Class Three Bio Dynamic Farming
We completed our first farming main lesson with an excursion to Mr Hick’s Dairy Farm. We were enthralled by the ‘Robotic Dairy’ and then set off on our mission to collect cow poo to begin the process of making the Bio Dynamic Fertilizer, ‘500’.
We took a short bus ride to Mr Hick’s farm and once we had a good look around and learnt how the milk is collected, stored and then sent off to various local cheese places and Denmark’s own Gelato shop, we collected our cow poo!!
Once back at school we had to place the poo, (which must be from a lactating cow), packing it tightly into the cow horns which can be distinguished from bull horns by their annular calving rings and solid tips. We use cow horns as opposed to bull horns as they are thought of to be more fertile as about 70% of the cow’s blood supply runs through the cow horns as opposed to 10% of the bulls. We dug a small ditch in the centre of the garden patch and placed the packed horns all pointing to the north. We tightly packed in the soil, which for optimal benefit must be treated with Bio-dynamic preparations, be fertile, and well drained, ours was perfect!!
We will now leave our cow horns over the winter and will dig them up in spring to begin the second stage of the method of making ‘500’. It involves lots of stirring!!
But more on that later…………….
It was quite a magical day and the children had a real sense that they were part of something quite special.
To finish our day and the end of our farming main lesson (Part 1) we made a circle and said a verse.
“The Bio Dynamic farmer is called to become both student of nature and guide of nature spirits, as he learns from the works with nature, gradually achieving within his soul a transformation of knowledge into contemplative devotions”
Hartmut von Jeete
Many thanks to Malcolm Hick and his herd of cows, Neal our gardening teacher and Miranda and Jane our parent helpers.
Robyn
