to control chickens in the garden and coyotes in Texas.
2001
Echinancea and essences product used on cows for mastitis and cell count levels reduced 100 thousand in a week
Pumpkin flowering and fruit quality influenced
Passionfruit fungus and quality controlled
2002
At Okawa , a weak spray of possum preps and the population increased three fold. A heavier dose has moved away all resident possums. Some still passing through.
October
Warmth Spray / ThermoMax provided excellent control on frost on commercial apples in ‘1.5C, that wipeout the local grape crop. This lead to the HB organic Pipfruit growers association sponsoring HortResearch trials of ThermoMax on bagged Apples in a frost laboratory. This resulted in a 50% increase in fruit set at ‘2C and 30% increase at ‘4C on the trialed plants
2003
Further HortResearch trials on BirdScare and PhotoMax carried out.
BirdScare provided 50% reduction in high levels of bird damage on grapes.
PhotoMax provided 20% increase in photosynthesis and 30% in stomatal conductance.
October
ThermoMax provides excellent control against frosts up to -2C and good controls to -4C on kiwifruit, apples, grapes, passionfruit, berries, tamarillos.
2004
BirdScare provides good results on cherries, berries and other stone fruit
PossumChase allows Roses and Fruit to be grown on several rural very high possum density from product bought commercially.
Mice removed from coastal bach using ‘intention’.