From here on through the growing season, twice a month, new and full moon, we will be spraying the agricultural areas of our ranch with a fermented version of equisetum tea, BD 508. Equisetum is a plant source of silica which brings in solar forces, discouraging mildew by encouraging the death forces to stay on the ground where they belong.
Equisetum tea has saved our crop a couple of rainy Septembers in which our neighbor next door lost his entire crop to mildew. We spray the fermented version in the late afternoon.
Never is the difference between conventional and Biodynamic farming more evidenced! In conventional farming fungicides and sulfur (not a chemical and thereby also acceptable in organic and biodynamic farming) kill the spores of mildew which would cause decay. In contrast, equisetum tea, a plant source of silica, encourages the death forces of the mildew to remain on the earth, where they belong, not on the plant. Silica is a drying force.
Our tea is prepared by boiling the equisetum in water for an hour, then letting it ferment for 10 days. This allows us to use less than we would need to use if we used fresh tea. But beware! The fermented version smells terrible! We spray at the full and the new moon.
Of course, good farming is also important in controlling mildew. We pull leaves so air can pass through the vines, drying, while still shading clusters from burning sunlight that will come later.
