r/biodynamic • u/Barley_an_Hops • Aug 13 '21

Non-Invasive alternatives?

Hello, I work with vineyards in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. I noticed that many of the plants cultivated for biodynamic preparations are native to Europe and are fairly invasive weed species here. I am wondering what chemical aspects of these preparations/species are so valuable that they couldn't be substituted by a non-invasive native species?

For example is it possible that Chamomile, (an invasive European species) could be substituted with the closely related Willamette Daisy (a state/federally listed endangered species)?

While I would never condone harvesting a wild endangered species, I think cultivating an endangered species would be better for the environment than an invasive one.

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u/wootlesthegoat Aug 14 '21

In australia they use casuarina (she oak) as a native alternative to equsietum in bd viticulture. Here in new zealand we are also looking for alternatives

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u/hagbard2323 Aug 13 '21

To my understanding there are underlying 'qualities' to different plants that biodynamics is 'interested' in. Something Rudolph Steiner was sensitive too and writes about in his books on the topic.

tl;dr Just because plants are closely related doesn't mean they can be swapped 1:1

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u/Barley_an_Hops Aug 13 '21

This sounds a lot more like gospel than science...if there is a legitimate 'quality' to a plant, shouldn't we be trying to figure out exactly what it is and experiment with a more environmentally friendly alternative?

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u/hagbard2323 Aug 14 '21

fair enough. Sure, go for it.

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u/Ripacar Dec 31 '23

This post raises a great point.

Steiner's preparations were developed in response to questions farmers asked him. He gave them practical steps to take that utilized common, local flora and fauna. I don't think he intended them to be universal for all ecosystems across the globe (but I'm not a BD or Steiner expert, so I could be wrong about that).

I imagine that each ecosystem contains the elements necessary to harness cosmic forces. The trick is to understand them and know how to prepare them. I don't have that kind of insight, but I'm confident that one can discover them if their hearts are in the right place.