Deepen your relationship with plants – extend your growing season
With the extended cold periods, like we have been experiencing the the last few years in the UK and the extreme temperature fluctuations we have been experiencing the previous winter, it might be a consideration to grow more plants in controlled, indoor environments for extending your growing season.
Have you ever considered growing in containers and how much joy that could bring into your life?
You might ask:” But can I do this biodynamically?”
According to Kolisko’s research into the influences of the moon and the constellations, the walls of your house are not an obstacle.
Besides that, in addition your own consciousness and influence is stronger, when you are in a nurturing, loving and upbeat mood, which has been proven to enhance plant growth tremendously.
Maybe your plants can become your emotional barometer?
If you have children, they absolutely love messing around with soil, water and they adore the magic of the unfolding growth and surprises plants gift us with!
A wide variety of seasonal herbs, veggies and flowers can be grown in micro gardens and can reap you a rich bounty of food for minimum effort.
And the best part of container growing is that you save a lot of time and energy.
Container growing offers lots of benefits:
- Versatile: Container gardens allow you to grow on a balcony, patio, courtyard, indoors on windowsills or rooms with adequate light, the deck of a boat, roof-top or caravan annexe.
- No heavy garden tools and equipment: Saves your back and money with less maintenance.
- Less disease problems: With plants growing near you, you notice pests and diseases early and can remediate them immediately.
- Feeding your soil: Make your own worm compost, ferment or buy concentrated liquid or ground organic fertilizer. Efficient and effective use.
- Aesthetics: Well-designed container plants placed strategically at a home’s entrance can add value and make the home more welcoming.
- Indoor gardens: Improve indoor air quality, health and well-being with colour, fragrance, food and ornamental plants.
- Highly productive incredible edibles: A wide variety of seasonal food can be grown successfully in containers including long lasting dwarf fruit trees.
- Extended harvest time: Soil in pots often warms up faster than soil in the ground so harvesting is possible for longer periods of time.
- Close to home: You have your veggies, microgreens, herbs and flowers growing in the vicinity.
- Reduce food miles: Growing even a few fresh herbs or salad vegetables in pots means less trips in the car or public transport to the shops or markets and saves time and money too.
- Greater control: With less to look after, it’s easier to control the impact of weather, the micro-climate, sun and shade.
Containers of all shapes and sizes
Be creative – literally anything can be repurposed to grow plants in.
Get your crates from the vegetable grocer or knock together your own planters from pallets or use them whole and place them upright against walls to save space.
Don’t give your old shoes the boot. Repurpose them as decorative planters.
And if you want to have fun add a coat of colour and your home, terrace or front doorsteps turn into a living art gallery. Your imagination is the limit.
Drainage and Mixes:
Ideally make a mix of a third of loam (mole hills), sharp sand (building centres) and compost and add a handful of concentrated organic fertilizer like hoof and horn, bone meal or dried chicken manure (from garden centres).
Make sure you line your boxes or place a saucer or tray underneath, which is even more effective to avoid water logging in the box or pots.
Watering:
Ideally use rainwater or tap water you let sit for a few hours as chlorine kills micro-life in the soil mix. Pour water in the tray or saucer so water is soaked up from below to avoid leaching of nutrients, which happens when we water from above. Fill tray or saucer when water disappeared. Water intermittently, not constantly. Plants grow between drying and wetting conditions.
Light and Warmth:
Make sure you provide areas with plenty of light, otherwise far infrared or red lights might be beneficial to make up for lack of natural light and it will give you the benefit of healing frequencies too.
Fertilization:
Add every 2-3 weeks 50 ml of liquid fertilizer into your water and apply.
Keep an eye on the colour of the leaves. If the deep green of leaves fades and becomes yellowish or tips and edges die back, add an extra application of your diluted ferment, made from green leaves or buy a liquid comphrey concentrate online. This should remedy the deficiency of nutrients.
Biodynamic preparations and subtle energy work:
If you like to energise your plants and environment and if you are someone, who would love to calm their mind, but you find meditating difficult, I suggest you take 5 minutes every day and observe the changes in one particular plant. You could also look at your plants without focussing but using your peripheral vision and take in the presence of your plants.
Some people say talking and singing to the plants makes them grow better.
By the way, this meditative relationship with your plants, has proven to enhance the growth of your plants.
If you like a more active meditation, stir a pinch of the Biodynamic Barrel Preparation in vortex fashion one direction and then the other into 2 litres of rainwater for 20 minutes and apply to the soil before sowing or planting and whenever you see the plants needing extra life forces.
For advanced meditators stir a pinch the Horn Manure Preparation (500) in a bucket
Or make your own growth regulator and fungicide, using 150 grams of dried Horsetail in 2 litres of water, simmer for 20 minutes and then let it sit for 1 day before using it undiluted on leaves, which show fungal or bacterial attack or lack of lustre.
Bringing plants into your home environment is rewarding, fun and helps you to restore your relationship with your inner and outer nature.
Enjoy your home gardening
Hans-Günther
