The buzzword of the last decade has been "organic" when it comes to green farming practices. But there is another method of green farming that, although less well known, is practiced by many farmers in Europe and an increasing number of farmers in the United States as well. In fact, many highly rated French and American wines are cultivated with principles of this method, called biodynamics.

Right here in the Central Valley, we have one of the few U.S. centers for the teaching of biodynamic principles. Rudolf Steiner College began as a Waldorf training school in Fair Oaks and has now become one of only three schools in the United States that offers a biodynamic curriculum. So what is biodynamic agriculture?

Basically, biodynamics is a method similar in many ways to organic farming. Both systems shun the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides and focus on developing healthy farms through close observation of growing cycles. Many people recognize biodynamics as the precursor to our modern organic farming methods. But there are very important differences between the two methods--some of which have earned biodynamic practitioners a fair amount of derision. Such ridicule may be why some farmers are hesitant to label themselves "biodynamic" and why most consumers are unfamiliar with the term.

In 1924, Austrian scientist and philosopher Rudolf Steiner first laid out the principles of biodynamics in a lecture series created for a group of farmers who had approached him about decreasing fertility in soils and livestock. Steiner was a renaissance man who had also developed the Waldorf education system and a practice he called anthroposophy, or "science of the spirit." He was highly influenced by the German scientist and poet Johann Goethe and founded the Goetheanum in Switzerland as a center for the study of anthroposophy. The Goetheanum is still in existence today and various workshops, lectures, and artistic events are hosted there.

According to the Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association, "Biodynamic farming and gardening combines common-sense agriculture; an understanding of ecology; and the specific environment of a given place with a new spiritual scientific approach to the concepts, principles, and practices of agriculture." Steiner felt that it was important to recognize the way in which plants and animals respond to and are affected by their environments, both physically and spiritually. For instance, think about how you feel near a beautiful landscape or the rolling ocean. Environments have not only physical but emotional effects on your being, and Steiner proposed that other animals and plants were similarly influenced.

Additionally, Steiner includes six natural enrichments and two homeopathic-like preparations in the biodynamic regimen--prescriptions that have gained biodynamics the most notoriety. The enrichments are used to encourage certain reactions in compost to address specific soil and plant needs. They are typically buried for six months to a year and then injected into compost piles before the fertilizer is spread. One such enrichment is a stag's bladder packed with dandelion flowers that "stimulates the relationship between silica and potassium so that silica can attract cosmic forces to the soil." The two preparations are much diluted sprays of either manure or quartz crystal and are intended to work like homeopathic medicines in that rather than saturating plants, the plants are stimulated by the preparations to self-heal. There is also an astrological and lunar calendar to govern planting and harvesting times--in some ways similar to the farmers' practices centuries ago.

Much of this was explained to me by Harald Hoven, the founder of the Biodynamic Raphael Garden at Rudolf Steiner College. Harald arrived here from Germany in the 1980s with experience in biodynamics. He started the garden, located at the center of campus, with a few medicinal herbs and quickly expanded it from a small area to the three-acre diverse urban farm that it is today. The garden is now comprised of one acre each of orchard, cow pasture, and raised beds of vegetables and herbs. Harald instituted a CSA in 1993, which is fully subscribed and has a waiting list of people eager to support Raphael.

Harald describes biodynamic farming as "more sovereign," referring to the ideal of a closed system in which all the necessities are provided for within the farm. At the Raphael Garden, for example, there is a cow and sheep to provide manure and control weeds, and farm workers compost to provide fertilizer and grow herbs and flowers for the biodynamic preparations. Very little outside material is required, distinguishing it from many modern organic farms, which require purchased--albeit non-chemical--fertilizers and inputs. Harald stressed that this is the ideal however, and not necessarily feasible at all times; a stag's bladder is not readily available at Raphael Gardens, for instance. But one of the sovereign aspects for biodynamic farmers is that they should recognize the uniqueness of their specific bioregion and work as well as they can within the principles suggested by Steiner.

