THE POWER OF NATURE
The transformed substance is known as ‘500’ as it has around 500 million living microbes per gram. It is so powerful one handful is enough, when mixed with water, to activate one acre of soil! Spraying it upon the land brings life into the soil through microbes and worms. This soil life, in turn, promotes deeper plant roots, leading to more organic matter in the soil.
This was mind-blowing to me. If I had not been open or conscious of what I was about to do in my future, getting married to the love of my life and becoming a farmer’s wife, I would never have heard or registered what my aunt was saying.
I believe many people miss out on incredible healing, health, and well-being opportunities because they are asleep to new possibilities. They are only interested in what they already know or want to know. Or, they are just “getting by” and not expanding their horizons in life. Our future health, wealth, and happiness depend on our choices. It is good to know how to make wise choices. I believe wisdom is a vital element of health and well-being.
When I told William about the cow horn story, he was fascinated and instantly felt the same. We found out the man my aunt saw on TV was Alex Podolinski. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation TV documentary featuring his work in biodynamic agriculture was called A Winter’s Tale. After our wedding in December 1987, we decided to drive across Australia to find him. Nobody, apart from my aunt, seemed to have heard anything about this man or his work.
Charles Walters, the chief editor of the famous organic magazine ‘Acres USA,’ was asked by a journalist before he passed away, “What is the future of agriculture?” He answered, “Biodynamics”! He also added that the “writings” of Alex Podolinski were worth more than “gold”! Alex was a worldwide expert on biodynamic farming and soil health. After the disastrous Chornobyl nuclear accident in Russia years ago, Alex was so highly respected internationally that the Russian government of that time asked him to come and help with the long journey towards bringing health back to the soil.
Over the years, Alex came to stay with us numerous times, and we learned a great deal from him. He was born in Russia. His grandmother was the grandmother of the last Czar of Russia, which made him a Russian Aristocrat. His personal story was fascinating. However, most interesting was his dedication to looking after the soil in the best way possible, to bring the best health and vitality to the plants that grow therein, and to the human beings who eat the produce. The results of biodynamic agriculture are the highest level of life and health in the soil and produce from the land. The food from biodynamically farmed land is known for its vibrance and flavour. We believe it is the best method of growing food in the world.*
*Editor’s Note: Biodynamic Agriculture compliments and lifts Regenerative Agriculture (RA) to a higher level. True RA does NOT allow the use of toxic chemicals.
The rest of the story is “history.” We have been growing our produce, caring for the land, people, animals, birds, insects, and so on since 1988. The soil is now a great testimony to this method of farming. We know we would make anyone searching to build carbon in the soil happy. In 2012, we won the ‘Sustainability Award for Agriculture’ in Western Australia. We were very happy about this as it was a victory for biodynamic agriculture. Biodynamic farming brings ever-increasing well-being to humans, animals, all creatures, and the world.
Many great chefs know to achieve outstanding flavour in the dishes they prepare, the food has to be organically grown and, if possible, biodynamically. The flavour of biodynamically grown food and wine is recognised around the world. When people from the famous “Harvey Nichols” gourmet London grocer came shopping in Australia for new produce, they went all over the country and chose 30 products. Based on their taste testing in each state, they chose two of our products - our biodynamic olive oil and marmalade.
They were astonished at the intensity of the flavour. Also, some years ago, our Kalamata olives were highly acclaimed at the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. Our biodynamic beef was selected in the top ten gourmet products of Western Australia by The West Australian Newspaper’s food critic.
The food we grow and produce has an outstanding taste not because of recipes and processing but because of the farming method. The focus of biodynamic farming is to build life in the soil.
The quality and flavour do not come from fertilisers poured on the land; they come from the life and wellness of the soil, which comes from biodynamic farming methods.