Horn Manure or 500 explained (bio dynamic system) by Rudolph Steiner
Horn Manure or 500 explained
Horn manure is a mysterious amendment out of the bio dynamic system that really isn't that mysterious at all. Popularized by Rudolph Steiner it is often called " 500" and is prepared by filling the horn of a female cow with fresh female cow manure and burying it in the ground (40–60
cm below the surface) for the winter. It is left to decompose all winter and recovered for use the following spring. What comes out is something completely changed and is almost sweet smelling. Changing from a greenish to a brown colour, The material no longer resembles the manure that was packed in it months before
What you are actually creating is a beneficial bacteria and microbe super factory. These microbes love to multiply in manure. Furthermore, these microbes are also found in the horn in great abundance and if you add manure inside the horn,you are actually making an excellent environment for a rocket culture of humus-producing microbes. The microbes migrate from the horn into the manure around them and exponentially explode. The horns are dug up in the spring and the manure "puck "that's inside can be used to brew a beneficial tea spray
If not to be used immediately, it needs to be properly stored. A common method of storage is to have the 500 in earthen pots with loose fitting lids that are placed in a wood box filled with peat moss. The box itself should reside in a cool, dark place, such as a basement or cellar and kept moist but not waterlogged.
The 500 tea spray should be applied in the evening hours. A palm full is enough for 1 acre or one corn horn per hectare. But our horn technique is unique to my farm as I use a larger horn and a unique packing system that actually multiplies the amount of promicrobe material available.
This amount is placed in clean water, like rainwater and rhythmically stirred for an hour and applied via a sprayer.
Stay tuned this spring as we introduce to you a couple of our inventions we use to pull this off.
Here's a picture of our prepared organic horns and the careful viewer will notice the lactating "rings" that can be spotted near the wide end of the horn.
Lactation rings exhibit themselves on the horns of female cows and is a testament to the stress of calving. All through the month of January we are going to be posting some of our bio dynamic processes and practices. not only will we go into the Steiner developed bio dynamic methods but we will also be showcasing a few of our own based on my own research and practices. We hope to better explain some of these practices to you and why we know they work.
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