Somerset's La Clarine Farm is a good example of this. Hank Beckmeyer and Caroline Hoël bought their property in the Sierra foothills in 2001. Hank is assistant winemaker for Shenendoah Vineyards and Sobon Estate in Plymouth. He says, "I was always kind of curious about biodynamics because there are a lot of very vocal French biodynamic growers. It's a very individualistic method of farming." He and Caroline decided to try the principles for themselves with their own vineyard. To fulfill the biodiversity needed for the practice, they also raise goats, honeybees, fruit trees, and herbs.

When I asked Hank about his thoughts on the unusual aspects of biodynamic farming, he replied, "There is a physical aspect and an energy in farming and you can't have one without the other. You need to physically enrich your soil and grow plants that are nourishing on many levels. That idea appealed to me in an intellectual sense. It's not something that you hear people talk about very much. So we decided to try it out and see if we liked it, and a lot of people comment on the good vibe here." However, he also adds that, "There are certainly parts of the whole thing that didn't work for me; I didn't connect with it. I just learned not to worry about it too much." He doesn't make and bury his own compost enrichments, for example, but he buys and uses them because he's made compost with and without the enrichments and found that they really make the compost better. La Clarine is a certified biodynamic farm, accredited by the Demeter Association, the worldwide certification authority.

While some biodynamic farmers choose not to achieve actual certification, they still may use many of the biodynamic principles. A farm may be organic without being biodynamic, but it cannot be biodynamic without being organic. So there is still some intertwining of the two practices. Harald Hoven also founded the Biodynamic Association of Northern California and lists eighty or so members at present. They include Circling Hawk Farm in the foothills, which grows vegetables, herbs, and flowers; Terra Flora in Nevada City, which concentrates on flower essences; and the Apple Farm in Philo. Harald notes that there are few biodynamic farms growing saleable produce because a biodynamic farm needs to be diverse enough to fulfill the "sovereign" criteria, and then expanding one area of produce for market isn't possible without increasing the farm's size. He does note that there are quite a few large biodynamic grain operations in the Midwest and some dairies in the East. There is also a pocket of biodynamic farms in Columbia County, New York.

As with the many wineries who embrace biodynamics, Harald says that word-of-mouth is the best encouragement for farmers in one area to try what they might otherwise find suspect. Included in the wineries in Northern California that use biodynamic principles are Benziger, Frey, Fetzer, and Robert Sinskey. Randall Graham of Bonny Doon released a statement a year ago that read, "As of today (4/25/07), Bonny Doon's primary goal is the establishment of biodynamic estate vineyards to produce what we have always dreamed of: great wine reflective of its specific place of origin." Their Monterey vineyard has been biodynamic since 2003. Frey's website lists farm worker health as one of their reasons for going biodynamic-a reason that certainly supports Steiner's idea that the health of plants depends not just on the health of the soil but also the people working it.

As Harald pointed out, you have to be a more independent thinker and have more initiative to undertake biodynamics. It is "not about withdrawing, but sharing" ideas and methods that work. As one of the primary educators in this field, Harald offers workshops, organizes conferences and tours of Raphael Garden, and takes on apprentices. The other two major biodynamic educators in the United States are the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute in Wisconsin and the Pfeiffer Center in Spring Valley, New York. The Fields Institute has done quite a bit of scientific research to successfully prove the soundness of the biodynamic practices, showing greatly increased soil fertility and keeping qualities of produce.

As the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources website states: "Steiner reasoned that since plant growth is dependent on the sun, earth, air, and water, the entire universe affects the process of life. He believed in creating a healthy environment for crops, farm families, and the communities where they live, while ensuring an economically viable agricultural business." So while biodynamics may seem odd or kooky to some, there are many farmers and scientists who would agree that you need to protect the earth--whether through spiritual or biological healing, or both--to sustain the life forces that we all need.

Resources for further information:

Raphael Garden, Rudolf Steiner College, www.steinercollege.org

Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association, www.biodynamics.com

La Clarine Farm, www.laclarinefarm.com

The Demeter Association, www.demeter-usa.org

Ann Martin Rolke is a culinary consultant in Sacramento. She blogs about her fascination with local food at www.sacatomato.com and regularly uses the recipes in her book Hands-Off Cooking when she has time to cook at home.