The benefits of horn silica preparation

On our farm, we have been working with the biodynamic preparations for the past 22 years. Prior to this we had a great deal of ground elder (gout weed) at the edge of woodland. It favours shady and damp places. Gardeners regard it as a weed and a nuisance: it is rampant in growth and its underground shoots make it hard to combat. We sprayed silica preparation along the woodland margin too. This stimulates light forces and photosynthesis, and today there is only a scattering of ground elder left.

Livelier leaves, greater yield

We spray the silica preparation increasingly on shadier plots and during periods of much rain and little sunlight. When I do my field-rounds two or three days after spraying, I find that the plants look different: they seem to be standing more upright, and the leaves look livelier. But that is not all the silica preparation can accomplish. My wife has found that it increases the yield of sun-loving beans. I spray silica on the vegetables at least twice a year, and in years of less sunshine, up to five times. Stirring and spraying the silica preparation in the early morning, misting the plants in a fine spray, and feeling that it does them good, gives me a sense of great satisfaction.

Robert Schwander, Demeter farmer