Biodynamic and the Moon

When I first heard about biodynamic agriculture we were at the Aberasturi farm in Bukidnon. I started to read about it and during the pandemic I had time to apply its principles and I thought, “I would not lose anything starting it now.” Well, guess what? Our fruit trees started to flower, I saw oranges where I never saw fruits before and the rest, they say, is history. But wait, you need to apply the spray concoction only during the new moon. Again, why? We did it anyway, with our staff observing when the new moon is.

Many non-believers think it is like witchcraft or some gardening feng shui or yet another hocus pocus kind of belief. But when you see it working, you become a believer. This is why I also no longer believe in tilling the soil or breaking it or, as Olive Puentespina the farmers says, “huwag hubaran ang lupa (do not strip the soil).”

At our recent agricultural summit in Basilan, another regenerative agriculture advocate named Ed Cejar also warned the farmers “do not till your soil!” Ed has transformed a barren mountain in Saranggani he found 20 years ago into a beautiful forest agro-eco site called Rio Vista, simply by making Nature do the work. Nature will heal itself and I found that out when I let things be.

An innocent farmhand I hired, however, without close supervision, started to till our empty herb plots and guess what happened – the worms disappeared and migrated to cooler and darker climes. Am I glad she did it only on two plots! We had to heal the soil with mulch and biodynamic spray, said sorry to the soil and it took many weeks for the soil to forgive us and to regenerate. Yes, it is a living thing. It took three new moons, three applications, for us to make the worms come back and fix our soil.

Now, imagine that happening in vast tracts of agricultural land. A local government even offers its tractors to till whole farms, and farmers only know how to till, apply fertilizers and plant hybrid seeds. That has been the formula for many decades now. And why we are in this state in our agriculture. And yet, it is the only formula offered for scale, high yields and self sufficiency.

So if one way does not work, maybe we should start looking at old solutions, Nature’s lessons and indigenous knowledge  passed on from generation to generation. Look back to a hundred years ago and we did not have tractors, no chemicals and no hybrid seeds. But we had heirloom rice from Banawe rice terraces, and heirloom corn that is white, sweet and tasty. Rice, corn and sweet potatoes are our staples. But have you tasted heirloom varieties?

Someone told me we could never be self-sufficient in rice. They did the numbers and with climate change also thrown into the situation, we may as well face the fact that we may need to plant old varieties of corn, camote, taro and cassava for food security. We can also plant adlai, a grain that is good for low-sugar diets due to its low glycemic index as opposed to white rice. But as to rice, maybe we should start changing our diets, too, to be less dependent on rice. Let’s not patronize “eat all you can” rice offers and learn to eat less, less white rice and more of our other choices of carbohydrates.

When we talk about food security, it seems like a very serious topic for policy makers and political leaders. We must, however, think of our small units of family and community and address it with practical solutions. So far, our little garden provides us with pechay, herbs and even my weekly supply of eggs from four hens a friend gave me. Yes, I still buy heirloom rice from our farmer friends in the Slow Food movement (www.slowfood.com) as well as tomato jelly and peanut butter from small producers. Am I food secure? I still buy bread and cheese, but it is  good to know we have options. Every time I have eggs for breakfast I can smile because they came from our own farm.

Then there are Nature’s annual gifts like seasonal fruits – duhat, avocado, mangoes and coconut. Tasting fruits from organic and sustainable sources is a joy because they are sweet, tasty and traceable to source. How would you like everyone to start looking at growing their own food?

Back to the moon and biodynamic ways, we also started a rain-fed garden with sweet potatoes, kadyos (black eyed peas) and whatever else grows around them. They, too, get a BD spray every new moon and so far, we have kadyos to harvest and a lot of camote to share with our neighbors. Rain-fed is how we deal with climate change. One only needs to try and experiment what your household can grow. And mind you, some even have gardens in their exclusive enclaves like Forbes Park, not just in farms like our pastoral or bucolic Cavite farm. All you need to do is start and soon, believe.

In these days of flux and a lot of uncertainty about food supply, start to grow some herbs, vegetables and then level up to having a few chickens and maybe even have fish ponds.

But start something and read about Biodynamic or Regenerative Agriculture. You have to work with Nature if Mother Nature must continue to feed you and your family.

Or, if you are not yet ready, support a farmer. Get a vicarious experience by adopting a farmer and asking him or her to grow food for you. It’s not simple but it may be the most rewarding move you will make this time.

Be food secure. And try to take it into your own hands and grow something. And remember, do not till the soil. Live with it and look at the moon. Enjoy!